Final Fantasy XIII, Halo 3: ODST, Heavy Rain and more - which of these 10 amazing soundtracks deserves to win an award?

Enjoy your ears and vote in the Golden Joystick Awards while you're at it

Words: Matt Cundy on October 8, 2010

Halo 3: ODST

Composed by Halo regulars Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori to reflect the game's distinctive noir atmosphere, ODST's soundtrack chooses moody jazz-in-the-rain over acoustic choral epicness. And it works.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain. Not really what anyone could call a 'blue sky' game. It's glum and grey and wet and a bit miserable. That's the whole point. Composer Norman Corbeil (who also scored PS2 game Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy) did an excellent job of capturing the pervading sense of gloom, wrapping it up in melancholy beauty and making it sound sweet. Sob.

Mass Effect 2

Synthy, brooding, expansive, spaced out - composer Jack Wall gets it absolutely spot on for Mass Effect once again. If I'm ever captain of an intergalactic space vessel, I will insist that 'New Worlds' is played on loop over the bridge's speakers.

Metro 2033

An outsider, sure, but Alexey Omelchuk's score for spooky shooter Metro 2033 is more than deserving of its nomination for best soundtrack. Creepy, bleak, haunting, dank - it's everything that a subterranean Russian nightmare should sound like.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It's no surprise that Greg Edmonson's original score for Nathan Drake's second adventure has already bagged itself some awards, including a fancy BAFTA. Performed by the Skywalker Session Orchestra, the soundtrack is another perfect accompaniment to the adventure, giving it the cinematic quality that the game was given so much critical praise for.

That's all the games that are up for a Golden Joystick. Which one do you think has the best soundtrack? If you haven't already, cast your vote at the Golden Joystick Awards voting page now.

Oct 8, 2010

Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, PC

45 comments

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pandasrock - October 27, 2010 9:37 p.m.

Damn. I wish I found this earlier.
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2cute2Bcruel - October 14, 2010 2:16 a.m.

ARGH SO HARD TO CHOOSE Heavy Rain. It was very sad.
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Axcleblade - October 11, 2010 8:27 p.m.

ODST. I was going to go with Mass Effect 2, but I only really liked a few songs from that game, while I loved everything ODST had to offer.
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NeoDodge - October 11, 2010 3:20 p.m.

Brutal Legend FTW !
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g4m3rk1dd - October 11, 2010 2:42 p.m.

FFXIII is my fav... im not even going to listen to the other soundtracks...
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oilahize - October 9, 2010 10:32 p.m.

No GOW3?
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BIOSback - October 9, 2010 8 a.m.

Hmmm, I'd say either Halo ODST or Assassins Creed 2, but FF XIII was really good too.
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BoltActionRevolver - October 9, 2010 5:46 a.m.

@flang "ODST should be disqualified, along with all the other Halo games, because Bungie refuses to allow its customers the extremely basic option of turning down the volume if they choose, preferably to a level where you could actually hear the voices in the game so you know what the hell's going on. It's ridiculous, and the gaming press (including GamesRadar) is partly responsible since none of them have ever brought up this shortcoming in their coverage, even though it's been a completely standard option in every other game made for the last couple of decades or so." Some one call a Waa'bulance on this guy. You cant turn it down, so the musics bad. That's like saying you where late to a dinner party, and scene every one had ate already and didn't wait for you and did what you wanted, the food was bad. Its about the music, not the game mechanic.
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BoltActionRevolver - October 9, 2010 5:43 a.m.

ODST I used my normal test. Its one that is tried, true, and very detailed.... Its Called "Did it bore me" Heavy rain was kept me engaged and set a definite, Final Fantasy a wounder to the ears, but ODST told a story to me in the music. Uncharted 2 is great, but I cant shake the Hanz Zimmer sound in it, (Even reminding me alittle of "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron") and felt like one of those songs thats now used for "Generic Movie trailer" All of you who vote "Brutal Legend" don't say why (Other then, and I quote "LONG LIVE THE METAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!") . Its a score that fits the game, yes, but on its own, its not a title track, and is little more then the fist pumping metal that has its place, just not a place that can stand up to some of the others. (And claiming licensed songs as your premise doesn't count or we would have Guitar Hero and Rock Band in here) COD, Metro, and Assassins Creed go well in the background, but can not stand on their own. It needs to have something to lie behind, Like those scary movies. Its mood setting, but needs the original content to support it Mass Effect is good, but growing up to Jack Wall doing Myst, it seems to lack something. As for liberty City, all I heard is Rap. Far from my cup of tea, or even my 40. All of this is off the provided selections. They used them as
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Grif - October 8, 2010 7:38 p.m.

I've played Heavy Rain, ODST, Assassin's Creed 2, and MW2 so out of all those games I have to go with Assassin's Creed 2. Earth, Venice Rooftops, and Ezio's Family remain some of my favorite songs.
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Oracool13 - October 8, 2010 7:25 p.m.

assassins creed II all the way it fits the universe so well i think
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shadowreaper72 - October 8, 2010 7:18 p.m.

BRUTAL LEGEND!!!!!!!! LONG LIVE THE METAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!
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JohnDagger - October 8, 2010 6:50 p.m.

I would say Heavy Rain or FF13. Say what you will about the games, the music is amazing.
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Spybreak8 - October 8, 2010 6:39 p.m.

I'm torn with this. I've gotta say equally I love Mass Effect 2, Halo 3:ODST, GTAIV Episodes of Liberty City and Brutal Legend! Well I have a wide musical taste lol.
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EliteM0nk3y - October 8, 2010 5:28 p.m.

If Mass Effect 2 was an option I picked it. It is by far the best game I have ever played.
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flang - October 8, 2010 5:26 p.m.

ODST should be disqualified, along with all the other Halo games, because Bungie refuses to allow its customers the extremely basic option of turning down the volume if they choose, preferably to a level where you could actually hear the voices in the game so you know what the hell's going on. It's ridiculous, and the gaming press (including GamesRadar) is partly responsible since none of them have ever brought up this shortcoming in their coverage, even though it's been a completely standard option in every other game made for the last couple of decades or so.
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Hypermonkey262 - October 8, 2010 5:20 p.m.

FFXIII is the best even though Persona 4 should win every year.
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SonicofBoom - October 8, 2010 5:01 p.m.

this is tough. I've played most of these games and they're all good! I'm gonna say either mass effect with odst close behind, but they're all great.
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The_King_of_Nothing - October 8, 2010 5:01 p.m.

Final Fantasy XIII without question. It has the best soundtrack since Shadow of the Colossus. Those two soundtracks are the only two game soundtrack I have ever bought because they were just so dang good.
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NoiseAsylum - October 8, 2010 4:47 p.m.

Brutal Legends, Assassins Creed 2, and ODST all had great sound tracks.
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