I've always believe that the impact a good soundtrack can have on a game is on par with that of visual design and sound effects, and I've been a fan listening to movie and game soundtracks for quite some time. I don't know if I'll have enough time to do any more GOTY awards so I wished to do one on soundtracks first because they really mean something to me. Before I begin, I'd like to point out that some games simply don't stand a chance of getting an award from me. Some great looking games like To the Moon, Bastion, and Saints Row the Third, sadly, I didn't get to play yet. :( Obviously other games like Battlefield 3 most likely won't be getting an award simply because I don't find them deserving, but that's a differents story. Also, games that are new to a system this year but came out a different year like Cryis and Mass Effect 2 on the PS3, I've decided not to count, if anything, just to stop Mass Effect 2 from stealing anymore awards from me. But out of the games I've played this year, these are the four I've found to have the most powerful, catchy, or just well done OSTs.

4. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

Suprisingly, this may be the only category Uncharted 3 should be nominated for in my opinion. It's a good game, don't get me wrong, but just good in my opinion. But when it comes to soundtracks, Naughty Dog did a pretty good job this time around for the most part. Some parts of the soundtrack like the beginning of Badlandsand The Empty Quarter really reminds me of action adventure films like Indiana Jones, which brings up the discussion of whether Uncharted 3 is a tribute to Steven Spielberg series or just a shameless rip off. Anyways, it does a great job at amplifying the excitement and deserves a mention.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Just like talking about the rest of Skyrim, it's hard to figure out were to begin with its soundtrack. In a game were you may go from a climatic and epic battle to the death with a dragon one minute, and be chopping wood at a mill or talking with the citizens of a countryside hamlet the next, the soundtrack needs to be appropriate for a variety of tones and situations. And thankfully, it delivers on all fronts. Obviously there's the now very well known, and very well done, main theme of the game that certainly fits the description of epic, Skyrim is also packed full of more mellow and relaxing tones like this one.

2. Crysis 2

I must say that out of all the soundtracks this year, Crysis 2's took me by suprise the most. The Crysis games are great shooters, but they've never exactly been know for their soul or personality.But the soundtrack was the first thing I noticed going into the game. It's outstanding. The problem with writing about soundtracks is that it's hard to describe them. You just need to listen. As much as I like it, I know extremely little about music, and know even less when it comes to describing it, which means that this blog will probably seem rather unproffesional and uninteresting to some of you "upper ****" bloggers. So just listen to this, this, and this.Oh, and my favorite of the bunch, which happens to bethis.

1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

It's hard to explain without actually playing the game, but somehow the soundtrack just captures the theme and mood of the game perfectly. It's deep, evocative, cool, and just downright amazing. Like I said, it's hard to explain. When playing Human Revolution, you really feelthe atmosphere. Even with all the game's technical drawbacks, the soundtrack, combined with the equally impressive art design really suck you into the game and convey the mood incredibly well. Here's a couple of songs here, here, here, and here.