Game music of the day: Extreme G

Game: Extreme G

Song: Track 1

Composer: Unknown

Above: Track 1 from Extreme G

There's not a lot to say about Extreme G. It was a so-so racing series that had a slight moment in the spotlight during the N64 years, then became even less remarkable during the PS2/GameCube era. Even when it was "popular," whatever clout it had as a sleek futuristic racer was immediately gobbled up by F-Zero X just a year later - so why bother mentioning it at all? Because it had trippy ass trance music that was perfect for 300mph races.

Even though the game has aged rather poorly, Extreme G's electronic tunes are as listenable today as they were in 1997. The above track is probably the most well known, as it playedover one of the game's earliest courses. Even if you're not big on this dance-heavy club stuff, you can't deny it's tailor made for Extreme G's twisty, corkscrewy courses. I'm not even saying it's particularly amazing - just good fun to listen to.

Above: Another track from the game. How '90s can you get?

Above: You know shit's getting serious when the MIDI guitar kicks in

I'm a sucker for this type of music, and it's definitely the primary source of my nostalgia for Extreme G. Nintendo 64 was never known as a system with particularly strong audio, so hearing some reasonably well done techno tunes blasting out of the TV speakers was a welcome change from the usual tinny stuff that accounted for most of the N64's library. Granted, Extreme G is using electronic beats instead ofattempting to sample real instruments, so it's a case of Acclaim and Probe playing to the system's strengths.

PlayingExtreme Gtoday, I can barely bother to finish a race or two, let alone play it again and again like it was 1997. But the music... man it's been on various computers and MP3 players for more than a decade. Just so easy to put on and forget about. And I mean that in the best possible way.

A Dark March by Danger Mouse

No Cigar by Millencolin

Two day-one PSX tracks from Tommy Tallarico