Gaming Playlists: Destiny and Rocket League

Destiny: Space Jazz

picture via Xbox.com

Destiny is the latest record-breaking sci-fi/fantasy FPS from the studio behind the original Halo trilogy (and Halo: Reach), Bungie. Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Martin O’Donnell (though fired at some point in the development process), and Sir Paul McCartney all had a hand in composing this game’s score, which compelled an ominous, nonintrusive, and slow-driving emotion.

Destiny has a solid, well-developed soundtrack that greatly pairs with the game’s storyline missions, but it fails to properly capture the intensity of the game’s multiplayer mode, Crucible. So rather than sitting in silence while you rack up multi-kills and smack talk your friends, let’s find the perfect music to accompany your kick ass skills.

First, a tangent – What do Star Wars’ Cantina Band and Cowboy Bebop have in common? Jazz in space. Jazz is a combination of improvisation, technique, and emotion and helps ground fantasy concepts due its highly recognizable style. When the right upbeat jazz is paired with Destiny, you’ll wonder why it wasn’t there in the first place. A quick drum beat keeps your blood-pumping and thumbs moving, while the dancing bass line seems to match your character’s movement. The gliding piano guides your cursor to an unfortunate player’s vulnerable helmet. Sax squeals. Gun fires. Headshot.

https://open.spotify.com/user/1221914413/playlist/4ryUMpeGIEpRQr90aMmV0c

Rocket League: Roll ‘Em Down, Turn Up The Rap

picture via Kotaku.com

Soccer and cars…who knew?! Rocket League is an indie game by Psyonix that has become an instant classic with hardcore gamers and casuals alike. Its simple nature combined with its complex skillset offers endless fun. The goal of the game is to maneuver a giant soccer ball into your opponent’s goal using a car that can boost, jump, flip, slide, fly, and even blow-up your opponents.
The August patch, v.1.04, brought new music by Mike Ault and Hollywood Principle to the main menu. Until then, the game’s theme was all that played. It’s a definite improvement, but there is still no music that plays during matches. In the “garage” section, you can fully customize your cars to thousands of different combinations. Maybe you’d like Big Rims, Top Hat, Stripe decal, Lightning Bolt Antenna – all that’s really missing is Xzibit. So why not up the ante, take some inspiration from GTA, throw on some rap, and pump up the rhymes.

The beat starts coming in as the countdown ticks and every car rushes for the ball, which ends in a climactic collision that sends people flying. Someone drives up the wall hitting a high-rising ball to the sound of a cracking snare-hit. The ball heads toward the goal. It’s looking good. Then out of nowhere comes the goalie who gets a bicycle-kick save when the ball was right about to cross the line. The chorus comes in… “we gon’ be alright.”

https://open.spotify.com/user/1221914413/playlist/1RO6GI5QSUSIJaOVpGFTUK