you got game (music) #7

Taking a brief break from the odyssey of my all-time favourite games this month with a brief return to the subject of my favourite game music. Mainly because I realized quite unexpectedly that I've missed out on a major one to date. 

Think sci-fi, think epic story, think long elevator rides disguising loading screens. Think galaxy maps and Reapers! Think Commander Shepherd and Asari! Yes of course you are thinking of Mass Effect, that epic sci-fi trilogy (sorry Andromeda!) with the ending that most people hate. Personally I like it but then again me and the internet often disagree on these things. 

Anyway where was I? Oh yes the music of Mass Effect...

Attributed to a number of parties across the first three games, the main parties responsible for this outstanding selection of game music are Jack Wall, Sam Hulick and for the third one Clint Mansell. It's a sound that develops over the games. The first game in particular has a heavy feel of eighties synthwave nostalgia baked into it and by the time we reach the end, it has become more orchestral and charged with the epic sweep of destiny. You know the drill, smash the space holocaust heading your way and save the space babe, that kinda thing.

Its weird to think about how long Mass Effect has been around now, arriving pretty close to the dawn of HD gaming back in 2007. That was the glorious Christmas where I got my Xbox 360 together with Gears of War, Dead Rising and a copy of the first Mass Effect. That was a seriously good Christmas and quite the introduction for me to what that console was capable of. Launching a game as the first part of a trilogy with the reminder to hold on to your save files for future games was quite the novel thing at the time let me tell you.

So yes 2007 was a long time ago, practically pre-history nowadays, Throughout all the years since the soundtrack has remained a fixture of my various listening habits in the world of online streaming. It's hard to think of the first game without that gently epic main theme playing over the main menu screen. It's equally difficult to think of the second game without the heavier, moodier vibe of the electronic music on offer there. It's probably clinically impossible for me to remember the high stakes final mission that sends you into the heart of enemy territory with the very real possibility of losing characters you'd spent so much time with. Then of course there is the final games finale and that ending which got so many people riled up at the time. 

These days Bioware haven't had such a glorious run of quality games in quite some time with some fearing they might just be a shadow of what they used to be. Anthem was considered a flop by most of everyone concerned with it and that last Dragon Age game seemed to underwhelm most people who spent time with it regardless of which side of the online culture wars they were on the side on. For a whole generation of gamers Bioware is just not a name associated with high quality storytelling anymore and that's a shame because when they hit it out of the park, they sent that thing into orbit.

Anywhere I diverge off-topic here. Do what I do folks, what I realise I have been doing now for the best part of 20 years and give the various Mass Effect soundtracks a listen on the slim chance you haven't come across them before. It is a musical journey you will not regret embarking upon. They are really excellent and will make the morning commute most epic. I can't provide any referrals for blue space babes however, you are on your own there but I am sure the gods of the internet can provide....