There are a few things that make the world go round but two of the most important in my world are music and games. Good music while working away on my laptop makes it a lot easier to get through the humdrum and the dull. Great videogames make the evenings that little bit sweeter as you plough through enemies or sneak down dank corridors and feel your pulse pounding.
Obviously, when you combine both music and videogames you get some pretty awesome results. When Doom 3 came out to mixed reviews, I completely ignored the naysayers and haters because of one specific scene.
As you come around the corridor, I honestly can’t remember which level this was, suddenly Nine Inch Nails explode into violent sound that utterly captures the dark and terrifying mood of the game. It’s a sublime combination of action and sound that makes my skin quiver every time.
Listening to sound while you game is so inherent that you only realise its potential when it is badly done, or your speakers are having fits. There can be few things worse than tinny sound in a game. Seriously. I’ve never been able to play on a laptop without having half a million speakers, and their annoying cables, all over the place.
Which is why I am quite excited by how ASUS have take sound so seriously this year. If you haven’t already, take a look at SonicMaster and see how they’ve invested in technology to revolutionise how sound is delivered on their machines.
So, I ask you, what games have you played where the music or sound has utterly captivated you, or made the moment so much more explosive? Doom and Doom 3 are two of my favourites, as is the GTA series – they seriously rock – and those hauntingly brief melodies in that age old series, Myst.