Customer Reviews

Mass Effect Original Game Soundtrack

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As fas as video games go, rarely are they every truly epic, Mass Effect is one of those rarities. Simply put, it is a work horse of size and story, the soundtrack, shows the same traits. Orchestral and digital, an amazing coordination of styles and emotion interweave to deliver one of the most emphatic and enthralling audible ingestions you could have bouncing in your brain matter. Not to be missed.

I think that people looking at this soundtrack will take little convincing to buy it. Like me, they probably thought that Mass Effect was absolutely brilliant and, at some stage, realised how much they liked the original music as well. Game soundtracks can be a bit weird - often not sounding as well on their own as when you actually played the game. Fortunately, the Mass Effect OST is mixed and sequenced well enough that it retains the qualities of its in-game counterpart.

However, it isn't without fault - when I went through it the first time (and a few other reviewers have already pointed this out), I was a bit shocked to realise that a few music pieces are missing altogether. These are mostly the minimal, ambient pieces you hear in different parts of the game, as well as some of the generic music you would hear when you were visiting the game's many unchartered planets. This is unfortunate, because I actually liked some of these pieces of music more than the main quest and primary mission themes.

Furthermore - and, again, others have pointed this out - the tracks mostly feature only one 'loop' of each stage in the compositions. So, all those intense little musical moments that would occur throughout a major combat setpiece (as in track 14: 'Protecting the Colony') seem very short here. Another example is track 3, 'Eden Prime' - a fantastic ambient composition that, at 1m 34s, is far too brief, and hardly does justice to the quality of the music.

I am making the Mass Effect OST sound really disappointing when, truthfully, it is far from. However, it seems as though a second disc would have allowed the producer to put all of the game's music on here and, on top of that, extend the compositions a little so it functions more as a stand-alone album, rather than a 'best of' compilation. All that aside, it is one of the best game soundtracks in years, and it is always great to see game music commercially available.

In short, buy it if you are a fan of Mass Effect, and loved its music. I'm a bit hesitant about recommending it to anyone else, however.

While the music to Mass Effect was great, this soundtrack suffers from three main flaws:

1) A few tracks are replaced by alternate versions, such as Wards & Presidium
2) Many memorable pieces from the game aren't included
3) Tracks are too short, playing only a single time through

That said, there are several hauntingly beautiful gems on this soundtrack, like Vigil, Uncharted Worlds, and Liara's World. However, this soundtrack could've been much better as a multi-CD release. If they wanted to do alternate versions, they should've released the originals too.

Mass Effect is a beautiful game.

So it could be assumed that the soundtrack of the game is beautiful as well. And beautiful it is. The soundtrack is nothing more than what you'd expect: the music--ambient or otherwise--from the game.

But, being an avid soundtrack purchaser, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this as compared with the soundtracks from the three Halo games, because each track is only as long as a single run through that track would be in game. This means that you'll burn through the soundtrack in about an hour, maybe less.

Regardless, it's still a piece I'd recommend to fans of the game, and goes great in the background as you read the book, as well.

I really loved this game and I honestly love the music from it. My problem with this disc is that the music does not flow at all. You're presented with a long list of music cuts that just seem to come out of nowhere. Looking at each track I really enjoy them...but as a whole they just dont fit together. I cant just sit down and listen to the disc start to finish. I find myself dropping tracks into a collection of other things. My whole issue with the disc is how it's put together, not what it contains.

Well I haven't bought a videogame soundtrack in years but after playing through Mass Effect I had to pick this one up. Nothing different here than what you get in the game but you do get all 37 tracks used in game, and they obviously sound alot clearer and richer when they aren't being masked by laser and biotic effects :P

A great CD if you like the game soundtrack, or even if you haven't played the game also recommended for fans of moog style 80s synth sci-fi soundtracks (think Escape from New York, Assault on Precinct 13 etc.)

Mass Effect has a amazing soundtrack. Its a mixture of ochestra elements with electronica and rock to create a futuristic setting in sound. The problem here is that this soundtrack appears to be missing several sequences from the game, and the content that is included, is cut short. 75 percent of these tracks are under 2 minutes and you don't get the same experience that you did while playing the game. I think its pretty obvious that this soundtrack would have benefitted from being a 2xCD set. I'm not sure if it was BioWare's call or Sumthing Else... But someone got cheap with the release and its easy to tell. I really think this would have been twice as good had the tracks looped at least once and panned out more... Just as you start to get into a track - poof its over. The music included here is amazing, but its much too short. Recommended for fans still though.

Mass Effect is flat-out one of the best games of the past five years. And one of the things that makes it so great is the soundtrack, which is a real score, instead of some cardboard effort, or some stock music. Nope, this is full studio work, and actual thought went into it. No, the the soundtrack isn't there for background, it's part of the living breathing game. They build off each other. The soundtrack helps complete the mood and atmosphere, instead of hindering it.

It's a tribute to 80's sci-fi movies with its constant synth use, but there's also plenty of horns, some piano and somehow, it all comes together in epic fashion. And epic it is. This could easily be in any movie, and it should. Jack Wall and Sam Hulick did an amazing job here. Not once did I think that a piece of score was overdone while listening to the music itself. Something I can't say for most modern movie composers.

Memorable Highlights:

"Mass Effect Theme"
"Love Theme"
"Uncharted Worlds"

I also found the credits track rather interesting. It's not amazing, but it'll keep any electronic/indie/80's music fan happy. The guitar work in it isn't half-bad either.

Overall, another great achievement in video gaming: an amazing soundtrack that makes others cringe in terror. An amazing game, an amazing soundtrack with memorable tracks, keeping you interested and into the mood. And although it's too short (most tracks clocking in at 1:30), it's still an amazing job. The standard in video game music has just been set a lot higher, courtesy the synths and scores from Mass Effect.

Evocative of the Blade Runner, Dune, Alien, and Terminator scores without feeling purely derivative.

Fits great within the game, stands up pretty well on its own. Could use a few more themes, a bit less synth strings, and of course more cowbell IMO. Can get somewhat repetitive when listening from end to end.

It's not often that a developer takes a chance with their soundtrack like this, and it was a rather rewarding gamble on Bioware's part in the end. Mass Effect, by itself a great game, will be remembered for a long time for its soundtrack. It made the game larger than life, and made me feel like I was in a space epic/opera. After beating the game I still wanted more, so this soundtrack and the prequel novel were right up my alley. I received both items a little later than expected, but that is the price I pay for having USPS ship over the holiday's.

If you are a fan of the Blade Runner and Dune soundtrack, or 80's scifi music in general, you owe it to yourself to give this a try. It features heavy synth mixed with orchesra level acoustics, which may not sound like it would work together at first, but melds perfectly throughout.

There is a reason Gamespot awarded it with soundtrack of the year over cult favorites like Halo.