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…)
