A game’s soundtrack is very important and contributes greatly to its quality- sure, you won’t see anyone arguing that it’s as important level design, or story, or visual quality, but a good soundtrack is important.
However, there’s always one specific theme that most games are associated with. When you thinks of games like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Halo or God of War, a few particular themes always immediately spring to mind. And thus, we’re here to compile a list of what we think are the ten best main themes in recent video game OSTs.
Be warned, you won’t see many games that were released before 2010 on this list, because then there would just be too much content to cover, and we wanted to make a Top 10 list, not a Top 80 list.
Also, please note that this list is not about soundtracks in general. It is about main themes. Also, only the main themes from OSTs are being listed, not any other tracks.
Only one game per series is being listed.
So let’s begin!
God of War 3
God of War has always had epic music, matching the games themselves perfectly. Though “Overture” doesn’t manage to outdo the excellent, adrenaline shock inducing “The End Begins” of God of War 2 and Ghost of Sparta, it still manages to prepare you, right from the game’s menu itself, for what is an epic, unforgettable ride through mythological Greece. This surely ranks as one of the best themes for a game, ever.
Assassin’s Creed 2
“It is a good life we lead, brother.”
“The best. May it never change.”
“And may it never change us.”
This is how Ubisoft introduces us to the wonderful game that is Assassin’s Creed 2, accompanied with a breathtaking Florence skyline and the striking, memorable music that has now become anonymous with the Assassin’s Creed franchise and even Ezio himself. Sure, Ubisoft may have delivered a perfectly decent main theme with Assassin’s Creed 3’s “Lorne Balfe” but I doubt they will ever outmatch “Ezio’s Family”.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
We’ve heard different renditions of “Nate’s Theme” four times now, with each Uncharted installment, and while some might say that Uncharted 2’s version is better, Uncharted 3’s “Nate’s Theme 3.0” actually makes some slight improvements that makes it sound somehow more grand and sweeping. Everytime you boot up your Uncharted 3 disc, you’re greeted by this wonderful music in the main menu itself. That’s the best gift a Naughty Dog fan could ask for. And a good game, of course.
Gears of War 3
Gears of War 3 is one hell of a game, and it deserves to have excellent music. Thankfully, it does. The main theme itself sets the mood for the rest of the game- epic, large in scope, thrilling. It’s what you want a main theme to do- you want it to describe the mood of the game, and this one does it perfectly. Also, it serves as perfect background music when you’re doing your math sums.
