Mass Effect Soundtrack Review [Xbox 360]

Game: Mass Effect
Consoles: Xbox 360, Windows
Release Date: November 20th, 2007
Genre: Action RPG, Space Opera
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: BioWare
Composer: Jack Wall, Sam Hulick, Richard Jacques, David Kates

BioWare's space opera Mass Effect, which will ultimately be the first game in a trilogy, takes place in the year 2183 A.D., in a time where humanity struggling to make a name for itself in the galactic scene; they recently discovered technology left behind by an ancient alien civilization, and using it, they managed to leave the solar system and establish colonies all over the galaxy. Now, they are regarded as some sort of intergalactic bully by the other alien races who have been doing this for a long time. Gamers take control over Commander Shephard, an officer in the Alliance Military who, on a seemingly routine mission to a colony called Eden Prime, comes into contact with a mysterious piece of alien technology that gives him some sort of vision. He is sent after Saren, a rouge agent who is attempting to use the technology for the detriment of humanity, while trying to piece together exactly what he saw.

The game itself is an RPG on a massive scale. There is a great amount of gaming to do here, and a full completion will take hours upon hours. To accompany it, composers Jack Wall (Myst, Splinter Cell), Sam Hulick (Maximo vs. Army of Zin) Richard Jacques (Jet Set Radio, Headhunter) and David Kates (Battlestar Galactica, Man of the Year) worked to create a soundtrack of thirty-seven pieces that would fit it's science fiction style. My estimation: while some of the tracks are great achievements, this soundtrack is really what I would call "hit or miss." There are some great pieces, and some poor ones too.

The two primary composers are Sam Hulick (twenty are credited to him) and Jack Wall (twenty-five are credited). All four of them composed both electronic and orchestral music. Richard Jacques composed roughly thirty minutes of music, mostly for cinematics that are featured in the game, and David Keats composed two pieces, both orchestral in nature, that are both prominently featured near the end.

As I've said, there are many highlights of this album. "The Citadel," a piece that plays during a cutscene where Shephard's ship approaches the massive structure of the same name, is orchestrated beautifully and utilizes some terrific key changes and the Presidium leitmotif. The piece overall has a very cinematic feel to it, and perfectly suits the scene it is set to (to see it as it's shown in the game, see this video). The opening title theme by Jack Wall, called "Vigil" on the soundtrack, is very slow and quite simple in it's melody and accompaniments, but it also seems to embody the entire game within it's five or six notes; he composed no more or no less than what was necessary. The driving electronic pulses of "Noveria" and "The Normandy" help to create the mood of anticipation and stress that would have undoubtedly been felt by the characters at that particular point. "Uncharted Worlds," which plays whenever Shepherd is viewing the map of the galaxy, encorporates an almost minimilistic feel with the various synth parts going on underneath the melody and static tonal center. The piece "Love Theme," which plays during Shephard's romantic encounters, has a strange feeling of intensity and omninousness about it that I very much enjoyed. "Battle at Eden Prime," though also very simple, has a catchy rhythmic synth riff, accompanied by fitting electronic percussion and various ambietic sounds that compliment it nicely.

However, there are many times in the soundtrack where the musical goal was very high, and the end result was missed. The game calls for an excellent piece of music to be played, since either the event the music accompanies is a very crucial one, or the location that the piece serves as background music to is a common location and the gamer will hear the piece many times. Several times, unfortunately, the music that is provided either gets really old or annoying very quickly, is derivative to the point of being completely unoriginal, or simply offers nothing new or exciting to the musical table.

A particularly sad example of this is "The Presidium." The player spends a great deal of time there, either because they wish to complete the side quests or they cannot find their way around because of the sometimes incomprehensible level design, so it would seem like the composers would have crafted one of their bests for this one. But listening to it, not only do I feel like the orchestration is overly ambitious (there's too much going on for what's happening in the game), the melody and its repeated half-step intervals and it's decision to keep looping a sample of not very much music, gets tiresome quickly. "Spectre Introduction," though it has a few interesting moments within it, seemed to distract from the dialogue because of it's insistent drama, and an educated lister could have predicted the percussion and overall feel from a mile away. "From the Wreckage," which plays near the end, has a relatively nice beginning but is unfortunately about as cliché and predictible as it gets, and also becomes distracting. One would expect "The Mass Effect Theme" to feature a memorable tune and encompass the feel of the game, but unfortunately provides neither. After playing the game for upwards of twenty hours, I still did not remember any sort of recurring main theme. When the player dies, "Saren's Theme" plays, which not only sounds like something out of a 1980s computer game and creates the distinct impression of suddenly being out of date, but is a completely unexciting as a death fanfare. One song in particular that didn't make it onto the soundtrack CD, which plays on Therum as you are battling your way to the base, repeats what feels like roughly thirty seconds of dramatic music over and over again to the point where I almost muted the TV.

The soundtrack overall is a good effort, and definitely suits the mood of the game. As an underscore, it creates a good ambience. But as something to listen to, it's hardly memorable, and doesn't stand out musically from anything else.

Melodies: Unfortunately, the only really memorable melody from the game was one that I remembered unfavorably. Couldn't even remember the main theme. 4.0
Atmosphere: Does exactly what it's supposed to in creating a great ambience and science fiction feel. 8.5
Orchestration: Whenever an orchestra is featured, the orchestrations are done well, although many times the pieces themselves are cheesy and predictible. 7.5
Variety: Ultimately, not that much. We have electronic music with heavy uses of synths, and then we'll have an orchestral piece or two. But that's not necessarily a bad thing here, since it still fits the game. 7.0

Rating: 6.75

Sincerely,
Patrick Dunnevant

Lost Odyssey Soundtrack Review [Xbox 360]

Game: Lost Odyssey
Consoles: Xbox 360
Release Date: February 12th, 2008
Genre: Turn-based Japanese RPG
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: Mistwalker, feelplus
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu


Lost Odyssey is a role-playing game developed by the Japan-based Mistwalker Studios that features the mercenary Kaim Argonar, a thousand-year-old immortal who has lost his memory. He, and another immortal named Seth Balmore, is essentially the only person to survive a horrendous battle between the regions of Numara and Uhra, and because of this, he is sent on an important mission to investigate a possible malfunction in a magic energy generator. What follows is a fairly typical RPG storyline: big bad guy who wants the world as his own, and he and other immortals must team up and fight...But he has to get his memory back first. Lost Odyssey incorporates a traditional turn-based battle system with a few tweaks, graphics utilizing the Unreal engine, and incredibly well-written "dream sequences" in which Kaim recalls a memory "locked deep within his heart."

The musical score is provided by the famed composer of the Final Fantasy series, Nobuo Uematsu. Uematsu-san parted ways with Square-Enix in 2004 to found his own company, Smile Please, with which he has composed the score for several games, both with Square-Enix and with other developers. Perhaps this soundtrack will further work to make a name for him as a composer outside of the Final Fantasy name.

The soundtrack for Lost Odyssey is truly a melting pot of musical styles, which is further testament to Uematsu-san's ability as a diverse composer. The world map theme, "Never Ending Journey," is an excellent example of this. The map itself in Odyssey is not like your typical RPG: you merely select a point on the map and it takes you there automatically, eliminating the need to run around in an overworld and encounter random battles. The piece itself is very reminiscent of Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (which was actually composed by Kumi Tanoika, not Uematsu-san), utilizing what sounds like acoustic guitars, lutes, and Irish flutes over top of a steady djembe percussion. However, as the piece goes on, it literally becomes straight-up Dragonforce. Electric guitars, full of distortion and volume, come as if out of nowhere and turn the piece into epic power metal. Listen to it here. Everything from something resembling progressive metal ("Battle Conditions") to orchestral anthems ("Prologue") are available.

One thing I enjoy about this soundtrack is that the music itself is uncompressed in the game. Everything you hear while playing is most likely a lossless audio file, which is most likely one of the reasons that the game takes up four Xbox 360 disks. That, and the generous amount of cutscenes and CG. Another plus in this soundtrack is that the pieces themselves are usually lengthy. In some locations, especially in the Crimson Forest, I would be disappointed by having to enter into a random battle because the music had just gotten really good, and I didn't want to have to wait until that point again.

Perhaps where some of the most beautiful moments of the soundtrack occur is during the dream sequences. During the game, an event will trigger Kaim remembering something, and it will give you the option of experiencing that dream. What follows is a story that you actually read on the screen, accompanied by various paintings behind the words, sounds, and of course, beautiful music. Each of these stories were written by an apparently famous Japanese author named Kiyoshi Shigematsu, and they're some of the most beautiful pieces of storytelling I've ever encountered in a video game. Each one is usually accompanied by orchestral pieces that heavily feature piano.

Of course, this soundtrack has it's flaws. Some of the pieces repeat motifs to the point that it gets rather annoying; Gangara's Plot is a good example of this. Overall, the piece fails to be ominous and evil, and instead becomes a tiresome drone. The Capital of Numara contains a melodic line that is very similar to "Jai guru deva" section from The Beatles' "Across the Universe." This is most likely intentional, given that Uematsu-san has stated the band as one of his influences. This use of the theme wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't repeated over and over in the chorus over a stereotypical I - vi - IV progression that most people could see coming from a mile away. Thus, it took me out of the location and into being a snobbish music critic while playing the game. The piece itself doesn't really fit the location anyway. It's much more relaxing of a town than this piece is.

What would an RPG be without battle themes? Lost Odyssey features several of them, as is typical: one for random battles, other individual boss battle themes, and another for other important battles. As far as battle themes go, Odyssey is a triumph, especially in the latter (except the goofy trumpet explosion at the end). The fact that they are performed by a real orchestra captivates the suspense of the moment more so than a MIDI theme would, and the orchestrations themselves are mature and fit the pieces well. In fact, I could even go so far as to say that the "other important battles" theme is perhaps one of the best battle themes I've heard in a very long time.

Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack for Lost Odyssey achieves what the game calls for: an epic soundtrack to fulfill a thirty to forty-hour epic of a game. Merging old instruments with the new, it bridges the gap across Kaim Argonar's life of a thousand years into one seamless score. It's certainly not his finest, but it's definitely a great achievement.

Melodies: Some very catchy, but others are not very memorable. Some examples of "head nods" that can get rather obnoxious. 7.0
Atmosphere: Very well done on Uematsu-san's part, especially in the dream sequences. The music creates an excellent mood in most pieces. 9.0
Orchestration: Mature and accomplished. The uncompressed audio files add to this. 9.0
Variety: Plenty of styles to go around. The orchestras are used well, but he also pulls the strings of the ideas of the Black Mages to great effect. 9.5

Rating: 8.6

Sincerely,
Patrick Dunnevant

Respect Deserved

I feel, as many others undoubtedly do, that music featured in video games, be it incidental or primary, goes largely unappreciated.

This is not to say that no one enjoys video game music. I certainly do. Some gamers out there would consider themselves video game music enthusiasts. This is instead to say that to the average gamer, the function of music in a video game is purely background noise; the average gamer may be familiar with a few famous themes, most likely able to hum a few lines of it on command, but wouldn't recognize the name of the person that composed it; the average gamer would find it silly for someone to be playing video game music on the piano as serious, standalone pieces.

Think about this. Suppose you were sitting and watching a piano recital. Suppose that, in this recital, talented musicians played beautiful works of classical music, as far back as Bach and as recent as Copland. Suppose that someone then played the theme from Final Fantasy VII by Nobuo Uematsu. Usually, there would be several reactions in the room.

• The gamers would immediately recognize the theme. Many of them would probably find it a bit out of place. "It's video game music."
• Other gamers would recognize it, probably think it felt out of place, but enjoy the experience and appreciate it as serious art. Perhaps they would marvel at the beautiful arrangement.
  
• The non gamers wouldn't recognize the theme. After further inspection, perhaps reading the program notes, they would think to themselves, "Seriously? Video game music?"
• Other non gamers wouldn't recognize the theme, but would appreciate the music as serious art.
  

Many of you reading this will probably recognize this as true. If someone were to get up in a piano recital and play the Super Mario Overworld Theme, it would probably generate laughs, grins, and glances from person to person in the audience. But why? Why do we not get the same reaction when one plays the antiquated and overworked Fur Elise? This piece, arguably Beethoven's most popular work, has been given a death sentence, not only because anyone who's ever played the piano knows how to play some variation of it, but because it's status has been reduced to being a standard annoying cell phone ring tone. It's not viewed as high art by most of the mainstream public anymore, but yet, the reaction is different. And in addition, both of these pieces were written with the intention of being important works of art.

Many non gamers still have the impression that game music hasn't advanced farther than this. That familiar, eight bit theme that repeats over and over. Even if they are aware that the technology has greatly improved for musical creation, they still are not aware of how much the talent and musical prowess has improved, that now, sweeping orchestral fanfares accompany the action on screen that could be easily mistaken as music one might hear in a symphony hall. Why is this the impression that I have experienced?

My guess is that video games still are not considered as a genuine art form by many. This is the opinion of such critics as Roger Ebert, who said the following:

"[I] consider video games inherently inferior to film and literature. There is a structural reason for that: Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control."

"I believe the nature of the medium prevents it from moving beyond craftsmanship to the stature of art. To my knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers. That a game can aspire to artistic importance as a visual experience, I accept. But for most gamers, video games represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic."

To further illustrate the point that undoubtedly many people have, ask any parent what their kids are doing at any given time. It's essentially guaranteed that they will have a different facial structure and emotional reaction when saying, "They're reading," or "They're watching a movie," then when they say "They're playing video games." Reading is a healthy activity that infuses knowledge. Watching a movie is great because they do it too. Video games, on the other hand, are something that people do when they're bored and have nothing better to do...I wish they would go play outside or something.

These people, including Roger Ebert, are typically ignorant of the very basic ideas of how video games work. For example, Ebert stated that player choice somehow discounts authorial control. Ebert, then, has never experienced games like Metal Gear Solid or Final Fantasy, or virtually any game with anything resembling an in depth story line. In the example of these two games, the players will find themselves watching cinematic sequences and reading or listening to dialogue just as often as they find themselves actually controlling the character, and the "choices" they make do not ultimately change the outcome of the game to an extent that it removes the rest of the storyline, as he seems to imply. Being entertained by a story is the very nature of role-playing games, and that is what Hideo Kojima prides himself in creating his stealth action saga.

I am not a gamer that believes that my time spent gaming is a "loss of precious hours." What I do and play is valuable to me. Playing video games as a child has shaped my imagination and, of all things, my musical ability. My first inclination to be a composer game from listening to the soundtracks of video games and imagining being the one who wrote the soundtrack to the next Zelda game.

The music in movies is today considered to be valuable music. At the most important award shows celebrating films, such as the Academy Awards or the Golden Globes, awards are given out in recognition of outstanding musical scores. The average Oscar watcher, in fact, may even have an opinion on some of the movies present. "Oh, Atonement had really good music, I hope that one wins." Most movie viewers will notice how integral the score of a film is to it's plot development and emotional impact; suspenseful and horror films are an excellent example of this. Symphony orchestras around the world commonly play music from films, even put on entire concert series's based around them.

Why then are video games put in a different category altogether? Why are there no major award shows on networks like NBC or Fox that celebrate video games, despite the video game industry bringing in just as much revenue as the movie industry? Compared to it's counterpart, it's rather rare to find game music played by symphony orchestras, and when it is, it's primarily in Japan; an exception is the Video Games Live tour. I think it all comes back to the question of worth and artistic value. Most people, especially non-gamers, don't view games as truly important, but rather a hobby that's mostly part of childhood, and even that is wrong: the average American gamer is thirty-three years old.

Of course, times will change. In fact, times are already changing. Video games are on the road to eventually being accepted as important works of art rather than simply things people do when they're bored. For example, the Eminence Symphony Orchestra was created for the purpose of playing video game music last year. And with that new respect, just as in the movie industry, will come a wide respect for video game music. No longer will the idea that video game music is merely drone and mechanical noises be so inexplicably widespread. Composers like Martin O'Donnell will be given honors just like Hans Zimmer. People will go to concerts by the ESO even if they aren't gamers. Video game soundtracks will be available on iTunes far more readily than they are now. But until that day comes, video game music will continue to go on largely unappreciated, a comedy of sorts, the lowest of art.

"For over ten years or so game music has developed into a very large market. However in countries outside of Japan I think game music is still a potential growth market that has not yet developed to the extent that we are seeing in Japan." - Nobuo Uematsu
Patrick Dunnevant

Welcome!

This blog will serve several purposes:

1. Reviewing and commenting on music in the video games that I play.
2. Posting some of my own compositions for your enjoyment, some of which I will compose in place of the music that actually is in video games.
3. Talking about music.

Hope you enjoy it.

Patrick Dunnevant