World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria by Brower, Acree, Soule, et al - Review

Perfection in Our Mists
Review by Richard Buxton (@monkeybutlerman)

Having been a gamer for most of my life, it might come as a surprise that I have never taken a single virtual step in the WORLD OF WARCRAFT universe. Despite the seemingly limitless replayability that has been constantly enjoyed by millions throughout the years, the series has simply never appealed to me. It’s not as though I have never been a PC gamer - the likes of Battlefield, Counter-Strike, and countless others have kept me entertained for as long into each generation as my PC’s could manage. Yet, until recently, Warcraft was merely a statistical machine to me - a demonstration of the immense pulling power that gaming possesses. All that changed however, during London’s most recent Video Games Live show in 2008. Having gone in impatiently awaiting the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Halo, and Mass Effect, it came as a great surprise that as I departed through the crowds , all I could think about was when I would be able to hear the mesmerizing World of Warcraft medley for a second time. Fused with the beautiful CGI images, the themes of Warcraft were forever scorched into my musical memory, and the series has since provided several outstanding cues that stand amongst the greatest that gaming has to offer. The series has set such an impressive precedent, and MISTS OF PANDARIA is possibly the most captivating soundtrack to come from the long-running series’ musical library.

The music of the Warcraft series has always perfectly matched the games in terms of scope, providing musical backdrops, that of Wrath of the Lich King for example, that would not seem out of place in such blockbuster franchises as Lord of the Rings. Releases such as Wrath of the Lich King, Fall of the Lich King, and Cataclysm have had a typical dark and brooding quality to them, centering on the daunting task that each new adventurer faces. Mists of Pandaria certainly adds a little comedic flair to the lore, but still maintains that essential air of scale so often attributed to Warcraft. Musically, Mists of Pandaria is instantly noticeable as being a significantly different experience to the previous releases, but continues the Warcraft tradition of thrilling, large-scale orchestral action music - a tradition that those at Blizzard will no doubt be proud of, and rightly so. This comes as no surprise given the musical talent in Blizzard’s armory. RUSSELL BROWER leads an all-star cast of Blizzard stalwarts that make up the latest Warcraft’s musical clan. Wrath of the Lich King, Starcraft II, and Diablo III composers BROWER, NEAL ACREE, GLENN STAFFORD, EDO GUIDOTTI, and DEREK DUKE are joined by SAM CARDON, and JEREMY SOULE (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim). Mists of Pandaria is bursting with talent, and none goes wasted in this magnificent video game score.

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Resistance 3 to feature music by Boris Salchow

INSOMNIAC GAMES' RESISTANCE 3 FEATURES
DRAMATIC MUSIC BY FILM COMPOSER
BORIS SALCHOW

Original Cinematic Score for 1950's Alternate History Sci-Fi
Video Game Recorded at Iconic Abbey Road Studios

Los Angeles, CA - June 29th, 2011 - Following the critical acclaim of his rousing music score for Insomniac Games' Resistance 2, Los Angeles-based film composer Boris Salchow (80 Minutes, Prom Night) returns to craft a darker cinematic soundtrack for RESISTANCE 3 - reflecting the struggle of the remaining group of human survivors against an overwhelming force of alien invaders. To capture an authentic and unique sound for this alternate history sci-fi story set in the 1950's, Salchow and Insomniac recorded the emotionally diverse musical score with orchestra at the historical Abbey Road Studios in London. Developed exclusively for PlayStation 3 by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, RESISTANCE 3 will be released on September 6, 2011.

Set four years after the end of Resistance 2, dishonorably discharged Sentinel Joseph Capelli has given up fighting the Chimeran menace. Now he's in hiding with other survivors, including his wife and young son. When Dr. Fyodor Malikov arrives with the plan to defeat the occupying Chimeran force, Capelli must leave his family and journey the harrowing road from Oklahoma to New York City. Along the way, he'll encounter the remnants of humanity left in the aftermath of the brutal Chimeran invasion.

Paul Mudra, Audio Director, Insomniac Games: "For RESISTANCE 3 we required a composer who would be able to interpret the nuance of mankind's struggle for survival in a brutal world and create an engaging and emotive score. Boris spent many hours at our studio becoming familiar with the story, meeting with several key members of the development team and immersing himself in our process and culture. The soundtrack that Boris composed is compelling and a perfect fit for the game. We consider it to be a key part of the overall RESISTANCE 3 experience."

Marcus Smith, Creative Director, Insomniac Games: "Working with Boris has been a dream. I've never had the pleasure of working with someone so committed to the project as a whole; Not only did he spend lots of time with us at our studio listening and asking questions, but he'd also make great suggestions on story, pacing and character development. The soundtrack he delivered is stunning in its intricacy, delicacy and humanity."

Boris Salchow, Composer: "In RESISTANCE 3 human civilization as such is gone. People flock together in small groups, trying to survive as long as possible. Not even a military organization is left. The soundtrack reflects this - instead of military elements, we find some very intimate sounding compositions where I use piano, woodwinds, a boy soprano and somber string arrangements. For this setting, it was crucial to record the score live since the RESISTANCE 3 score describes the emotions of the survivors. Going to London and recording this music with such incredible A-list musicians at this historical venue was the perfect match for the game, and it was an incredible honor for me personally. I am very thankful that Insomniac made this happen."

RESISTANCE 3 is powered by Insomniac Games' fifth-generation PlayStation 3 technology. Featuring new upgradeable weapons, the return of the weapon wheel, two-player online or split-screen campaign co-op and a progression-based multiplayer experience, RESISTANCE 3 delivers a heroic-yet savage first-person shooter experience for PlayStation 3.
For more information visit www.myresistance.net and www.insomniacgames.com.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (Video Game) by Winifred Phillips - Review

With Notes Sublime
Review by Marius Masalar

Though she may not be a common household name just yet, WINIFRED PHILLIPS is no stranger to critical acclaim. And this year, she’s finally walking away from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards with a win. In 2008 and 2009 she was a finalist for Best Original Score in a Video Game, and now she’s just taken home Best Song in a Video Game for one of the tunes in her score for LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE. Based, of course, on the film, the game earned mediocre reviews from critics (as one unfortunately comes to expect from these quick tie-in titles), though the score at least has managed to attract more attention after a generous 53 minute release on iTunes.

Following PHILLIPS “Into the Darkness” (1), we learn that the score follows only lightly in the footsteps of David Hirschfelder’s score for the film, tending more toward a percussive, punchier orchestral writing that’s common to the modern media music landscape. No catchy theme is introduced in this first track, but a strong sound palette is established. “With Hearts Sublime” (2) is the award-winning track of the album, and it is certainly a very attractive piece of music with swirling harp arpeggios and soft strings beneath the haunting vocals. It reminds of the music of Enya and some of the songs from the Lord of the Rings, though it tends a bit more toward the generic.

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Order of War (Game Soundtrack) by Jeremy Soule - Review

New Order. Old World.

Review by Christopher Coleman

ORDER OF WAR is a real-time strategy game set in the latter stages of the European theatre of World War II. Some gamers say that the World War II foundation has been over mined as a game premise and environment and while I might tend to agree, I certainly remain open to something new and fresh that a developer can bring to the genre. In the case of developer's, Wargaming.net, and publisher's, Square Enix, ORDER OF WAR might just be that "something fresh.". No ORDER OF WAR is not another FPS (first person shooter) set somewhere in Europe, but a real-time strategy (RTS) game that takes a step beyond even in terms of that sub-genre. Interestingly, in ORDER OF WAR, the player is allowed to participate in the final thrusts of the European theatre on both fronts; controlling the Allied Advance or Germany's defense against the Russian counter-offensive in the East. Here we get much more than a few squads or divisions to control, but entire armies! ORDER OF WAR also allows the player to control just how these epic battles are viewed; allowing the game to become much more "cinematic" in experience than any other WWII strategy game. Given the scope and breadth of this game, the developers made an epic choice in bringing on veteran game score composer, JEREMY SOULE.

Composer JEREMY SOULE is no stranger to scoring video game titles requiring both dramatic depth and fast-faced action music; his best known works to date being from game franchises such as GUILD WARS, ELDER SCROLLS, WARHAMMER and HARRY POTTER. Soule has clearly proven his hand at capturing the sci-fi/fantasy sub-genre, but what about the more realistic realm of World War II? ORDER OF WAR is, in fact, not his first foray into these battlefields. With his 2006 work for the well received title, COMPANY OF HEROES, Soule proved that he could equally handle a real time strategy game set in the European theatre. Since it's release, Soule's original score for the game has been praised as highly as the game itself. And it is this score that ORDER OF WAR most closely compares to. While there have been recent attempts at putting a new musical spin on World War II shooters, JEREMY SOULE keeps to the more familiar palette used for this historic subject matter whether it be for a game, television documentary, or feature film. In ORDER OF WAR, we are treated to a powerful entrée of epic, orchestral engagements that occasionally bring to mind some of Hollywood's best-ever composers. No. ORDER OF WAR doesn't necessarily offer anything "new," but it does manage to return to that idealized sound associated with this world war. And somehow, while sticking to conventions, JEREMY SOULE is able to keep his score fresh and avoids becoming a second-rate, knock-off of some of the better known WWII games of recent years.

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Terra Fragga! The Music of Fracture (Video Game)

We present a special in-depth look at the music from the recent LucasArts video game, FRACTURE. The score was composed by MICHAEL GIACCHINO, CHRIS TILTON, and CHAD SEITER and we have a full review of the soundtrack plus 22 SOUND-CLIPS from the score!

We also have a special interview with LucasArts Music Supervisor, JESSE HARLIN. He gives us some insight into the development process and his role as music supervisor.


Check out the Review of FRACTURE here


Check out the Interview with JESSE HARLIN here