Some of the Best Officially Licensed Songs in Video Games (Video)

As we've gotten closer to the release of Grand Theft Auto V, more of the game's official soundtrack has been teased by Rockstar. With over 240 licensed tracks, the next Rockstar score could easily be one of the most robust ever published within a video game.

That ambition hasn't always been the industry norm. Officially licensed music in video games has a had a less than luminous history before the people behind series like Grand Theft Auto, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Madden, and NBA2K decided that it was well worth the money to invest in, and feature real music that people actually listened to.

Strictly from a gaming perspective, the inclusion of music being performed by the artists themselves adds an entirely new layer of immersion to a title. We know there are thousands of songs spread out over hundreds of games that could have made this list, but these songs connect, resonate, and compliment their attached games in a way that makes them damn near perfect pairings.

Artist: Snoop Dogg featuring The Doors
Song: "Riders on the Storm" Fredwreck Remix
Level: Availble on the soundtrack

Fredwreck lays Snoop Dogg’s verses over the classic tune “Riders On The Storm” by The Doors in a surprisingly effective track on Need for Speed Underground 2. A Doors song that is either about a Native American ghost myth or a loosened serial killer has a tenous connection to underground street racing, but Snoop shows up and that's good enough for us.

Artist: TV on the Radio
Song: "Golden Age"
Level: Availble on soundtrack

It might be considered a curse to be considered one of the most realistic baseball sims of all time. Perhaps that's partly to blame for the disappointing sales behind MLB '09 The Show. Lackluster commercial success aside, the game did manage to incorporate a stellar accompaniment in the form of indie darlings TV On The Radio. Their 2008 album Dear Science was a gem of a record and "Golden Age" somehow made it into a baseball video game known more for its soundtrack than its playability.

Artist: The Bravery
Song: "Believe"
Level: Throughout the game

While The Bravery's alt-indie/rock flavor may seem formulaic and indicative of the staleness of mid-aughts rock music, their inclusion on Madden 08's soundtrack made their single "Believe" a mainstay on shows like Gossip Girls and Best Buy commercials. One of the few instances where a band got bigger because of their appearance in a video game. The song will most likely trigger a PTSD response when you hear it an elevator ten years from now.

Artist: Blur
Song: "Song 2"
Level: Title music

Are we the only ones that want to have a push-up contest with our father when we hear Blur's "Song 2"? Cause we will do it right-fucking-now. There is no way "Song 2" doesn't make you want to quit your job and become the world's only paranormal investigator that punches ghosts into submission. Raunchy, sweaty, and just the sort of song you'd hear right before a soccer hooligan opens your throat with a shattered pint glass. Perfect for FIFA 98.

Artist: Damian Marley & Skrillex
Song: "Make It Bun Dem"
Level: Kick the Hornet's Nest

Easily one of the most surprising moments in a game brimming over with WTF, the robo-dancehall track of "Make It Bun Dem" fits Far Cry 3 perfectly. The series has used licensed pop music in the past, but it has never been more fitting as you are tasked by the CIA to set a weed crop ablaze with a flamethrower. The song also plays perfectly on the nagging ambiguity about whether or not main character, Jason Brody, is an unreliable narrator, and actually completely insane.

What white college-age frat bro would willingly torch a massive dope field? It's almost enough to make us overlook the existence of Sxrillex. Almost.

Artist: Chief Rocka
Song: "Lords of the Underground"
Level: Available on soundtrack

NBA Street Vol.2 was released in 2003 on the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, and that giant hunk of unfuckable plastic, the original Xbox. In a game that was packed with tracks by Redman, Just Blaze, Eve, and Nate Dog, Chief Rocka's"Lords of the Underground" stuck out like a compound fractured ankle. A streetball game published by EA that is still tremendous to play a decade later.

Artist: Mobb Deep
Song: "Dirty New Yorker"
Level: The Beat 102.7

Who better to score the almost too realistic Liberty City than Mobb Deep? Queen's own Havoc and Prodigy stand out on a monstrous soundtrack as Liberty City stands in for our very own New York.

Artist: The Rolling Stones
Song: "Sympathy for the Devil"
Level: Crash Site

Yes, we probably never need to hear "Sympathy for the Devil" used in another film, video game, or car commercial. The song has been co-opted so often that it has actually become less poignant each time it's licensed out. An exception to the above suggested boycott comes in the form of Activision's annual franchise drop.

Call of Duty: Black Ops applied the song flawlessly in the Vietnam jungle during the Crash Site level. A perfect moment that captures the futility and brutality of the Vietnam War while the narcissistic braggadocio of the narrator's conquests throughout human history score the carnage.

Artist: Gary Jules
Song: "Mad World"
Level: Ending cutscene for Act 3

Gary Jules' "Mad World" may be more associated with Donnie Darko in the pop culture landscape, but Gears of War nailed it in terms of atmosphere. The marketing campaign used the song in television ads and most effectively in the final scene in Gears of War 3 when Dom commits suicide in order to save his teammates. A perfect commentary on the complete madness that is the human condition during war.

Artist: Run D.M.C
Song: "My Adidas"
Level: Availble on soundtrack

In a franchise known for curating their titles with nearly perfect selections of musical asides, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is, alongside Rockstar Games, one of the biggest influencers behind licensing official music for their releases. Lagwagon, Motorhead, pretty much every act on the Fat Wreck Chords label in the 90s, and the timeless "My Adidas" by Run D.M.C all made the music direction for the series golden.

A classic hip-hop track that is nearly three decades old blends seamlessly into the fourth installment of the Hawk series.

Artist: Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five
Song: "The Message"
Level: Radio station

2006's Scarface: The World is Yours was a solidly mediocre game that coasted on equal parts cocaine dealer power fantasy and nostalgia. The soundtrack, conversely, was a welcome addition to an otherwise bland title. Additionally, Kurtis Blow, Rick James, and Run D.M.C are all found on the game's soundtrack.

It is the coda of “don’t push me cause I’m close to the edge, I’m trying not to lose my head” from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five that serves as the dovetail to Tony Montana's fall from power and his long bloody slog back to the top that makes this track essential to the game.

Artist: David Bowie
Song: "Space Oddity"
Level: End Credits

Alan Wake has drawn valid an immediate comparisons to pop-culture mainstays such as Twin Peaks and the work of Alfred Hitchcock. The survival horror title leaned heavily on building a layered psychological tension as opposed to relying on jump scares to frighten players. The game is broken down into six episodes and is beautifully bookended by David Bowie's "Space Oddity".

The song, haunting enough in its own right, adds to the ambiguous nature of the game's ending. The parallels between Bowie's spaceman lost in the endless dark of the stars and Wake's psychological unraveling are a perfect accompaniment for one another.

Artist: Sun Araw
Song: "Deep Cover"
Level: Title screen

Any single track off 2012's pitch-perfect Hotline Miami could be held up as exemplary in blending mood, music, and narrative reniforcement. It is ultimately Sun Araw's "Deep Cover" that captures the droney, hypnotic calm before the blood bath that is Hotline Miami. With obvious nods to Nicolas Winding Refn's film Drive, Hotline Miami is a hyper-kinetic, twitch reflex, tale of crime.

As a hitman in 1980s Miami, you are tasked with ruthlessly eliminating your targets with everything from hammers to sub-machine guns. The entire soundtrack wraps itself around the narrative like an electro-clash, neon blasted noose and tightens until you restart your game after death number 330. Play this game and thank us later.

Artist: Eric B. and Rakim
Song: "I Ain't No Joke"
Level: Available on soundtrack

When Jay Z executive produces your soundtrack, chances are it's going to be fucking slick. NBA 2K13 has one of the greatest soundtracks ever put into a game, certainly the best of any sports title. With a track list that includes Nas, Kanye West, Daft Punk, Meek Mills, and Hova himself, future NBA2K titles better come strong to compete with 13's tracklist. Eric B. and Rakim's "I Ain't No Joke" is a classic and is an ideal sample from this stellar group.

Artist: A Flock of Seagulls
Song: "I Ran"
Radio Station: Wave 103

What better track to capture the excess and unhinged vanity of the 1980s than a single from a one hit wonder like A Flock of Seagulls? Yes, their haircuts were ridiculous; yes, they're sort of a joke; but there was no better song to listen to as you swung a katana off the side of your PCJ 600 sports bike in Vice City. The song was used in television commercials for Vice City and became immediately linked to Rockstar's homage to the decadent 80s.

Artist: Kanye West
Song: "Power"
Level: Party Time

If you were to jump out of a hovering helicopter, skydive onto a penthouse rooftop, and proceed to lay waste to an entire party, we could think of worst songs to have bumping. "Power" was one of the most pointed tracks from Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and it perfectly compliments the unhinged, surreal ultra-violence that was Saints Row: The Third.

With the final lyrics of, "now this will be a beautiful death, I’m jumping out the window, I’m letting everything go" ringing in our ears, we are charged with placing the entire party in body bags. Ridiculous and perfect.

Artist: Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg
Song: "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang"
Level: Radio Los Santos

Far be it from us to overstate how massively important 1993's The Chronic was. Others have been doing for far longer, but Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's “Ain’t Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang” was fundamental in making West Coast rap accessible to main stream, MTV viewing audiences. Its inclusion on Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was a nod to both the importance of that record and life in South Central, Los Angeles in the 80s and 90s.

San Andreas plays like gangster opera that rides the line between sincere homage and hip-hop fantasy.

Artist: Bobby Darin (Django Reinhardt)
Song: "Beyond the Sea"
Level: Lighthouse

What better way to emphasis the crumbling utopian vision of Rapture than juxtaposing the violent conflict engulfing the city with Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea". Ken Levine and company opted for licensing music from the likes of Cole Porter, Bing Crosby, and Billie Holiday to add one more level of immersion.

The song appears multiple times throughout the game, and serves as a very obvious reminder to the player that they are trapped and surrounded by those who wish to either murder or use them. Oh, you're also thousands of fathoms beneath the ocean's surface.

Artist: Jonathan Coulton
Song: "Still Alive"
Level: End Credits

While not a piece of licensed music per se, Jonathon Coulton's "Still Alive" exists as a self contained and perfect video game song. Written specifically for Portal, the track is sung by the defeated GLaDOS, and is meant to be both foreshadowing for the AI's return in the sequel and a nod to Valve's self-referential sense of humor.

"Remember Black Mesa? That was a joke, ha ha."

Listening to this just wants us find Gabe Newell and force him to give us a release date for Half-Life 3. Just kidding, we all know Half-Life 3 is never getting released.

Artist: Jose Gonzalez
Song: "Far Away"
Level: Crossing into Mexico

Red Dead Redemption is a perfect game. Period. The inclusion of Jose Gonzalez’s “Far Away,” was one of the most emotionally resonant moments in the entire game. A track that managed to capture the desperation, isolation, and sheer wilderness that greeted you at every turn in John Marston's enduring bid for redemption in the Wild West.

Gonzalez’s near hushed delivery of lyrics like "Stand in front of a runaway train / just to feel alive again,” are heard for the first time as you cross over from the United States into Mexico. The man who holds the key to your freedom lies somewhere in Mexico and the twangy heartbreak of Gonzalez's lyrics are just perfect. When the game moves to Mexico the entire color scheme of the game transforms and it is "Far Away" that accompanies that visual shift

We feel bad for whoever got off their horse and had the song cut off mid-strum.