Soundtrack Review: Mass Effect 2
By deactivated-629f1f5a477d3 1 Comments
It Will Have A Profound Effect On You
The score for the first Mass Effect was absolutely groundbreaking & enjoyable soundtrack in every sense of the word, and I still often turn to some of the more memorable themes off of there. But that was also its main problem, it was a theme album, consisting of tracks that captured the essence of the music, and not much more. Mass Effect 2 is ground-breaking on a whole other level. It also takes the complete opposite approach in how it's done.
Mass Effect 2 is more about over-arching scores that are hinted with motifs. They're also a lot more drawn out. While the tracks in Mass Effect 1 rarely went over 1:30, all but 2 of the tracks go over that mark, many stretch out over 5 minutes, and a few make it close to 10 minutes.
Perhaps no other track illustrates this more than the updated version of the star map theme of "Uncharted Worlds" from the old game. True to that soundtrack, it was 1:16, and just took the essence of the score and nothing more. Here, the track is updated & expanded upon in "New Worlds." It has the exact same theme as the original, but it's expanded upon giving the track more body, and in the end it clocks in at 2:30. Again, fairly slight changes, but it makes a world of difference when listening to the whole soundtrack.
For me, the biggest problem is rather slight, but the tracks are kind of out of place. Like the first soundtrack, it's kind of nice to get a chronological work. Also, it might have been nice to get the full credits song on here, or at least label the track that is used in the credits as such.
Overall, clocking in at almost 2 hours, Mass Effect 2 is about as good as any movie you'll find today, and its soundtrack is about as good, if not better than several of the soundtracks releasing today. I gained a lot of respect for Jack Wall after the first game gave me so many great themes, but I've gained a whole other level of appreciation for him after hearing him expand & play with the motifs now essential to the series. I doubt it will hold the same spot on my MP3 player as the original still does, but it's still a valiant effort by Wall & the rest of the composers. Another achievement for video game scores everywhere, if you're a fan of soundtracks, or just a fan of the game, I highly recommend you check this out.
5/5 Stars