Title: Alan Wake: Original Score
Format: CD
Publisher: Sumthing Else Music Works
Review by: Bill Jones
Alan Wake is a fantastic game, in large part due to its atmosphere. And a large part of creating that atmosphere is a solid soundtrack to complement the environments, characters, story and mood. The original score by Petri Alanko is a great one, but owning it on compact disc out of context is a mixed affair. At times, Alanko’s beautiful melodies, such as those in “Welcome to Bright Falls,” fill the speakers to great enjoyment. But a lot of it is mood music, damn near perfect in the context of the game. But for someone listening to this recreationally, that means tracks that mostly sound silent at normal volume levels, accented by heavy tones. It’s a mixed bag over the 73-minute running time. It’s no discredit to Alanko’s work, but fans might want to think twice about whether they purchase the music, or just hear it as they play the game again.
For more info, www.sumthing.com
Pads & Panels received a copy of the soundtrack courtesy of the label for review purposes.
October 26th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Do you think more games will end up having their scores released on CDs?
October 29th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I get sometimes the soundtracks of the games I like the most and I really enjoy the music even if I’m not playing the game.
And as an answer to IceeLady, there are already lots and lots of games that have their scores released on music CDs (for instance: the Final Fantasy series) but most of these soundtracks are very difficult to get if you don’t live in Japan.