Really, I just hope for some cohesion in the soundtrack. Ideally, in my opinion, Jack Wall and Sam Hulick would be back to compose for the next soundtrack. Their styles work well together, it seemed like they worked together on most tracks in the first two Mass Effect games, and had a solid idea for what they wanted the game to sound like.
The third Mass Effect, while surely a great soundtrack in its own right, suffered from a lack of cohesion. I just came out of a project that required original composition, and I must say that having a musical director to ensure each of the pieces worked well with one another was essential. Having Hulick, Lennerz, Velasco/Dikicyan, and a bizarre couple of tracks from Mansell together seemingly without that type of direction made for a game that didn't seem unified in musical themes and styles. As a result, it seemed to me as if each composer was "doing their own thing" without ensuring that their work contributed to the larger musical work being created in the soundtrack of the game and the series as a whole. I find it troubling that I can usually tell who composed each of the tracks in the game without looking at their credited works.
So, yes, a lot of the music was great in a stand-alone sense, but I feel like some of the most important tracks were inserted into the game without any thought as to how it contributed to the game's overall themes and the themes of the series. The greatest offenders, in my opinion, are Mansell and Lennerz (not that it was their fault--quite the contrary). They created some really wonderful compositions, but they seemed to be completely separate from the style established in the series. Instead, they should have had a lead composer or music director that could have guided them in the style they were looking for or have stuck with fewer composers. Again, this is not to detract from either composer's style--Lennerz's compositions in Shadow Broker worked so well because his distinctive style worked well as an overall theme for that singular DLC; it seemed deliberately different than the rest of the game to give that small section of the game a separate tone from the rest of it.
Furthermore, while I understand the idea that each game should have a "distinctive feel" to its soundtrack, that should work in conjunction with the themes and styles of the series as a whole. The first Mass Effect did a great job of having themes for different characters (Saren, Sovereign) and locations (the Wards and the Normandy stand out) while still being connected by the Mass Effect theme and establishing that the series would use old-school synth tracks alongside strings (and, sometimes, even vocals). With the second game, they established that the Mass Effect theme was not just for the first game: the "Suicide Mission" theme was a spin on the original Mass Effect theme. Even though the Mass Effect theme was present in the second game for the overarching story, they created new themes for characters that worked incredibly well. In this way, they created a soundtrack that was different but still familiar. The third made almost no use of the Mass Effect theme (except for the fleet coming in through the Mass relay, the galaxy map theme, and the Vigil theme at certain points) and the major theme seemed to be the Mansell track (which only appeared, oddly enough, at the beginning and end of the game). Sure, Mansell created some appropriately sad music, but I find it hard to believe no one called out on the fact that it was completely different from any music that had come before it. It just doesn't make sense.
If you read this far, great. All I want, really, are that the next composers:
- Make use of the Mass Effect theme. It's too great to not use and ties each installment to the overarching series.
- Have an idea going on what styles of music they are creating. In the same way that Star Wars is recognizable by its large orchestra, classical string instruments, sweeping scale, and distinctive themes for characters, locations, and ideas, Mass Effect as a series has established that its "style" uses synth and strings effectively to create strong themes for its story.
I'm done for now. Sorry for the read, I just ramble sometimes.
Modifié par Sith Reaper, 01 décembre 2013 - 12:13 .
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