It literally sounds like you’re listening to a piece of music that was written for full orchestra to be played in a concert hall. When I mentioned the “classical” style of Guild Wars: Eye of the North, “The Hunt” was the track I had in mind. A later track, “Chariots of Endearment” is another air combat piece that is much more powerful with its heavy use of brass, but it similarly works in fleeting moments of beauty in the form of grandiose string sections. “The Engagement” gets us up into the clouds with its airy brass melody, epic choral work, and string stabs that drive home tension, but lift slightly during an angelic chorus section that acts as a nice pause between heavier sections on either side of it. The melody is memorable, but isn’t so over the top as to turn me off like most World War II game “main themes,” and quite honestly, Soule’s main themes for both Morrowind and Oblivion did. “IL-2 Sturmovik March” gets things moving on a positive note, opening with a triumphant trumpet melody that is later reinforced by an upbeat string progression and bombastic orchestral percussion. Read our review of what I think is one of Jeremy Soule’s greatest soundtracks to date after the jump. I think I have a new favorite release from DirectSong with this one. As impressed as I was with the new direction in Order of War, I’m even more impressed with IL-2 Sturmovik for being downright great with amazing melodies, atmospheres, and true hints of classical music that I think are missing from games. What exactly does that mean? Well, there are sweeping moments that sound like they’re out of Oblivion or Morrowind, intense action cues, and even true “classical” moments like those heard in Eye of the North, but all of these are experienced through the distinct lens of World War II. In that sense, his score for IL-2 Sturmovik really hits the spot, coming as a compromise between epic fantasy and that “World War II sound” that has become all too common with seemingly endless stream of games that focuses on that particular war. We were recently impressed with Jeremy Soule’s new direction with Order of War last month, but I admit that my favorite works of his are still Morrowind, Oblivion, and Guild Wars: Eye of the North.
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