Game: BioShock
Song: Welcome to Rapture
Composer: Gary Schyman
Above: Welcome to Rapture from BioShock
I had today's game music all picked out, but then Irrational Games went and announcedBioShock Infinite, soI quickly canceled the previous GMOTD and replaced it with one of the most stirring, chilling pieces of modern music - game or otherwise.
Welcome to Rapture narrates your first glimpse at the submerged city, kicking up just as you ascend a pile of rocks and fully see the extent of Andrew Ryan's dream come true. It's every bit as moving as any orchestral score you'll hear in a movie, and light years ahead of similar efforts in other games. This is grade-A stuff that's both listenable and immediately identifiable. When you hear John Williams' Jaws, Star Wars or Jurassic Park themes, you know them right away. The same goes for Schyman's aural personification of Rapture.
Above: Welcome... to Rapture
Strong as this work may be, it's the licensed music from the '40s that really sticks with you.The varioussongs pulled from historyboth sound great and helpfurther Rapture's pervasive atmosphere, making the now-ravaged city feel like a dystopia frozen in time. And while we loved just about every song that played in the broken down jukeboxes and record players, the Andrew Sisters' Bei Mir Bist Du Schon ("With me, you are beautiful")stands out.
Now, with Ken Levine and Irrational "2K Boston" Games working on the Americana-soaked, floating city of Columbia, we can assume we're in for something just as captivating as the original BioShock (and hey, the second was was great too!). We gotta wait until 2012 for the finished product though, so until then maybe dip into the past and give System Shock 2 a try?
One cool song, one rockin' song and one stupid song
Neon Night, another great piece of moody music
Blizzard's best work, pre-Warcraft and Diablo
