Kai, how do you do it, man?
The ex-composer for Piranha Bytes (he very recently went freelance) worked on the Gothic series, as well as the new Action RPG “Risen” for PC and Xbox 360. The soundtrack was included as a bonus with the game. And yes, in case you were wondering, it is as good as the Gothic soundtracks. In fact, I’d say it’s better.
That’s right, this is the best I’ve yet heard from Kai Rosenkranz.
The music is almost all, if not entirely, recordings of real instruments. Being that this game takes place on an exotic island, we hear a lot of strange ethnic “tribal” influences that we did not hear in the Gothic series. Every track is infused with something that makes it stand out from the previous track. The variety of instruments used, and the incredible way in which Kai uses these instruments sparingly across the entire 20 track album, is a real feat. And for us listeners, it’s a real treat!
One complaint I have about the CD: I was a little surprised by the lack of an end credits track. “Showdown” is clearly a final battle sort of track, and it’s the final track on the disc. Where’s the resolution? I don’t know if there’s an end credits track that we missed (they didn’t stick it on the disc), or perhaps they just re-used some of the early tracks. In either case, that was a disappointment for me.
At this point, I won’t speak to the quality of the game, whether it’s good or bad, because I haven’t sunk enough time into it as of the time of writing this soundtrack review. But I do know that the soundtrack is really good. Consider it one more incentive to pick up the game.
