I am strangely fascinated by game music.  I think it’s a very underrated music genre.  People think of game music as the Mario theme or Zelda theme, but some game music over the last 10-15 years have been orchestral masterworks.  I find many things that are peaceful to listen to in the background while working or just relaxing at home.

It’s sometimes difficult to track down official soundtracks, and they are usually not cheap.  You can find some music for free (and legit) online if you pay attention though.  For instance, you can still download the main theme from the new Tomb Raider Underworld game from Academy Award Winning composer Troels Folmann’s website.  Have a listen:

You can also still get the Bioshock orchestral score from 2kGames website, as I first mentioned back in 2007.  The (soon-to-be-remade ) The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay soundtrack is available at GameSpot (might require a free login).

If you’ve never thought about listening to game music outside of the actual game, give some of this free music a try.  You might find that you have a passion for game music that extends beyond the controller.