Legend of the Guardian (Game Score)
Composed by Winifred Phillips

A score that's at once epic and intimate at the same time, Winifred's music for Legend of the Guardians soars to claim high marks as an impressive fantasy/adventure album! I can best describe this soundtrack as a very fluid listening experience that draws upon a classic storytelling structure to make its mark. It's a cohesive package that offers emotion, originality, and a compelling choral aspect that will be sure to immerse you in this world. I'd even go as far to say that I can compare aspects of this score, in spirit, to Shore's The Lord of the Rings on one level.

I'd eventually like to see the game composers become involved in both the product's film and video game scores because an effort like this by Phillips further proves that such a time has come.

Buried
Composed by Victor Reyes

I must say, I quite enjoyed my time underground with this impressive and exciting score from Victor Reyes. I might even venture to say that he has delivered one of this year's most pleasant surprises as far as soundtrack releases go. You see, Buried wasn't the type of movie premise that suggested to me a dynamite score was in the offing but Victor sure changed my mind in a hurry. The main titles immediately set the tone for a score that delivers plenty of dramatic impact and quite a few moments of compelling urgency throughout its running time.

If you've been longing for an intelligent, creative, and evenly-paced Thriller score, than this one is your ticket!

Fair Game
Composed by John Powell

Not a whole lot to dive into here as John Powell's score for this true-life political thriller is best served up with its big screen accompaniment and not apart from it. Fair Game is a film that didn't require anything other than functional music behind it, thus Powell's music backs it with an appropriately tense underscore -- which, to be fair, is fine for the movie-going experience. Score fans, however, will find that this is one Powell outing that doesn't have the trimmings that most seek from their soundtrack experiences. While there were a few sparse moments that reminds us why this composer is one of the best in the business today, the majority of the score simply left me cold. This isn't a soundtrack I'll be listening to again.

Medal of Honor
Composed by Ramin Djawadi

In another testament to the growing popularity of game music, Ramin Djawadi transitions from recent big screen endeavors to join the Medal of Honor series. Considered a marquee franchise, MoH is a series that has delivered some of the best in game music over the past few years, thus Ramin entered the fray in a highly visibile capacity.

So what did I think of the soundtrack? It was certainly one of the more dramatic and subtle MoH scores that I can remember, which may or may not be good news for you depending on what you expect from these scores. Ramin's implementation of a balanced underscore and authentically crafted middle-eastern references sets this entry apart from some of the more bombastic works previously heard in this series. This is a great example of how film music techniques can be applied to the gaming world, which ironically, was the title of a recent panel I was on in NYC (Game Audio Con). It hits home here and I applaud the efforts.