Customer Reviews

Mass Effect 2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In movies, TV, and games there are basically a few types of music. You get incidental music, which is exactly that, tends to be based around a singular focal point. Ambient music, which is oft to repeat. Or, conversely you get a full orchestral score that spins its own story (and you can implicitly understand what's happening from listening to the music alone).

Mass Effect, the original had the first two types, Mass Effect 2 has the latter. If you compare the two works, you'll notice that the pieces are much shorter in the first version, more for ambiance, and prone to repeat. I am assuming the runaway success of ME1 caused them to rethink their musical choices for ME2, and as a result, the accompanying score is much more like what one would get see from a Hollywood motion picture -- fuller music, more complete pieces, and a better workout of the orchestra in a true musical sense.

As of writing this ME2 isn't out yet, so I can't say how the pieces are used w/in the product itself, however judging by the quality of music, Bioware demanded a much greater attention to detail and quality for the sequel. I can't say I'm familiar with Jack Wall, except that he did fine work on the prior release. Jumping from 1-2 minute ambient pieces, to 9 minute pieces such as "Thane" is not an easy task and requires profound talent on the part of the composer. Classical musical composition of an entire score, within context, is not an easy task... Which is why there are only a very small handful of composers employed by Hollywood for their motion pictures, the skill set is very demanding.

If you like "video game music", i.e. shorter clipped pieces (similar to ME1, or the pieces in Dragon Age), this soundtrack will come across quite differently. These really are entirely self contained pieces, with a beginning, and an end, and no intent to fade or loop. This much more closely resembles the score to something much bigger, closer to traditional classical pieces with grand scale.

The album itself is loud, as one would expect from a Sci-Fi, suspense, action score. As a result you aren't going to get the mellow ambient work found in most of the ME1 score (similar to the corridor music on the Normandy from ME1). The dynamic range is very good, goes from quiet to very intense, and it will shift quickly.

The mix of instruments appears mostly string/electronic. Horns are also present, but high string intensity seems to be the norm. There is also significant diversity among each piece. For example, the Soundtrack to Star Trek was of high quality, but tended to carry common musical themes between tracks and thus could wear on the listener. Jack Wall managed to start fresh and each piece has its unique signature (which impressed me and is ridiculously difficult for nearly 2 hours of original music).

Also, there are a few tracks that feature a nod back to ME1, and include a repeated theme from the first game. Namely "The Attack", feels like it came right out of the first game before heading into new and uncharted territory. "Normandy Reborn" also contains a bit of the "Normandy" (or Mass Effect) theme and gives a nod to what came before.

Overall: This is an exceptional bit of music for a video game. I'd consider it equal to (or better) than a lot of output from Hollywood in 2009. However, in that regard, you need to think of it as a significant musical work, and not anything typically heard from a video game.

Frankly, I'm darn curious how much money they spent on ME2 production -- if the music is anything to go by, the budget probably went through the roof compared to the original. They pulled out all the stops on this one.

I agree, this is definatly a must have album! If you liked the first Mass Effect soundtrack you WILL want this one! Jack Wall has presented yet another extraordinary soundtrack for another soon-to-be extraordinary game!

Whether you are a fan of the Mass Effect series or not, this soundtrack is very pleasurable to listen to beginning to end. Just like the game will be, I expect no less. This game will be one of the greatest games of all time if not the best. It is that good; take a listen to the previews and you will know. Simply amazing!

I am almost embarrassed to be singing praises for the music from a video game. Too often it is clear that there was virtually no budget made available for scoring and so all that happens is some minimal synthesizer work is done with a few mixes involving samples from real instruments thrown in.

While the synth is definitely there in the Mass Effect 2 score, it is often deftly mixed with actual orchestral music with strings, drums, and horns and is done to great effect. My least liked track is "Mordin" because it is very heavy on synth and only expands into more than that near the end where I actually come to like it. Of the character-named tracks, I would rate "Samara" and "Grunt" as the best, in that order. There is a commonality to all the character-named tracks in that they play in ever-increasing scale in the same general manner going along with the rolling in of more and more enemy to deal with as you seek to recruit the respective character. While the music works, for the most part, on its own for each this common skeleton for each detracts from them somewhat in aggregate.

Finally, I have to say that there are two tracks in particular on this album that really stir me to the core and I never tire of playing them: "The End Run" and "Suicide Mission", both much the same bit of music but with "The End Run" being a shorter but more forcefully played version of "Suicide Mission". In fact, it was the in-game "The End Run" theme music that is played during a part of the final mission, in the heat of battle, that hooked me and made me look for the soundtrack in the first place (though I am not certain it is the same actual in-game version played while your team advances with the help of biotic shielding from a 4th character - in game I would SWEAR I hear oboe being played but no oboe is to be found in these tracks). I would replay that segment of the game to listen to that bit of music several times and even regret the end of that game segment because it meant the end of the moving music. These two pieces, both in game and out I find to be quite affecting and very moving to me.

I can say without reservation that I would love to hear these last two played in concert. The strings, the pounding kettle drums, the horns, the brass all are fantastic and I can visualize it in my mind's eye. I used to play trumpet in my younger high school days and this music makes me wish I'd never put the horn down and were so placed to play these bits in an orchestra myself - they beat the hell out of "Castles in Spain" and the like that I had to play back then in concerts.

The scoring, particularly with "The End Run" and "Suicide Mission" are very much in league with the best of movie scores. They express scale and power appropriate to the scale of the in-game mission (and would work well for a big budget movie treatment of same) and play well all on their own outside the game.

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.

I preordered the game Mass Effect 2, and when it was released, was among the first to acquire my copy. The first thing I noticed about the game was the story, and the second was the incredible music. I love a great soundtrack, and often paused behind cover during intense battle sequences to let the music sink in. When I completed the game, I told myself, 'there must be a soundtrack release'. When I found this release, it took me about three seconds to make my decision.

The game's music is mainly composed of short loops with bits of music that tie them together as the situation changes around you. This soundtrack release is either a compression of these loops into longer songs, or the original songs that were broken down for use in the game. Either way, the release ended up mainly containing songs that are generally between three and six minutes, with a few shorter ones (such as The Normandy Reborn) and a few longer ones (like the 10 minute epic, Thane). The music itself varies between slow, ambient music to fast-paced, epic battle music. I particularly enjoy the way Jack Wall integrated synthesizers with a full orchestra, producing a unique and thoroughly enjoyable sound. Personally, I believe my favorite tracks are 'Grunt' and 'The Normandy Reborn', the first for its fast but emotional composition, and the second for the incredible feeling of wonder it creates.

Unfortunately, though it is nearly perfect for a videogame score, the release left a couple of things out. The game's opening screen contains music with a long and very evocative intro, which, unfortunately, is not included. There was also a piece of slower, equally evocative music as the game reaches its climax (for those who know the game, it is the second to last area within the final stage) which was overlooked entirely, unlike the intro, which was simply modified.

All in all, though it left a few excellent pieces of music out, this soundtrack offered everything I could have asked for. I fully recommend this for anyone who is a fan of epic, orchestral music.

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**SPOILER WARNING - DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE GAME!**
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Honestly out of all the games and genres of games that I have played. This game has got the best soundtracks to it. Unlike the first game that repeated short soundtracks, this one has full featured songs as stated above; sound like they would be out of a movie.


ME1 Music Notable Highlights -

Music when going to the citadel for the first time.
Music when Commander Shepard ascended to being a SPECTRE.
Music when Sovereign and the Geth fleet appear from the mass relay and attack the citadel.
Music during and after the fight with Saren. Sovereign's ultimate defeat.


ME2 Notable Highlights -

Music during the resurrection of Commander Shepard.
Music during the attack on the Normandy.
Music during the abduction of the Normandy's crew.
Music for the Galaxy map remained mostly the same.
Music for entering the Omega-4 Mass Relay.
Music for the suicide mission
Music during and after the fight with the Human Reaper-larva when the collector station is either purged or destroyed.
Music in final cutscene of Harbinger re-activating the Reaper fleet to return and exterminate life once more.

The perfect ending to part 2! Can't wait until Mass Effect 3 is released!
The composer did a wonderful job on the music; another masterpiece!

Not many times will I buy a soundtrack to a video game. In fact most of the time I just go to youtube and listen to them, but for 27 songs and $11 you can't go wrong! The music to this game was very powerful and a bit better than the 1st OST. Get this album if you really enjoyed the game, you won't be disappointed.

I am a big fan of Mass Effect Franchise and loved the OST for ME1, but this one just does not have that same umph! Im not as eloquent as others but its just not as good as the first, i feel that throwing money at something does not bring definite quality and i think there were great moments and sound pieces that tied with the game much better and stand as musical scores much better then this one.

This OST is missing heart in my book.

This is an amazing soundtrack. I love the music for the original Mass Effect, and this is just as good. Incredible music! Well done, Jack Wall. Again.

This is my favorite soundtrack for any game or movie. Ever. I have plenty of favorite tracks, but "Mordin" stands out currently as one of my top tracks. Incredible drums, building intensity, and I love the melody at 4:38. There are so many things to love about this soundtrack. It is perfect.