The first thing I would say is that every style of music can fit the situation if it has the right tempo, lyrics and voice in it, or no voice at all. Most of the time I listen to music from "Two Steps from Hell" for games based in medievil times, or if there are a few techno ones I would use them in games set in the future or modern times. Most games come with fitting music already, such as Blazblue which has music that fits the characters. For example:
Ragna the Bloodedge - A short tempered character, Ragna had his arm cut off by someone at a young age. It was then replaced by something called the Azure Grimoire, a powerful device that allows him to tap into source of magic. However it is soon revealed to house the remains of a monster known as "The Black Beast", which nearly destroyed the world many years ago. He goes on a quest to destroy these things called "Cauldrons" that allow a group called the NOL, which are the central government for the world after The Black Beast was destroyed, to create artificial humans that look alot like his sister, Saya, who went missing after his orphange was burnt down by his youger Brother, Jin. Holding a hatred for Jin killing everyone in the orphanage, Ragna fights with himwhenever they meet.
Now here is his theme song:
The song shows his attitude and determination that he carries to try and beat the NOL.
Lets now take a look at his brother:
Jin Kisaragi - Jin was the brother to Ragna and was always jealous of the attention Saya got, he would always end up picking on her. At some point something made him kill everyone in the orphanage and burn it down, also cutting Ragna's arm off. He does not remember the incident however and cannot recall what happened. Being found by a noble family Jin's last name was changed to Kisaragi after he was adopted by them. He later joined the NOL school to learn how to fight against the NOL's enemies. To others he seemed quite normal, and charming, at times but when anyone mentioned Ragna he would go into a hysterical state and, after becoming a commander, go looking for him. He is overly obssessed with his brother and believes that he should and will be the one to kill him. He is Cold, calculated and composed, when his brother is not around or mentioned.
His theme song is:
It is more composed and slightly slower compared to Ragna's, showing his calm colectiveness.
Now these two songs already show how music can give you the impressions of their character and personality, with Ragna's theme brash and harsh while Jin's is slower and more colder in a sense.
Now if we look at the song when the two fight each other you get a different song:
It is like a combination of the too songs, showing Ragna's Brash and short-temperedness and Jin's Cold calmness. It shows how much the battle means and impacts you that they are brothers fighting each other to the death.
Now this is just about fighting games, what about other types of games? Well lets take an example from Mass effect 2.
Here's the scenario: Commander Shepard has just been brought back from the dead after two years and is hired by a group called Cerberus to find out why, and how, Colonies on other worlds are disappearing. Shepard's flag ship, the Normandy, was destroyed when it was attacked by an unknown enemy. Meeting his pilot and Friend Jeff 'Joker' Moreau he finds out that another ship has been built with the specifications of the old Normandy. Only one thing is missing, a name:
It just shows how musch the Normandy means with just the music, feeling happy that the Normandy is back and looks awesome, and Shepard is back for more action.
Still don't think music makes scenes more impactful? Well here are a few examples from films:
Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi....what more is there to be said? Even if George Lucas went down hill with the more recent films, what he has always delivered on is the music. Every song in every film he has done has always been at such a standard that if you listnened to an entire track of one of his films, which you have nver watched, you could get a sense of what the scene is like. Especially this scene, the part when Darth Vader tries to tempt Luke to the Dark side by trying to persuade him that it is the only way to win, and if he doesn't then he would try and Corrupt Padme. Luke loses it and starts to attack relentlessly, the music keeps in touch with the scene. The morbid hymns and slow low tones make it feel as though Luke is falling further and further down the darkside.
Now the song for this scene in Batan Begins is filled with tension and is done at a fast enough speed that makes it feel as though Batman is hurrying to get to the cure in his hideout to help save the girl who has been poisoned, while being chased by the police. It even slows down when he slips into the darkness to hide from the police.
So, as I hopefully have shown, adding music to scenes make the audience get a feel for the scenes that are unfolding in front of them, a sad song for a sad scene makes it seem more memorable. However, in some cases no music make the film even more realistic, it all depends on the type of movie that is being made. Cloverfield was a good example of a film with out any music, which actually was really good without it.
