What better way to kick off the New Year with a game and score that loves to remind us just how damn cold it is outside!
Near the end of the last console cycle, we saw quite a few games that lovingly threw themselves into the annals of gaming history as some of the best the craft had to offer. From the God of War series to Resident Evil 4, this “era” in games proved quite influential and has managed to remain relevant along side the newest releases of today (see God of War Collection, Resident Evil 4 Wii, etc). Among the brightest and most beloved of this class is David Cage’s artistic masterpiece, Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy in North America). Lauded for its engaging story and character-driven gameplay, Fahrenheit took video game storytelling to new heights through intelligent dialogue choices, suspenseful plot, thoughtful quick time events, and incredibly intense atmosphere.
Despite all these innovations and polish, and perhaps the most intense holy-shit-what-the-hell-do-I-do-now opening to a game, Fahrenheit – like all great games – owes much of its artistic success to its composer, Angelo Badalamenti. Originally hired to be Isabella Rossellini’s vocal coach for the David Lynch film, Blue Velvet, Badalamenti went on to compose the score for that film and has since scored nearly all of Lynch’s works – including the television series Twin Peaks, for which he received three Emmy nominations. Fahrenheit remains Badalamenti’s only game score and was among the first big-name Hollywood composers to write an entirely original score for a video game. (more…)
