Fav game soundtrack that is licensed songs?

This is the actually correct answer. Gran Turismo 2 and 3 are honoroable mentions.

It's definitely Brutal Legend and Saints Row 3/4 for me. It's one thing for a game to just get really awesome licensed music like Hotline Miami or the early Tony Hawk games, but the way those games actually use their licensed songs like a score, playing certain songs at key points in stories, really puts them over the top in my eyes. Things like when the intro to Children of the Grave would keep pumping till you grabbed your Axe or the Boss and Pierce singing What I've Got really locked those games as being awesome for me.

I think people have gone right with Hotline Miami, Saint's Row 3 and 4, and Brutal Legend. They have some great collections of music and are some of my favourites out there. If we're allowed to pick rhythm games though I'd have to go with Rock Band 2 or at least one of the Rock Bands. A huge degree of care went into making sure that those games had a large soundtrack which ranged significantly in genre, time period, tone, and difficulty to play, and that every one of their selections was of a really high quality. Their dedication to that goal showed.

Does Fallout count, since a lot of those song are public domain or some such royalty free licensing.

Grand Theft Auto and Fallout

I always really liked the Wipeout soundtracks.

Also, SSX Tricky, I remember fondly.

ATV Offroad Fury 2 has some dope jams.

I couldn't think of any until I saw this. Vice City is still the only game where I just drove around listening to the radio for hours on end. I loved the advertisements, the music, and the talk shows... Man I wanna get back into that game again.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 had that sort of awesome mashup of punk, 90's rap, ska, and alternative rock that just flowed so well with that game.

Actually, come to think of it, that entire series was really good with music.

Thanks Saints Row 3 for turning me on to King Khan & The Shrines

Brutal Legend, easily. It's the only one I can think of where, aside from a couple songs, it's all metal, and mostly pretty good.

No way I could just pick one, so a few choices:

GTA V. Not because the election i particularly great (it isn't), but because it still cracks me up that I can do absurd GTA shit while listening to All Saints or Eddie Murphy. The humor makes up for the quality. Still saddens me looking at the deleted songs, though... there was some trip hop in there, which would have been awesome.

Saints Row 3. Because of course. "Arma-Goddamn-Motherfucking-Geddon" and "Sports" especially.

Fallout 3. Way too small a rotation for a game I spent hundreds of hours in, but it gained me a huge appreciation for every song in it. Know who's still an awesome group? The Ink Spots, that's who.

San Andreas. Oh MAN, I love the San Andreas soundtrack. The rock and rap stations... man. So good.

Tony Hawk 1 and 2. 90s-gasmic.

Aaaand hugely unpopular choice: Crazy Taxi. I fucking love The Offspring. Don't judge me!

@shagge: Hah, oh man I totally forgot Crazy Taxi. I never got into the game much but I recall the soundtrack fitting.

Pretty much GTA III - V. Though I have liked the soundtracks less since San Andreas, I listened to The Journey, Vladivostok FM and Electro-Choc constantly in IV (until I got a rig that could handle the PC version with custom soundtracks + radio bits, games need to do that more), and there are still a good chunk of songs I enjoyed in V.

Fallout 3 and New Vegas made me love those songs when I never would have thought about listening to them.

Saints Row 2 had some alright songs, but I remember really liking 3 and (though slightly less) 4.

Obvious choice for the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games, as those fit really well.

Edit: Oh god, I forgot Battlefield: Vietnam. The vehicle radio thing was incredible at the time and I spent so much time playing that game.

I think Vice City takes it for me on both quantity and quality. Saint's Row however must be applauded for using it's music to better effect.

I love that Hotline Miami though and am still as enthusiastic about the Wip3out soundtrack as I was when I was young (that disc spent as much time in my Hi-Fi as it did in my PlayStation).

for me it's either Burnout Paradise or Need for Speed Underground 1.

As overplayed as Fortunate Son is in a 'Nam setting, that was pretty great to blast out of your chopper. Some other great songs there as well.

Yep. I also found myself listening to "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks constantly while in a jet.

Hotline Miami if that counts.

brutal legend

I dunno if it was universally 'great' but Sleeping Dogs had a ninja tune radio station ffs.

There are a lot of games where I enjoyed the licensed part of the soundtrack. Some of them you guys have already mentioned like: Alan Wake, GTA Vice City, Saint's Row 3 (the one moment when "Holding out for a hero" starts blasting is one my favourite musical moments in video games), THPS 1 and 2, Burnout Paradise or the different NFS games, Brutal Legend. I'd also specifically mention SSX 3 which surprised me a lot with how much I enjoyed all the different genres, while at the time I would almost strictly listen to rock\metal.

You usually cannot go wrong with anything Rockstar puts out in this regard.

Saints Row IV by a hair over Saints Row III for me, only because of all the stuff they put in with Zinyak taking over the radio at points was actually pretty funny.

Cop out answer: Rock Band 2.

Close second: Def Jam Rapstar.

Slightly more thought put into it:

Brutal Legend

GTA Vice City

Saints Row 3 & 4

Tony Hawk 1/2/3

Yep, first time for me was the Testament song. Game won me over instantly... and then lost me over the next 2-3 hours as I actually started playing. Oh well.

Does DOOM/DOOM 2 count? I mean, they weren't exactly licensed but the music was, for a lack of a better term, inspired?

Other than that: Hotline Miami, SSX, GTA IV, Blur, NFS: MW are a few games that immediately come to mind.

Saints Row 3 and 4 don't necessarily have the best soundtracks, but I've never seen a game use their licensed songs so effectively.

The first ten minutes of Saints 4 had me in hysterics. I knew I was in for a good time once this happened:

1. GTA Vice CIty

2. Stubbs the Zombie

3. Lollipop Chainsaw