Weekly Top 5: Ridiculous Ending Theme Songs in Gaming

Some people are snobs when it comes to videogame music and scores. I'm not one of them, however. In fact, I'm pretty much the exact opposite. In most cases, I don't care if a game has a huge, epic score with with a two-hundred piece orchestra. That's not to say that I don't have my favorite game soundtracks, because I certainly do, and the music they play during the ending credits can change the way you feel about what you've just experienced. Being serious with your music is fine, but I prefer ending themes that are self-aware and poke fun at the game itself. That's why this week's top five are my favorite ridiculous ending themes in gaming.

5. Aliens: Infestation

The part that makes this particular entry so funny is the fact that the game itself actually has a bit of a horror vibe to it. Aliens jump out at you from all sides without warning, and even with the motion detector, it's still a bit unnerving. Then you beat the game, and this song begins. At first it sounds like it's your standard, moody song, completely fit for the tone of the game. Then the lyrics come in, and then you start listening to the lyrics, you start laughing, then the song turns into a power ballad. The best part about the lyrics is that they basically just retell the game's story. Also, I should mention that this game is one of the most underrated games of the past few years, if you have a DS you should give it a shot.

4. Double Dragon Neon

Okay, first things first, you have to actually watch the video before I can comment on it.

Okay, now that you've watched the video, what did you think? Pretty incredible, right? I haven't played Double Dragon Neon, but just based on the humor that it has with this song, I probably should, it seems to be right up my alley. Plus, it was developed by WayForward, who are one of my absolute favorite studios. I always love when an enemy makes himself out to be the victim, and the fact that he does a sing along while falling from a mountaintop makes it all the better. It goes from upbeat, to a love song, back to being upbeat. Then he gets punched right in the gonads.

3. Plants vs. Zombies

If you haven't played Plants vs. Zombies (and no, not the lame free-to-play mobile sequel), first of all, why not? Secondly, go play Plants vs. Zombies. The game already has a great sense of humor, which is what you come to expect from developer PopCap, but then the end credits roll out this gem, which is without question the catchiest song you'll hear today, and it's got a pretty amusing music video to go along with it. It sounds like it could be a chart topper in Europe, because Europe is weird.

2. Portal 2

Even if you don't play videogames, you've certainly heard the tiresome memes that came from Portal. Yeah, the cake is a lie, we get it. It was actually really funny before the internet got a hold of it. The ending theme from the original, "Still Alive," was a great way to end the game, with series antagonist GlaDos singing a song about how she wasn't really dead (in case you didn't catch that from the song title). I'll admit, that song is actually more catchy than this one, but I like the lyrics much better in this instance, as GlaDos is basically admitting defeat and wants you out of her face, while continuing to hurl insults your way. The internet took "Still Alive" and ruined it, luckily that didn't happen with this song, or maybe I was just lucky enough to have avoided it. Anyway, enjoy.

1. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

I've written before about how much I love this game, and I still feel that way. It's the best example of a 'modern retro' game there is. Rather than making a game that looks and plays retro, Ubisoft made a game identical in play to their fantastic Far Cry 3, and then twisted it up a bit and turned it into an homage of 80s action movies. I mean, you carry RoboCop's gun, you have a shotgun called the Galleria (Terminator 2 reference), and you use a flamethrower to burn unhatched blood dragon eggs (Aliens). They weren't shy about what they were going for. The entire soundtrack of this game is great--I actually have it on my iPod and listen to it regularly--and sounds like it's ripped straight from the era it's portraying. After the final sequence (which I'll discuss in a later blog), I didn't know how the game could get worse, and then this song starts playing.

That song could have been in Rocky IV and no one would have batted an eye. It sounds like something The Zack Attack would have made before that blonde hussy came along and Yoko'ed the group. I know this list is for ridiculous songs, and while this song is very ridiculous, it's also one of my favorite songs to ever appear in a game, it fits the game so perfectly.

That's all for this week, thanks for reading...and listening.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TheDustinThomas and check out my podcast, The Error Machine Podcast.

-Dustin