Whether it's in 7.1hi-def or glorious chiptune, good sound effects give a game that extra oomph. Both a meaty shotgun blast and a happy goomba-stomping thwomp are sometimes their own rewards. If you've ever made a bloop or an explosion sound in a conversation, you know just what I'm talking about. A good sound sticks in your head long after you've finished the game and maybe even makes you wish our own lives could be as animated. The following are my personal ten favorites, in a very loose order.
#10 - Heavy Weapons Guy's Chaingun - Team Fortress 2
If I had one word to describe this sound, "vicious" would immediately come to mind. It's a monstrous, shrieking cacaphony of death...the kind of sound that makes you proud to be the guy with the chaingun and scared shitless if you're not. It's obvious why the Heavy is prone to bursts of laughter, just firing that weapon is good times.
#9 - Door Opening Sound - Doom
Chances are even if you've never played Doom, you know the sound I'm talking about anyway. It gets re-used in everything from other games to sci-fi movies (Resident Evil, I'm looking at you!), it even pops up in "Grandma's Boy"! Perhaps not a very memorable sample in its own right, it's the sheer number of times I've heard this noise recycled in other projects that drives it up the list.
#8 - Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Magnum (aka that big-ass sniper rifle) - Counter Strike
A big, booming gunshot guaranteed to piss off your neighbors, and in many circles the sound a headshot makes. Whether you're familiar with it or not, you'll instinctively duck for cover (or maybe bunny-hop to safety) when you hear this bass cruncher. It's a gunshot sample so good you'll want to keep shooting just to hear it, but the weapon it signifies practically guarantees you'll only need to pull the trigger once.
#7 - "Shake it Baby!" - Duke Nukem
Ahh, the voice of politically-incorrectness in gaming. It's a shame I only get to choose one "Duke-ism", but for me Duke's calling card has always been the tender way he treats working women., by throwing a fistful of hundred-dollar bills in their face and demanding some boob-age. Hell, nowadays its even worth an achievement!
#6 - Alert - Metal Gear Solid Series
To me this will always be the "oh hai I just ruined your perfect run-through" sound. European players know what I'm talking about, on harder difficulties of the later games just being seen by the enemy meant a Game Over. Though being spotted might not immediately end your game on other versions or difficulties, the Alert noise is like a dinner bell for enemy soldiers, who will always come flooding in from just off-screen to brutalize you for not being sneaky enough. So while it may not end your game by itself, in many ways the Alert sample is the sound of your impending doom.
#5 - Secret Chime - Zelda Series
Whether it's solving a hard puzzle or a reward for randomly pushing everything you can see, when you hear that trademark "DEE DEE DOODLE DOO DEE DEE DEE" fanfare you know you did something right. Here's a tip from me: if you're savvy enough it makes an awesome sound effect for getting a text-message. To the uninitiated it'll sound like any other series of annoying tones, but to any gamers in the immediate area you'll be a puzzle-solving genius.
#4 - Water Warning - Sonic the Hedgehog Series
Maybe notsomuch a single sound effect as a little musical interlude, the sound of drowning in Sonic inspired an entire generation of aquaphobics. A frantic series of chords that escalates in tempo as one draws closer to running out of breath, it's a sound that screams urgency and only serves to break your concentration as you try to launch yourself out of the water or secure a precious air-bubble.
#3 - "FINISH HIM!" - Mortal Kombat Series
The original sound of videogame controversy, and sweet sweet ultraviolence. The first time I ever saw someone perform a Fatality in the arcades my mind was blown, and in a lot of ways I was TERRIFIED. No, seriously it took a lot of courage on my part to even get near that demonic cabinet what spewed forth ominous commands and murdered its players. Nowadays Mortal Kombat and its trappings have secured a spot in our popular culture, anyone who is even remotely familiar with games has heard of it and probably knows the phrase...but back in the day it was FUCKING SCARY!
#2 - Mushroom Power Up - Mario Series
Nothing says "I'm back in the game" like the happy melody you get when Mario beefs up on a mushroom power-up. Transformed from a frail little plumber into a brick-breaking juggernaut of a man through the power of pscilocibin, Mario becomes a force of nature to the tune of a mushroom. If Bowser has nightmares, I bet it's this sound that wakes him screaming in the middle of the night. If someone could market an energy drink that played this sample when consumed I bet they'd make BILLIONS.
#1 - Achivement Unlocked - Xbox360 Dashboard
Admit it, you've been out in the real world doing normal things when faintly in the distance you hear that little chime and for the next ten minutes you can't help but wonder if it was real or maybe you just need to stop staying up so late all the time. Achievements have changed the way we play games, for better or worse, and the accompanying sound effect for most gamers is like a bell to Pavlov's dog. When it comes unexpectantly we often pause what we're doing to see what it is we did right. When striving for a goal, it's the sound of a job well done. While the gamerscore system has its flaws, abuses, and misrepresentations, in the end isn't just a comparison of who got more of those chimes?
OneNerdyGirl
said:
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I must be full of win since the Zelda sound effect is indeed my text message sound  |
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