Customer Reviews

Borderlands: Original Soundtrack

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The actual game music to this game is excellent and 100 percent effective in the game.

Apart from the game as a listening experience, and I say this with all due respect to all of the composers involved, Jesper Kyd's tracks stand head and shoulders above the rest quite easily IMO at least. You can listen to the MP3's of the tracks here I think or certainly at Sumthing Else's own site for the album.

I'd say if you really wanted a Best Of Borderlands soundtrack for yourself and wanted to save a few bucks, then buy the Jesper Kyd tracks MP3 and if you wanted you could get the two songs right here on Amazon:

[...]

It's that easy! :)


It's too bad some people were in such a rush to express their disappointment about these two songs not being on the album that they put up rather unfairly harsh "reviews" that just aren't fair or accurate IMO.

Sure, it would have been nice to have the two songs on the album for completion sake but it really isn't the end of the world and it's easily rectified. If you're into actual game music then chances are you know who Jesper Kyd is at least and that right there should tell you that you've got some incentive to make a purchase here of some sort. You know right away that this isn't a 2/5 star product with his name on it.

The reason I didn't give this 5 stars and gave it 4 is because the non Jesper tracks are not nearly as standout as impressive to listen to apart from the game IMO and for the exclusion of the two songs.

Past this, there's only one other "downside" to getting this soundtrack:

If you're a fan of the game you've probably put in a lot of hours which means you know this music all too well. Way too well. It's an easy hazard of overexposure and repetition. ;)

It'll be a long time after I finish with the game before I can fire this album up. That's just the way I am. ;)

I tell you which track I'd really like to have: The music from the General Knoxx DLC that plays in the Crimson Armory. That is a gorgeous track with a real orchestra and even choral work. It almost has a little bit of Elfman and Zimmer going for it. It might be the outright best music track in the entire game and I'd salute whichever composer did that track and I'd love to have it. If anyone can track that down let me know. Thanks!

I see alot of people complaining that they didn't include No Rest For The Wicked on here but I never expected it to be included. Usually game soundtracks don't provide any of the real music included in the game... Typically just the music specifically created for the game. With that being said, the album is pretty flawless in my mind. Several artists contribute and the music is very techno/rock. This game had some really memorable bits and this soundtrack includes them all. The last few tracks, which are considered a bonus, are some of the best music in my opinion.

I really can't add much to the thorough review by Media Man, I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment.

Being an audio junkie, I judge such things for both the musical qualities and the audio qualities. This OST is excellent in both respects. Very nicely mastered, it provides plenty of audio quality to enjoy with a decent audio system. The skillful use of real and synthetic instruments and samples stands in glaring contrast to most of the junk passed off as a "soundtrack" for games. I seldom buy game soundtracks, I usually just extract the audio from the game files, but this is one of the few I've heard recently that I wanted to have the production mastered versions, and to send some well-deserved shekels to the publisher and artists involved.

I'm not sure if I could choose which of the composers' work I prefer, since I enjoy pretty much every song in the collection. I often play other games with this soundtrack as the backing music - I just never seem to tire of it.

There is a caveat, but one that should not catch you out if you've done your homework: there are songs used in the game that are not original compositions done for the game, and due to licensing, are not in this collection. They can be had on recordings / mp3 downloads of the respective artists. No big deal.

I will again direct you to Media Man's excellent, detailed review for more information.

I've been playing the PC version of this game and its expansions/DLC for over a year and I still can't help but remember the fantastic score that goes along with it. Unlike many gamers I thoroughly enjoy the scores put together for video games. In fact, probably 60-70% of the music on my iPod is from video games. Many people will know the composers of this score from their score work on numerous other games (Assassin's Creed, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, God of War, Myst, Clive Barker's Jericho etc.). The fact the developers were able to enlist the help of so many well-known video game composers is extremely impressive. Here are my thoughts and track ratings on this brilliantly composed, varied and unique sounding video game score;


1. Prelude - Jesper Kyd 8/10 (Atmospheric intro)
2. Welcome To Fyrestone - Jesper Kyd 8/10 (Futuristic and old West sounding)
3. Enter Skag Gully - Raison Varner 10/10 (Dark and Ambient soundscapes)
4. Fighting Off The Skags - Raison Varner 7/10 (Fits the combat of the game but not a fan of the vocal samples while listening)
5. Removing The Bandit Threat - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (Dark and moody fast paced combat track)
6. Traversing The Deep - Raison Varner 10/10 (Dark and eerie atmospheric track, brilliant!)
7. Fighting Sledge's Minions - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (More fast paced combat music)
8. Welcome to The Bunker - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 10/10 (Another dark and eerie track)
9. Smoking Out The Bunker - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (Fast paced action)
10. Burning Rubber and Shooting Bullets - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (Yet more fast paced and pulsing action music)
11. The Junkyard Vista - Jesper Kyd 7/10 (More futuristic old West sounds)
12. Welcome to The Trash Coast - Raison Varner 10/10 (More dark and eerie atmospheric sounds)
13. The Rakkhive Emerges - Raison Varner 8/10 (Electronic action track)
14. Assaulting Krom's Canyon - Raison Varner 10/10 (Excellent tension filled track)
15. Battling Krom's Minions - Raison Varner 9/10 (Superb electronic combat music)
16. Fighting Krom and His Gun - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 10/10 (Outstanding combat music)
17. Trash The Bandits - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (Action music continues)
18. Trash The Bandits Some More - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (Action music continues)
19. Welcome To The Wastelands - Jesper Kyd 10/10 (Atmospheric and foreboding)
20. Traveling To The Vault - Raison Varner 8/10 (Somber and melancholic, very God of War sounding)
21. Destroying the Destroyer - Raison Varner 9/10 (Electronic action music)
22. Bring Your Guns - Jesper Kyd 7/10 (Drum heavy action, not a fan of the didgeridoo or vocal samples)
23. Borderlands - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 8/10 (Another God of War sounding track)
24. The Old New Haven - Tim Larkin 5/10 (Get rid of that horn! This isn't Bladerunner.)
25. Exploring the Mine - Tim Larkin 8/10 (Very similar to Larkin's work on Myst)
26. Exploring Overlook - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 10/10 (Atmospheric ambience)
27. The Threat At Overlook - Sascha Dikiciyan/Cris Velasco 9/10 (Electronic combat music)


Borderlands is an incredible composition completely befitting of the game. Very heavy on the percussion it lends itself well to the fast paced combat and alien world of the game. Believe it or not I actually listen to this A LOT at work when I'm longing to just go home and play the game. My only complaints were on a few of the tracks which I listed above. Despite that, Borderlands was a wonderfully impressive and varied video game score that once again demonstrates that games too deserve to have impressive orchestral compositions. It instantly became a game soundtrack that's earned a permanent place on my iPod.

For anyone who loves Borderlands and the ambient, almost western feel of the musical score from this game, this soundtrack is for you!

If you find yourself humming the rhythms of Borderlands, its a solid purchase. The themes really remind me of the vast wasteland that is the game's setting. You can really tell which tracks were written by Jesper Kyd, as well.

There are 2 songs that all Borderlands players want to have, No Rest For The Wicked, and No Heaven. Those seem to be the only 2 songs from the game that were left off the soundtrack. The 27 songs that are on this soundtrack are just the background soundscapes from the game. Very disappointing.

Edited to add: I should have mentioned in my original review, that the rest of the soundtrack is not good. It's not a CD that most people would listen to because the soundscapes in it create a very depressing mood to emphasize the setting of the game. The songs are good for use in the game, but not for casual listening.

What I really wanted most was "No rest for the wicked", but it wasn't on this
album (only instrumental songs here). Turns out you have to buy the additional
album Cage The Elephant to get it.