Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Mark Griskey
" pretty well one of the best the Star Wars game universe has given us so far "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the promotional release
In the countless Star Wars adaptations that have been released in the video game franchise, one of the most looked forward projects was Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Described as the best Star Wars story in years, The Force Unleashed makes you finally play like a true Jedi, having control over both the force as the lightsaber slashes, putting you right there in the world of Star Wars. One thing, one tiny thing had to be added to that which became the grandest thing for all you Star Wars nuts. And that was basically the score. While most games simply put the entire score of John Williams in a mix, others paid homage to the material by quoting the obvious material with their own. Only some of them came across in delivering a totally new tune in a downright fitting mood. Examples are Joel McNeely's rousing Shadows of the Empire and Mark Griskey's The Force Unleashed.
A short score is all we seem to receive from the game and the frustrating thing about it is, you want to get your hands on more. However despite the immensely detailed homage to John Williams' Star Wars music, Griskey can't keep the quality equally high.
The opening track "The Force Unleashed" surely blows you away with some mighty fanfares, putting you right into the action for sure. And "General Kota and the Control Room Duel" is even better, bringing you a concert like suite of mysterious strings in a brass laden cue. And most importantly, the main John Williams force theme is interwoven so flawlessly it makes you wonder why Kevin Kiner was even asked to do the score of The Clone Wars movie.
That same Force theme underscores the delight of brass and strings as they dance the rhythmic "Infiltrating the Junk Temple" cue. Sadly this one is too short to fully appreciate the build up.
The low choral chanting during the percussive "Drexl's Raiders" surely makes you remind Williams' Attack of the Clones score (the Darth Vader theme not included). "Approaching Felucia" puts a little mystery to it and "The Sarlacc Unleashed" has a brilliant first couple of minutes.
"Maris and the Bull Rancor" continues that brassy feast putting the Force theme around it again (it is good fun) while "Proxy and the Skyhook" is again darker mystery with a part of the main theme in it to tie it together. Sadly all these tracks don't have the finished quality of that second track. I'm talking then of the thematic handling and the Star Wars quality. All the tracks come close to that magic, toying with motifs, instrumentation or manners how John Williams wrote his music. But the second one is the closest to all that.
"Redemption" is pretty darn close with the rhythm and feel of Williams writing (and the ending Darth Vader quote). And "Juno Eclipse / Finale" brings a Princess Leia inspired love theme on flute and no Star Wars score is without its creative outer space cantina source music.
This all shows Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is pretty well one of the best the Star Wars game universe has given us so far. You can see that Griskey tries to give balance to the score by providing his ideas in the style John Williams has written his music in (both the old and new scores). It shows as well how close it stands to the Star Wars music of John Williams and how far Kevin Kiner's music stands for the Clone Wars movie. But time doesn't deliver the development that could have made it as classic as Joel McNeely's Shadows of the Empire. If there was no issue of time and money, The Force Unleashed could have been even better.
Tracklisting
1. The Force Unleashed (1.20) Excellent track
2. General Kota and the Control Room Duel (3.44) Excellent track
3. Infiltrating the Junk Temple (2.55)
4. Drex'ls Raiders (2.52)
5. Approaching Felucia (3.28)
6. The Sarlacc Unleashed (3.20)
7. Maris and the Bull Rancor (2.11)
8. Proxy and the Skyhook (2.37)
9. Redemption (2.19) Excellent track
10. Juno Eclipse / Finale (1.12)
Bonus Track
11. Ton'yy Rho's Uglejig (1.14)
Total Length: 27.16
A short score is all we seem to receive from the game and the frustrating thing about it is, you want to get your hands on more. However despite the immensely detailed homage to John Williams' Star Wars music, Griskey can't keep the quality equally high.
The opening track "The Force Unleashed" surely blows you away with some mighty fanfares, putting you right into the action for sure. And "General Kota and the Control Room Duel" is even better, bringing you a concert like suite of mysterious strings in a brass laden cue. And most importantly, the main John Williams force theme is interwoven so flawlessly it makes you wonder why Kevin Kiner was even asked to do the score of The Clone Wars movie.
That same Force theme underscores the delight of brass and strings as they dance the rhythmic "Infiltrating the Junk Temple" cue. Sadly this one is too short to fully appreciate the build up.
The low choral chanting during the percussive "Drexl's Raiders" surely makes you remind Williams' Attack of the Clones score (the Darth Vader theme not included). "Approaching Felucia" puts a little mystery to it and "The Sarlacc Unleashed" has a brilliant first couple of minutes.
"Maris and the Bull Rancor" continues that brassy feast putting the Force theme around it again (it is good fun) while "Proxy and the Skyhook" is again darker mystery with a part of the main theme in it to tie it together. Sadly all these tracks don't have the finished quality of that second track. I'm talking then of the thematic handling and the Star Wars quality. All the tracks come close to that magic, toying with motifs, instrumentation or manners how John Williams wrote his music. But the second one is the closest to all that.
"Redemption" is pretty darn close with the rhythm and feel of Williams writing (and the ending Darth Vader quote). And "Juno Eclipse / Finale" brings a Princess Leia inspired love theme on flute and no Star Wars score is without its creative outer space cantina source music.
This all shows Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is pretty well one of the best the Star Wars game universe has given us so far. You can see that Griskey tries to give balance to the score by providing his ideas in the style John Williams has written his music in (both the old and new scores). It shows as well how close it stands to the Star Wars music of John Williams and how far Kevin Kiner's music stands for the Clone Wars movie. But time doesn't deliver the development that could have made it as classic as Joel McNeely's Shadows of the Empire. If there was no issue of time and money, The Force Unleashed could have been even better.
Tracklisting
1. The Force Unleashed (1.20) Excellent track
2. General Kota and the Control Room Duel (3.44) Excellent track
3. Infiltrating the Junk Temple (2.55)
4. Drex'ls Raiders (2.52)
5. Approaching Felucia (3.28)
6. The Sarlacc Unleashed (3.20)
7. Maris and the Bull Rancor (2.11)
8. Proxy and the Skyhook (2.37)
9. Redemption (2.19) Excellent track
10. Juno Eclipse / Finale (1.12)
Bonus Track
11. Ton'yy Rho's Uglejig (1.14)
Total Length: 27.16