For me, nothing quite spices up gameplay like a little mood music. I'm not talking symphonic soundtracks, but something with vocals, lyrics, and a beat that compliments the game I am playing. Take a game like The Way of the Warrior for the 3DO. An unambitious Mortal Kombat clone made playable solely because they used an entire White Zombie album as BGM. This year was great for game songs, and here's a list of my top five favorites to prove it.

5. Guitar Hero II

Starting things off with a given. It's hard to find someone who doesn't have a favorite song on GHII. Feel free to substitute your own song for Girlfriend here. This one holds special high school backseat memories.

4. Elite Beat Agents

Elite Beat Agent easily takes the prize for best use of a Village People song in a video game, though I am still confused as to why they didn't use "In The Navy" instead for this pirate-themed stage.

3. Grandia III

Months after beating the game I still find myself loading up Grandia III to catch the opening cinema. Japanese songbird Miz completely nails the spirit of the game with her song, "In The Sky," and the whomever was in charge of cutting together the sequence was bloody brilliant. Gives me chills. Happy chills!

2. Kingdom Hearts 2

Utada Hikaru's music is as much a part of the Kingdom Hearts franchise as Sora, Donald, and Cloud. It wouldn't be a console KH game without her. I've listened to some of her other music and haven't been impressed, but combine her song "Sanctuary" with anthropomorphic animals and spiky-haired heroes and you've got my attention. Incidentally Kingdom Hearts II also contains 2006's worst gaming music moment. "Swim this way / We'll dance and we'll play, now / It's very easy, come on in / Just take a chance and shake a fin!" Uhg.

1. Prey - Don't Fear the Reaper

You'll have to wait for the whole video to load in order to catch the moment I am referring to, but it's worth it. Of all the songs I've heard in games this year, nothing sticks with me quite like "Don't Fear the Reaper" playing on the jukebox as Tommy's world is torn apart. Haunting, and unbelievably cool. It's a pity the rest of the game didn't live up to the promise of that moment, aside from the battle in the reconstructed bar a bit later on, but for those moments alone it's worth a play through. That's the power of a well placed song.

So that's my list of the best gaming songs of 2006, complete with visual aids to help you along. Completely arbitrary of course, so feel free to add your own to the list. Share your favorites with us! I'll be sure to check them out if I manage to survive this weekend's festivities. Until then, Happy New Year! Michael Fahey

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