Batman Series (Video Game)

Not every video game score that I listen to is one that I enjoy enough to listen to over and over. Game scores have come a long way over the years and have entered the cinematic atmosphere that films have been thriving in for years. The music has become so good, it is sometimes hard to distinct whether it is from a game or movie. This of course is limited to certain scores and not all of them. Some simply do not do well when listened to outside of the game it was made for.

Today I will be focusing on the Batman series of video games:

• Arkham Asylum (2009) by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish
• Arkham City (2011) by Nick Arundel and Ron Fish
• Arkham Origins (2013) by Christopher Drake
• Arkham Knight (2015) by Nick Arundel and David Buckley

                   

Batman: Arkham Asylum Soundtrack

Arkham Asylum, the first release, has a heavy, creepy feeling to it. Batman's story is incredibly serious and dark, and this portrays the right emotions. The themes are simple, but the tracks are too short and I feel the album doesn't present enough content from the game. They do present a slight eeriness, first set up in track 1 (A Plan Revealed), so listening to this while you work is not a bad idea. There are a few action sequences, but they are short and not very loud. Track 1 is an excellent introduction and, assuming that it is the theme that plays while on the title screen, is well composed. 

Despite being relatively interesting, I was not completely impressed by this score. Sure, I may listen to it again, but it never fully grasped my attention. It is fine if you get distracted easily by really good themes and you want to listen to something while you work or read.

Batman: Arkham City Soundtrack

Arkham City is the first score in this list that really grabbed my attention enough that I was convinced to listen to it multiple times. The main theme is excellent music for the title menu and sets the mood for something less eerie than the previous release and much more epic. It still has that usual dark theme that Batman receives. This theme is definitely film worthy.

Arkham City is an entirely new score compared to its predecessor, providing much more interesting action sequences and longer lasting tracks that don't seem to stop suddenly. It captivated my attention all the way through like film scores tend to do. I am not at all saying that Arkham Asylum is a bad score at all, but I believe that some game scores fit the game just right in their repetitive, mixed and mashed state and not secluded from their original purpose.

It Was The Joker calms things down with a very intriguing and mysterious sound to it that builds intensity before entering I Think You Should Do As He Says, which introduces some choir and really begins to shape the album. The balance between interesting action and mysterious "filler" music that temporarily slows the pace is perfect. It somewhat reminds me, in certain parts, of the music from the TV shows Arrow and The Flash where the strings go rampant.

Batman: Arkham Origins Soundtrack

The binning of Arkham Origins starts off promising, going full blown into the action but quickly quiets down slightly to introduce the main theme. This album maintains higher tempos and tends to be significantly louder than previous releases. It is also chaotic, much to the liking of Dead Space 3, but not to the extreme extent that Dead Space 1 and 2 accomplished (I will feature these albums at a later date).

If Arkham City didn't provide enough action to your liking, then this album will surely appeal to you. The majority of the music is packed with some noteworthy action making this sound similar to Hans Zimmer's film music. Of course, some may disagree since it takes either an avid gamer or an accustomed listener to enjoy game soundtracks in most scenarios of game scores.

In the game, it is during winter and is obviously around Christmas time because of track 12: Carol of the Bells (Joker's Theme). This is actually pretty funny. The Joker always has some amount of comedy surrounding him in both the films and the games.

Hallucinations interestingly has hints of Molussus from Batman Begins. The comedy returns in The Thieving Magpie which is a hilarious take on a more classical sounding piece. Shadow of the Bat has some impressive cello work that I absolutely love, mostly because it is one of my favorite instruments.

The end title suite is an epic post ending, and the final ending suite is a conclusion and summary of the entire album, including the Joker's Christmas theme.

Batman: Arkham Knight Soundtrack

Arkham Knight is a great example of a more up to date and modern example of where game scores are now. There is much more music available this time around, even if you just consider volume 1. The themes are also more complex and drawn out, the action is not overdone, and there is much more character to the music. Arkham Knight sounds the closest to the actual films than any of the previous game releases when considering

There is more variance in this score that provides a relatively new listening experience, yet it still maintains the basic feel of the series with those incredible bass sections like in Remnants. The fact that this is very orchestral and does not rely on a synth for artificial sounds just enriches the music so much. Just like David Buckley's previous work on Call of Duty: Ghosts, the violin and strings are really well presented.

Although I was unable to look at volume 2 of this great music, I have a link to it above if you are interested in looking into it.

My favorites are Arkham City and Arkham Knight because they are not just interesting, but they have a way of not making it too obvious that you are listening to a game score. That is not always the reason I continue to listen to game scores or enjoy some over others. I admire creativity, and some game scores are just very interesting, even if they are obviously not from a film. 

What do you think? Do you have any favorites?

I do not post anything on Saturday or Sunday, so see you again on Monday!