Hardcore punk, hip-hop or good old rock: racing games are complimented by many genres of music. But which are the most iconic soundtracks that accompanied you through your racing adventures?
Photo credit: Electronic Arts
Music makes the world go round and people come together. It is to some extent like some hidden magic which makes any racing game even more enjoyable. Is there a better feeling than going full throttle around the most difficult circuit, leaving your opponents far behind while the most fitting song carries you across the finish line?
We have collected some of the most iconic soundtracks in racing games. There are of course many more hits, so if your favorite song is missing, make sure to tell us in the comments!
Need For Speed Underground: Lil Jon – Get Low
Nothing made you feel cooler as a child then cruising in Need for Speed while rapping along with Lil Jon to “Get Low”. For the NFS version, the lyrics had to be heavily edited due to profanity. The game featured many more iconic soundtracks in various genres, from artists such as Rob Zombie, Nate Dogg and Lostprophets.
Gran Turismo: The Cardigans – My Favourite Game
What is your favorite game? The Swedish band The Cardigans released an album titled Gran Turismo in 1998. What better choice than to use it for a video game with the same name! Gran Turismo 2 featured their single in the intro of the European and US versions of the game. While the original music video stirred up controversy due to reckless driving and a car crash, you were free to do all that in Sony’s title.
Need for Speed Underground 2: Snoop Dogg ft. The Doors – Riders On The Storm
Sometimes, mixing two polar opposites results in something genius. Snoop Dogg rapping to Jim Morrison’s 1971 hit “Riders on the Storm” might seem like a horrible idea in theory, but actually works perfectly.
Crazy Taxi: The Offspring – All I Want
Driving around like a maniac is simply more fun when blasting loud punk rock music – at least that’s All We Want. Crazy Taxi featured several songs from US-bands The Offspring and Bad Religion. However, if you played the Game Boy Advance or PlayStation Portable editions, the iconic tracks were removed because of licensing issues.
Burnout: Guns N’ Roses – Paradise City
“Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty”. And where you can cruise and crash around to your heart’s content. “Paradise City” was released by the legendary hard rock band Guns N’ Roses in 1987 on their album Appetite for Destruction. As the fictional city in Burnout is called Paradise City as well, it is the ideal musical backing.
Gran Turismo 3: Feeder – Just a Day
The music from Welsh indie rock band Feeder was used in several video games. They were featured in Gran Turismo, Gran Turismo 4, World Rally Championship and Super Trucks Racing, and in Gran Turismo 3, “Just a Day” was even used as theme song. The 2001 music video was ground-breaking yet controversial, as the band edited together tapes from fans singing to the song in their bedroom. Despite receiving mixed reactions, a remake was made in 2020 due to the pandemic to support front-line workers.
FlatOut 1: LAB – Beat the Boys
LAB is a former alternative rock band from Finland who provided the FlatOut hit, “Beat the Boys”. As game developer Bugbear Entertainment is a Finnish studio, they used a band from their fellow country to underline their aggressive racing game. No matter if you were a girl who wanted to beat the boys or not, the soundtrack kept you energized through the wreckfest.
What is your favorite racing game soundtrack? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!