Hans Zimmer

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Journey Nominated for Grammy Award

December 6, 2012 | Gideon Dabi | Comments Off on Journey Nominated for Grammy Award Share this Journey Nominated for Grammy Award

The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards Nominees have just been announced, and with it, a piece of history. For the first time ever, a video game’s full soundtrack has been nominated for this award. Austin Wintory’s beautiful score for Journey, the downloadable title from thatgamecompany (makers of 2009’s Flower) finds itself among the biggest of the big boys up alongside other nominees like Hans Zimmer (for The Dark Knight Rises) and John Williams (for The Adventures of Tintin). Although we have a seen a huge influx of accomplished, big-studio film composers make their way over to gaming, it is not any of them or Activision or EA that can boast of such an honor, making this an even more notable occasion.

I do not expect Mr. Wintory to come home with the prize as I am sure that too many who vote have not heard Journey‘s unique and sweeping score. Even still, this is an incredible boost to the legitimacy of the art produced in this genre. The exceptional music writing in video games comes as no surprise to the readers and contributors to this site, but it’s about time the rest of the world took notice and learned what it was missing!

Congratulations, Austin Wintory! A well-deserved nomination for a beautiful score that helped to shape one of the most memorable experiences I have had in quite some time. And if any of you have not yet bought this soundtrack, what the hell are you waiting for?
Game Music

CRYSIS Averted Thanks to Hans Zimmer: Crysis 2 (OST REVIEW)

April 11, 2011 | Gideon Dabi | 1 Comment Share this

Released in late 2007, Electronic Arts’ Crysis – a PC exclusive – became notorious for the benchmark with which one could judge his own computer rig. Crysis‘ graphics were unparalleled at the time (and remain superb) and it was one of the few outings that made console gamers green with envy. Seizing an obvious opportunity with a sequel, Electronic Arts was not going to make make the same mistake making another PC-only game. Realizing that the shift to include consoles would make Crysis 2 a far bigger deal than its predecessor, the powers that be decided to make another important change: instead of staying with the prolific and abled composer of the original, Inon Zur, the big man himself, Hans Zimmer, leads the charge with a few themes and gives the soundtrack and series a very different feel.

In the last year, we have seen a plethora of “sequel scores” – that is to say, we have seen many scores to games’ sequels written by the same composer. Bioshock 2, Fallout: New Vegas, God of War III, Fable III, Dead Space 2, etc. all featured scores that capitulated masterfully on their predecessors. Pulling a page out of its Army of Two: The 40th Day playbook (in replacing the original composer), Electronic Arts hoped to score big. (more…)
Game Music

Call of Duty Black Ops: Sean Murray Fights the Commies in His Own Style

November 22, 2010 | Gideon Dabi | 4 Comments Share this

In a seemingly impossible feat, Modern Warfare 2‘s ridiculous sales numbers were toppled by its series successor, Call of Duty: Black Ops. By nearly all accounts, it boasts a more interesting narrative and holds its ground unapologetically in the multiplayer space. Hans Zimmer blasted our faces with his themes in last year’s Modern Warfare 2, and for Sean Murray, composer of Call of Duty: Black Ops, these would be enormous shoes to fill in both musical integrity as well as sheer size and scope.

Click the jump and find out how Sean Murray fared in his death match against the Treyarch naysayers and the specter of Hans Zimmer’s stealth bomber of a score still fresh in our minds! (more…)
Game Music

Medal of Honor: Ramin Djawadi Destroys the Taliban with Sound Production

October 6, 2010 | Gideon Dabi | 9 Comments Share this

The school of Hans Zimmer – otherwise known as Remote Control Productions – has slowly but surely permeated its way into the world of game music. Starting with the great Harry Gregson-Williams’ score for 2001’s smash hit, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, others have joined the frey, including the anointed king of film scores, Hans Zimmer (most recently on Modern Warfare 2). Entering the tussle is Ramin Djawadi, composer of Prison Break.

Does Medal of Honor retain a similar production sound to Remote Control Productions’ otherworks? You betcha. Despite this, does Djawadi change the music formula? You betcha. Is this a good thing? Read on as I dissect Djawadi’s pulse-pounding score… (more…)
Game Music

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Soundtrack Digital Release Today!

June 1, 2010 | Gideon Dabi | Comments Off on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Soundtrack Digital Release Today! Share this

The world’s best-selling game, Modern Warfare 2, has finally released its soundtrack digitally and is available at Amazon. As you may recall, the soundtrack’s themes are composed by legendary film composer, Hans Zimmer.

Priced at $7.99, this bag of treats has a plethora of awesome themes and drama which I noted in my review some months back. There is no denying that this score sounds ripped right out of a Michael Bay film and is completely unapologetic about it!

Are you going to buy the soundtrack? I think I would buy it if it came with a commentary track featuring racial and homophobic slurs uttered by thirteen-year-olds so I could have the full, authentic n00b-pwning experience.
Game Music

Modern Warfare 2: Hans Zimmer Throws Us a Tactical Nuke

November 25, 2009 | Gideon Dabi | 5 Comments Share this

It was only a matter of time before the great film composer, Hans Zimmer, decided to get involved with game music. After all, video game composers have been imitating his style for years. If not Zimmer’s scores directly, then the works of other members of his Remote Control Productions team (i.e. Steve Jablonsky, James Dooley, Geoff Zanelli, Harry Gregson-Williams, Mark Mancina, John Van Tongeren and John Powell).

We all know Zimmer’s body of work. Whether it be the recent Batman films or the early Bruckheimer films like The Rock or Crimson Tide, we know he can score the pants off of films. But how well does his work translate to gaming? Does Hans Zimmer own the small screen as well as the silver screen? Click the jump to find out! (more…)