Mass Effect is another huge EA series. It's an epic space opera filled with huge worlds, massive battles, and an intense storyline. I figured, something like that needs an epic soundtrack, right? I was expecting Lord of the Rings quality to a world brimming with so much potential for great music.
Sadly, I was sorely disappointed. Jack Wall is just not good for Mass Effect, if you ask me. The feel of his music is painfully retro and not epic enough at all. The main theme is certainly worth a listen, but the rest of the soundtrack is just far too stuck in the past to enjoy.
Mass Effect Theme *****
The Normandy ****
Eden Prime **
Battle at Eden Prime ***
Saren ***
The Citadel *****
The Presidium ****
The Wards ***
Criminal Elements ***
Spectre Induction *****
Liara's World ****
A Very Dangerous Place ****
Feros ****
Protecting the Colony: ***
The Thorian: ***/**
Noveria: *
The Secret Labs: ***/*
The Alien Queen: ***
Fatal Confrontation: **
Saren's Base: **
Breeding Ground: ****
Virmire Ride: ***
Exit: ****
Love Theme: *****
Uncharted Worlds: ****
Ilos: *
Vigil: *****
Sovereign's Theme: *****
Uplink: ***
Battling Saren: ***
In Pursuit of Saren: ****
Infusion: ****
Final Assault: *****
Victory: ****
From the Wreckage: *****
The End (Reprise): ****
M4 Faunts: *
The most important theme is the main theme, first appearing (naturally) in Mass Effect Theme. It's also conveniently the best theme in the score, though still weak in comparison to other sci-fi epics. Its theme is a relatively calm and brooding French Horn piece that feels moderately epic, though it definitely lacks the power and memorable feel of similar space opera themes (Star Wars and Star Trek immediately come to mind). It is reprised at Spectre Induction, From the Wreckage, Victory, and The End (Reprise). Its best appearances are in Spectre Induction and From the Wreckage, which both take the main theme and elevate it to greater heights due to the primarily instrumental takes on the theme.
Other themes? Well, that's exactly Mass Effect's problem. It introduces two themes, each of which feature in about 3 tracks each. Sovereign's Theme is the other theme, appearing in Sovereign's Theme and Final Assault… and yeah, that's about it. It's actually not too bad, with the choir and brass utilizing an admittedly cliched tune to a very emotional degree. It actually is fairly impressive, though slightly too cliched for its own good.
It's interesting to note that the best tracks are the ones that use an orchestra. Vigil, Sovereign's Theme, From the Wreckage, and Final Assault all use orchestra to a much higher degree than many of the other tracks, and consequently, they are much easier to swallow. They all have some synth, for sure (which is frustratingly overused) but generally they ride on the orchestra or choir. As a result, they sound fantastic, showing Jack Wall and Sam Hulick's skill - they clearly had some good ideas for themes, but never bothered reusing them or reprising them in smart ways. Instead, they abandoned the best ones (and admittedly worst ones) in single tracks.
THE GOOD:
- Existing recurring themes aren't too bad at all
- Orchestral tracks are fantastic
- Admittedly inventive
THE BAD:
- Doesn't fit atmosphere
- Tracks aren't suitably epic
- Overused synth is tiresome
- Not enough recurring themes
- Some tunes sound awful
- Frustrating lack of power
- Ilos
- Noveria
- M4 Faunts
I have a rather long list of complaints for this score. First of all, the tracks do not fit the atmosphere. If the composers thought for a second that excessive synth represents a sci-fi space opera well, then they were completely wrong. The synth is simply awful where it is, never working and never changing. To me, it's like The Social Network of video game music - it almost never adapts to the feel of the moment. Ilos, for instance, is utter trash. It's just an endless barrage of sense-numbing synthetic sounds. And it lasts for a full 1 minute and 39 seconds. It is so utterly bad it's remarkable. Noveria is similarly tedious, doing nothing and not changing at all. It's horrible. It's horrible. It's horrible horrible horrible. I hated it. And it lasts a whopping 2 minutes and 14 seconds. That's long for such awful music.
Moreover, the synth is far overused. Scores like Tron Legacy used it brilliantly, but here it just fails. It completely destroys the feel of the game and it is simply frustrating.
Another complaint of mine is the lack of identity and power. The score lacks power. It's like the composers had no idea where to start or what feel to put into the music and simply played a few notes on the piano, then thought "Hey that sounds nice" and used it. It's just frustrating. So many tracks here have simply no energy at all, meandering about for the sole reason of being able to meander.
To end the score with a whimper, the geniuses behind this one toss us one last piece of trash to listen to: M4 Faunts. It's an awful lyrical piece for the Mass Effect universe. Lyrical. I ask you. Not only is it boring, with the singer sounding like he'd much rather be drinking his own bath water, but it's also 8 minutes long. It's 8 minutes of pure torture. Could a score end on a worse note?
Simply put, Mass Effect's score is awful. It's terrible. To quote Roger Ebert, but to change it slightly:
I hated this score. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this score. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.
Overall: 3/10