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.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Trailer, RETURN, offers new music

In a day inundated by game reveal after game reveal (thanks E3), I make here my only post of the day in that regard.  The new STAR WARS:  THE OLD REPUBLIC trailer, "RETURN,"  made its debut today and it's another goodie - despite the model change on Satele (the female Jedi Master).  Why anyone would change a character model based on the magnificently, enchanting, Kelly Hu is totally beyond me.

Anyway, RETURN is full of allusions to the Original Trilogy (Ever notice that they hardly make allusions to the Prequel Triology?).  It also has another well choreographed fight scene that continues to make me wonder..."Where were these guys when it came to the Prequel's fight scenes?...or even The Clone Wars?"  This is another epic Jedi Vs. Sith duel...which ups the ante regarding the dual-sabre in a way that literally made me say, "Oh no he did not!"

Beside all of that, I believe the introductory music is "new"...as in from the hands of Mark Griskey and company.  Of course the music itself is familiar John Williams thematic stuff (The Force theme), but a new adaptation.  Soon thereafter it moves into more familiar territory...music taken from, that's right, the Original Trilogy.  To be fair, there's a fair amount of Prequel music that comes in once the fight gets going.

This trailer has even more significance if you have seen the previous two or have read the book "Deception."  If you haven't, I highly recommend you do!

For now...enjoy and let's hope the actual game is playable sooner rather than later.

Get more official Star Wars:  The Old Republic info here

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?

SoundCast Interview with Author Sean Williams

Interview:  Sean Williams
Recorded August 6, 2010
Published August 12, 2010

SEAN WILLIAMS, author of the novelization of STAR WARS THE FORCE UNLEASHED, the recently released, STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC – FATAL ALLIANCE, shares about his recent works, his passion for film music and what he listens to when writing. He also shares about some of his all-time favorite soundtracks, why the year, 1981, is such an important year and how he faced the difficult choice between writing and composing music.

Episode Highlights

00:26 - Introduction
02:30 - Living and Working in Adelaide, Australia
03:49 - Writing in the Star Wars universe
14:00 - What do you listen to while writing?
14:00 - Inception reception
16:37 - Your favorite Film Scores
22:30 - Choosing between Writing and Composing
26:49 - 1981:  The Pinnacle of Sci-fi and Music
31:32 - Thoughts on Film and Game Music Today


Music Clips (Select music clips contained in this podcast)

00:00 - "The Sarlacc Unleashed" (The Force Unleashed) Mark Griskey
10:22 - "March" (Knights of the Old Republic) by Mark Griskey
15:14 - "The Passage of Time" (Battlestar Galactica) by Bear McCreary
17:00 - "Main Theme" (Alien) by Jerry Goldsmith
20:51 - "The Grace of Undomniel" (LOTR: Return of the King) by Howard Shore
30:00 - "Main Titles " (Blade Runner) by Vangelist
39:24 - "Main Theme" (The Force Unleashed) Jesse Harlin

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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

New Star Wars: The Old Republic Trailer is Bard Arse!

Now THIS is what it's all about! Straight up...bard arse! No countless droids or clonetroopers that no one cares about...but Jedi Versus Sith and lots of em. This is exactly what my 7 year old brain imagined when Obi Wan first uttered "The Clone Wars" in Star Wars: A New Hope. (Of course, I didn't know what a 'clone' was at that age, but I knew it had to have been some great war with the Jedi).

Thirty plus years later, I'm still looking for that itch to be scratched...and, by Jove, I think they are getting close...if this trailer is any indication. This just gets my long-dormant, Star Wars juices moving again. I'm not sure how the game will turn out, but I know I'll be into the cutscenes for sure! I'm looking to LucasArts and Bioware to fan my flames of Star Wars fandom...because they are all but dead. (They might be a little stronger, if I could have passed that bloody Star Destroyer level in The Force Unleashed...but I only have one life to live.)

Oh yes...the music in the trailer appears to be all pre-existing John Williams material. As much as I love Williams' music, I have high hopes for some fresh music for this game.

So what do you think of this trailer?

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Galactic Timeline 1 incl. music by John Williams

LucasArts and Bioware just posted a new, quasi-animated short. This appears to be the first of a series of timeline-shorts giving us the all-important "history" and backstory for the upcoming MMORPG, STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC.

I have to admit I love these simple little stories. I'm not the biggest fan of the particular art style they are going with for this game, site and shorts, but I've scene a lot worse. I am also a sucker for Jedi/Sith "history." It holds far more potential than any "clone-story" ever could.

Admittedly, my first time through this video...I hardly watched at all. Instead, I was listening. No. Not to the narration, but to the music, of course. I have been doing my best to find out who is doing the music for this game, but I have yet to get any answers whatsoever. I was hoping this video might give me a clue.

Sadly, as it turns out...it's all recycled music from JOHN WILLIAMS' prequel efforts. It works well enough for the little animated short, but certainly didn't excite me. This might, in the end, prove to be what they do for the game (recycle Williams' score) which would be a cryin' shame. While Jesse Harlin has proven himself a capable musical editor on previous Star Wars games, the fact is, there are composers out there who would do a great job of holding to the musical tradition of Star Wars, while bringing in something fresh...and I don't mean of The Clone Wars variety either.

So check it out. It's an interesting few minutes of Star Wars history. I think this Galactic Timeline series could hold my attention for a while...if only they'd inject some fresh music into the experience. Tell us what you think of the video, the game, and the music.

Watch THE TREATY OF CORUSCANT here

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...