Call of Duty is undoubtedly one of the biggest video game franchises right now. 2019’s Modern Warfare has earned $1 billion in revenue. Not to mention the game’s massive following thanks to its Warzone gamemode tying Modern Warfare and 2020’s Black Ops Cold War into one explosively addictive package. Simply put, it shows no signs of slowing down.

However, it wasn’t always like this. Those that stuck through the game’s humble beginnings knew the franchise wasn’t about doomsday scenarios and 100-man battle royale arenas. …

The way video games tell stories can be found in fascinating ways. Often times it’s through clearly visible means such as the gameplay and story. Other times it can be subversive in nature that can be easily missed by untrained eyes, or in this case, ears.

These original soundtracks tell those stories, even when the games they are featured in aren’t exactly story-driven games. Through these beats and sounds, us gamers can deduce the kind of tone these games are going for and the themes they championed.

As for my case, these soundtracks resonate with me during my experience in their games. They might not sound transcendent or revolutionary, but when I listen to them, I feel. These feelings push me forward in playing these games, or in some cases, pull me back into them when I went on a hiatus. …

And remember people, there’s an O in the OST acronym. So none of those licensed-songs-cleverly-used-in-an-epic-video-game-moment here.

Such as shame at that, since I have some picks regarding that category. My all-time favorite Saints Row franchise has some of those: Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” in Saints Row: The Third and Stan Bush’ “The Touch” in Saints Row 4 come to mind.

But, that’s another story for another day, I guess.

As you might have noticed in my other stories, I fancy me some heart-pumping and adrenaline-injecting kind of game soundtracks. Tracks that are fast-paced and quick on the beat. Songs that got me pumping, so to speak. At the same time, I don’t discount slower, more ambient themes that take things slow. …

I am an action cinema buff. I’d like to make that clear from the get-go.

And as a result of being an avid fan of the genre, I get to watch all kinds of action movies which eventually led to me developing an action cinema taste of my own. Through repeated exposure towards silver screen violence, I have discovered that I prefer well-choreographed grounded action sequences over fiery screen-filling explosion set-pieces. From that explanation alone, it’s easy to deduce that I would have favored John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) over Transformers: The Last Knight (also 2017). …

If you are a meme connoisseur like I am, then chances are you have run into the drifting Eurobeat memes that has been circulating around the internet.

Main characteristics are as follows: a clip of something drifting accompanied by a genre of catchy fast-paced disco music called Eurobeat. ‘Something’ here can refer to virtually anything in any given scenario: trash bins during a torrential rainstorm, high school kids on a slippery floor, a cyclist on a busy metropolitan road, or even a commercial jumbo jet on a wet tarmac. …

So, the next Doom game won’t be having Mick Gordon as the lead composer.

Thanks to a dispute between Doom developers id Software and Gordon, it would appear that the heavy-metal composer won’t be returning for id Software’s subsequent Doom entries. The separation has already taken effect, since id Executive Producer Marty Stratton stated in an open letter that Gordon is unlikely to return for Doom Eternal DLCs.

Naturally, id now has to look for talented composers elsewhere.

Here’s the thing: plenty of fish in the pond, but few actually worth catching. Not only that the next Doom composer be a talented music producer, they will need to have that bizarre sense of musical creativity in order to uphold Doom’s incredible musical legacy set by Gordon and Bobby Prince. …

In every form of entertainment medium, one is bound to encounter musical maestros capable of leaving a lasting impression through their works. Simply put, skillful musical composers.

For instance, the average movie enthusiast might like Hans Zimmer. He is known for his works in The Lion King, Gladiator, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and the Dark Knight trilogy. If you’ve recently watched a big blockbuster flick, chances are it was musically composed by Hans Zimmer.

Meanwhile, video game enthusiasts such as myself might recommend Mick Gordon, the composer of Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal. His work on the two latest Doom games are simply legendary and his beefy, hard-hitting musical brilliance can also be heard in his other video game works such as Killer Instinct seasons 1 & 2. …

Since it’s inception in 2019, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne has been nothing but a slew of quality monster-slaying content. From the barbaric raging beast Rajang to the blazing black dragon Alatreon, there is much to discover on Iceborne’s endgame. Even for someone that has already clocked more than 900 hours in like myself, there is always a reason to come back to Iceborne thanks to its consistently rewarding post-launch free updates.

Now that I’ve basically gotten past the Darwinism-invoking Alatreon after killing it over and over, I believe it’s time for me to move on and look towards the next step in Iceborne’s game cycle. …