Star Wars: The Old Republic (Soundtrack) by Mark Griskey - Review

New Music for The Old Republic

Review by Thomas Midena

BioWare’s mammoth online game enlists a massive team of composers to create an authentic Star Wars soundtrack. But can they produce quality entertainment to rival John Williams? Lennie Moore, Jesse Harlin, Gordy Haab, Wilbert Roget II, Steve Kirk, Jared Emerson Johnson and Peter McConnell unite with MARK GRISKEY (composer of the previous game in the series, Knights of the Old Republic II) to conquer this task.

The game, which was released in December 2011, is a Massively Multiplayer Online game created by BioWare - a studio renowned for their Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Said to have cost $200 million to develop, Star Wars: The Old Republic is certainly one of the largest video games ever created. Players can create and customize their own character then jump right into this massive Star Wars universe with thousands of other online gamers.

A soundtrack disc containing 17 tracks was released with the Collector’s Edition of STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC, and another 30 pieces were released online for free download. This totals a whopping 47 tracks of original music from MARK GRISKEY and his team. And as an avid follower of the game since its announcement in 2008 and a dedicated player since its launch in 2011, I’ve listened to every beat of the soundtrack to delusion. Here are my thoughts.

READ THE FULL REVIEW

Jedi Knight Character Progression Trailer Features Original Music

LucasArts has released another teasing bit of goodness for the upcoming STAR WAR: THE OLD REPUBLIC. This time we get to look at the character progression of the Jedi roles. From a noob-jedi wielding, essentially, a pole, to some full-on, Jedi mastery, this short video gives us a tiny clue as to what your game journey could be like.

But nevermind that for now. Throughout the whole video you get treated to original score written for this colossal game by composer Mark Griskey et al.

Sounding so very "Star Wars" to be sure! What do you think of what you are hearing thus far?

Behind the Score: The Force Unleashed 2

Exclusive Streaming Soundtrack from The Force Unleashed 2!

It's been two years since the world was introduced to Darth Vader's young apprentice. From serving the Dark Lord of the Sith to helping to birth the Rebellion, the young apprentice, Starkiller, finds that he is unusually strong in the Force, but which side will he ultiimately choose and what is he willing to sacrifice?   In 2010, Starkiller is back (in many many ways)  and he hasn't quite finished unleashing the force on unsuspecting members of the new Empire.  Returning right alongside the identity-challlenged apprentice, General Kota, Juno Eclipse and Darth Vader, to continue musically-bridging the Prequel and Original trilogies in THE FORCE UNLEASHED 2 is composer MARK GRISKEY. 

Join with us as we go with them all BEHIND THE SCORE OF THE FORCE UNLEASHED 2. In this edition:

- 10 streaming tracks from the original score!
- SoundCast Interview with composer Mark Griskey

- Game soundtrack review by Christopher Coleman

- SoundCast Interview with author Sean Williams

- BONUS Coverage:  The Force Unleashed review, 2008 Interview with Mark Griskey

Check the full feature here

SoundCast Interview: Mark Griskey (The Force Unleashed 2)

Interview: Mark Griskey

Recorded October 4, 2010
Published November 8, 2010

Composer Mark Griskey talks about returning to score THE FORCE UNLEASHED, how the music for the franchise has evolved since the first game, and what it was like working on this project at the same time as STAR WAR: THE OLD REPUBLIC.

Episode Highlights

00:44 - Introduction
02:59 - What was it like coming back to this franchise?
06:09 - The time-crunch challenge
08:15 - Twitter Question #1 - What familiar music themes do you employ?
12:08 - How do you handle fan expectations for Star Wars music?
15:51 - Twitter Question #2 - How do you tell the story through your music?
18:55 - How did you feel at the completion of The Force Unleashed 2 compared to the first?
24:05 - Working on TFU and Star Wars: The Old Republic at the same time.
16:08 - Twitter Question #3 - Adapting to Game scoring
17:17 - Biggest creative challenge?
18:10 - Dealing with franchise pressures
19:09 - Looking forward to more game projects?


Music Clips (Select music clips contained in this podcast)

00:00 - "Main Title and the Test Chamber" (The Force Unleashed 2) by Mark Griskey
07:40 - "Escape from Kamino"  (The Force Unleashed 2) by Mark Griskey
08:38 - "Discovering Dagobah and the Cave" (The Force Unleashed 2) by Mark Griskey
14:30 - "Assault on Kamino" (The Force Unleashed 2) by Mark Griskey
23:11 - "The Hanging City" (The Force Unleashed 2) by Mark Griskey
29:42 - "The Reunion of Juno and Starkiller" (The Force Unleashed 2) by Mark Griskey

Download the episode here

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Music of the Old Republic! Star Wars: The Old Republic Web Doc

Finally!  A big look into the music for the upcoming LucasArts title, STAR WARS:  THE OLD REPUBLIC. The hotly anticipated MMORPG, being developed by Bioware, is due sometime in 2011.

The music has been composed by MARK GRISKEY, JESSE HARLIN, WILBERT ROGET II, GORDY HAAB, and LENNIE MOORE.  The music represented in this doc is fantastic, true to the ORIGINAL  Star Wars spirit!  If you weren't excited for this game and it's music yet...this doc ought to do it.

Now, Lucasarts, "You will release the original score."  (waves hand) "....oh and The Force Unleashed II, too." (quickly waves hand again.)

Go here to be notified by Amazon, when pre-ordering of The Old Republic is available

Star Wars: The Old Republic Composers Revealed!

Remember that incredible trailer for STAR WARS:  THE OLD REPUBLIC?  Of course you do.  It's what the Prequel Trilogy should have been.  Remember Mark Griskey (and Jesse Harlin's) great score to THE FORCE UNLEASHED?  Of course you do.  It was what the Prequel trilogy scores COULD have been.  So who did LucasArts lock down to provide the musical score for their upcoming MMORPG?

According to an interview with DARTH HATER ( a great blog covering Star Wars:  The Old Republic), Music Supervisor, JESSE HARLIN reveals that, in addition to himself, the composers hired to provide the massive amount of music for the game are: MARK GRISKEY, GORDY HAAB, LENNIE MOORE, WILBERT ROGET, II, and PETER McCONNELL..  Below is an excerpt from Darth Haters' extensive interview with the LucasArt's audio team.


Here's a bit from the extensive interview:

DH: The original score by John Williams became an integral part of Star Wars culture. How did the audio team approach creating new pieces with such iconic shoes to fill?

JH: We’ve assembled a team of composers for The Old Republic who are all well-versed in the language of John Williams. Mark Griskey, whose previous Star Wars work includes both KOTOR II and The Force Unleashed, is returning as our lead composer on the project. Joining him are composers Lennie Moore, Gordy Haab, and Wilbert Roget, II. Lennie comes to us with a diverse background in games, TV, and film. Gordy recently worked with us on Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings and Wilbert wrote new music for the recent DLC levels for The Force Unleashed. In addition, we’ve also hired composer Peter McConnell (Grim Fandango, Brütal Legend) to compose 90 minutes of original cantina music for us. We’re deep in the heart of writing material for the game right now and things are sounding fantastic.

DH: When will we find out about a Star Wars: The Old Republic Official Soundtrack and how can I preorder it?

JH: All of the details are still to be determined but we’ll have more info on that soon!

Good news, eh?  Be sure to check out Darth Hater's extensive interview with the LucasArts audio department.


Check out the full interview here

Who Should Score Star Wars: Episode VII?

A couple of weekends ago, I got the strangest feeling...one I hadn't felt since...

Anyway, that feeling was to marathon the prequels and so I did. Episodes I - III. ( I fell asleep during Episode III, but don't worry, I know what happens.)

When I got to ATTACK OF THE CLONES, I started really paying attention to the score. Oh the pain! I had forgotten what a butcher-job they had to JOHN WILLIAMS' music. The music editing is nothing short of a crime and I'd still really like to hear what Williams came up with for the final battle on Geonosis. The amount of re-used music in ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH is just shame. Even though Williams doesn't write the way he used to, "George, you still have JOHN WILLIAMS for crying out loud. Utilize him!"

Well, after that, I started to think about the future of STAR WARS...for adults, that is. (Clearly THE CLONE WARS is meant for kids and I have been able to stomach only one episode thus far. The idiotic droid army and their ridiculous one-liners just irritates me too much to watch.) Although there is a live-action, television show coming as well, the real future lay in another feature film or films. Why not film THE FORCE UNLEASHED (and it's sequels?). Why not jump back to the future and do an Episode VII? Now there's a thought. If they did, let me ask you to ponder two questions:

First, who you like to see take the directorial reigns? Peter Jackson? Steven Spielberg? J.J. Abrams? Zack Snyder? Jon Favreau? M. Night Shyamalan? Darren Aronofsky? Brad Bird? James Cameron? Who?

Second, who would be the best choice to score such a picture? There is no shortage of composers who could do it. Here are some names that I think should be considered. First, some of the more well-known: MICHAEL GIACCHINO, DON DAVIS, might do a nice job of it. And here are some others that could probably be true to tradition but yet add something fresh: MARK GRISKEY, JAMIE CHRISTOPHERSON, or CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ.

I asked this question on TWITTER not too long ago and addition to the composers I've already listed, a few other suggested composers were: JOEL MCNEELY, BRIAN TYLER, and WILLIAM ROSS.

So what say you? Who directs? Who composes?

It's ok to dream.

Star Wars: The Old Republic coming from LucasArts and Bioware

Well, just as we complete our feature on LucasArts' most recent release, FRACTURE, they and Bioware make a big announcement regarding their next "biggie." As many have speculated about for months, LucasArts and Bioware are returning to the STAR WARS universe, but in MMO style.

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC is under development. The official announcement was made today amidst much hoopla. This sequel (of sorts) to the KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC (KOTOR) franchise, is set some 300 after the events of THE SITH LORDS. Claims are that, while some tasks can be completed as a single player, others will take cooperative efforts to complete. So perhaps both the KOTOR faithful (which were RPGs) and the massively multiplayer online (MMO) crowd will be happy with the game.

The official site offers some concept artwork, backstory details, discussion forum, and the like, but it is early days yet. No official announcements have been made regarding the game's music. Well, we can always speculate...

I think we can rule out KEVIN KINER, as THE CLONE WARS appears to be his era. JEREMY SOULE did a nice job with the first KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC and of course we have gotten more familiar with the good work of MARK GRISKEY since KOTOR 2: THE SITH LORDS via his recent work for THE FORCE UNLEASHED...or perhaps resident composer and music supervisor, JESSE HARLIN will pen this one. We have quite some time to think about the possiblities as no release date for the game has been mentioned yet.

Who do you think would be the best choice to score STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC?


You can check out the official site here


Stay tuned...

You've Heard It - Now Rate The Force Unleashed!

Hundreds of you have checked out THE FORCE UNLEASHED tracks in the last 24 hours. Now that you've heard Mark Griskey's score, let's hear what you think of it. We've made it super-simple, just rate the score in our latest visitors poll below (or go here). If you haven't heard this score yet? What are you waiting for? Check it out now.

Listen to 11 Tracks from THE FORCE UNLEASHED!

Tracksounds and LucasArts Ent. are proud to bring you all 11 tracks from THE FORCE UNLEASHED promo, featuring the epic score by MARK GRISKEY! In the game, Mark Griskey's score is combined with classic John Williams pieces from the feature films. The end result is a musical score in the true, classic, tradition of STAR WARS.

While everyone is downloading the demo for the Xbox and Playstation, you can go and get yourself a good helping of Griskey's work for the game.

Special thanks to Jesse Harlin (Music Supervisor) at LucasArts for making this happen!

Listen to THE FORCE UNLEASHED HERE!

High Score: Version 2.0 Launched - The New Era of Video Game Music

New reviews, interviews, and streaming music!

August 2, 2008

I am starting off this update to HIGH SCORE talking about one of the video game world's most important locations - LucasArts Entertainment, which recently relocated from Marin county, California to San Francisco's Presidio (virtually the only spot in California not engulfed in the smoke of uncountable Summer fires). This incredible campus is also home to the effects company, INDUSTRIAL LIGHT AND MAGIC and a portion of LUCASFILM LIMITED. I start here because, if you haven't started talking about their next game release, THE FORCE UNLEASHED, you will. For some of you, this groundbreaking game's score will also be a popular topic.

Back in July, my gracious host for an afternoon's lunch and tour of just a small segment of "Lucas-Land" was Vice president of Sales for LucasArts, Mary Bihr. Props and costumes from the Lucas empire adorn the foyer (the only place photos are allowed) and within the halls and offices are gobs of original conceptual art pieces and models from countless ILM projects. Echoing off of the paintings, models, and sculptures was positive buzz over the recent worldwide launch of the new Indiana Jones Lego video game. Having just spent the day previous at "The Ranch," where the other half of LucasFilm remains located, as well as SKYWALKER SOUND, and seeing original props from the Indiana Jones franchise like "the fedora," "the whip," and newly added "Crystal Skull," I have to admit that I felt a little Indiana Jones buzz myself.

There, at Skywalker Sound, I met up with composer MARK GRISKEY where he recorded his score for THE FORCE UNLEASHED. Visiting the incredible scoring stage, it was bewildering to think that THE FORCE UNLEASHED was the first LucasArts video game to have its score recorded there! In the mixing room, I met Dann Thompson, audio engineer who mixed Mark Griskey's THE KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC: THE SITH LORDS score. While still in the mixing suite, I briefly met the Director of Recording and Scoring, Leslie Ann Jones, who worked on THE FORCE UNLEASHED with Griskey.

"LucasLand" is indeed "Disneyland" for the film and game geek in all of us. (Ok...in me, then.) A large portion of this update to HIGH SCORE revolves around the release of THE FORCE UNLEASHED. You'll find a full review of the promo soundtrack as well as an exclusive interview with MARK GRISKEY. In addition you'll find full reviews of KEVIN RIEPL's HUXLEY and WINIFRED PHILLIP's SPEED RACER: THE VIDEO GAME. Finally, we've added two new SCOREFRONT profiles: COLIN O'MALLEY and DUANE DECKER, both of whom have a number of significant video game projects under their belts. And don't miss the new music above from titles such as: PRINCE CASPIAN (Mark Griskey), SUPERMAN RETURNS (Colin O'Malley), HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC V (Paul Anthony Romero).

"Upgrade" yourself to High Score (Ver. 2.0) here!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - New Trailer (No New Music)

If you haven't seen it yet, the new, full trailer for STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS is available online...and in all its high-def glory. Unfortunately, we don't get a peek at what composer Kevin Kiner is going to be providing score-wise. As you might guess, we get all the main Star Wars trailer staples: Tales of a Jedi Knight and Duel of the Fates.

Some thoughts about the trailer, the movie and the score. First, how weird is it to see the Warner Brothers logo precede the LucasFilm logo? Pretty weird, indeed. Second, I am wondering just how much "in-between-plot" is going to be able to hold our interest and not eventually conflict with the canon established in the films on some level. Third, while I'm keen to hear what composer Kevin Kiner will provide as a score...I still can't help but think that Mark Griskey would have done a spectacular job. I'll reserve judgement until August 15 or so.

Check the full trailer here

Prince Caspian Game to Bonus Footage and Score Info

In case you needed more PRINCE CASPIAN coverage today...Variety reports that the upcoming official game tie in for THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN will feature a couple of new scenes shot specifically for the game...a la ENTER THE MATRIX. It's a wonder more game tie-ins have not jumped into this.

Not sure how this game will fair in the end, BUT of note is composer MARK GRISKEY's score. Griskey has been quite busy this year with this project, IRON MAN (GAME), THE INCREDIBLE HULK (GAME) and STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED. Is that a nomination for Breakout Composer of the Year...or Outstanding Composer I hear being made?

Check out the official video game site where you can hear some of Mark Griskey's score.