Put it on Mute and Turn up the Beat: What to Listen to While Gaming

Games are often designed with a tactful need to utilize every resource to edge out the all-important advantage.  For many, this resourcefulness includes the sound or theme track that accompanies games, which at times can alert a player to approaching enemies or a change in character status.  But there are just as many gamers out there who throw this notion out the window along with the nausea inducing DK Rap courtesy of Donkey Kong 64.

Hitting the mute button has its own benefits, ranging from adrenaline-inducing focus to melancholy awareness.  The scope and width of today’s music selection can be daunting at times, but it becomes easier by applying a simple method.  The essence of it is to pick your soundtrack based on the gaming genre at hand.  Here’s a quick list of genres and corresponding artists that often bumps up my game.

RPG: Radiohead offers a sobering perspective that brings along with it a vivid focus.  From my experience, this leads to burgeoning success.  The layered storyline and moral focus of RPGs meshes perfectly with the likes of self-reflecting songs such as Karma Police.

Stealth: I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again, the Wu-Tang Clan is your one-stop shop for stealth action tunes.  This martial arts inspired hip-hop group unleashes its hard slashing rhymes and executing lines on your gaming reflexes.

MMO: A holistic view of your environment that allows you to clearly communicate with fellow players calls for an artist that invokes your sense of reality.  Bob Dylan is a master of words but more importantly, he’s a master of arrangement–so his clear-minded skills are likely to rub off on you.

FPS: Taking it old school will certainly give you the edge here.  Hard rockers like Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Led Zeppelin provide the necessary momentum you need to mow down fast-approaching enemies.  Be wary of Pink Floyd, though, as you might find yourself flying through outer space in a psychedelic state of complacency.

Survival Horror:  The Zombies, I know you’re thinking this is too easy but Smokey Day and Time of the Season offer a chillingly upbeat tempo that will put you on cruise control.  The Black Keys are a fine choice as well; their hard-lined alternative blues-style boils blood and tears down walls.   Songs like 10 A.M. Automatic will have the undead reaching for the snooze button at your imminent approach.

All in all, I say put your game on mute and turn up the beat.