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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you're an established collector of Bruce Broughton's scores and seek all of his ambitious fantasy and adventure writing. Avoid it... if you expect your video game scores to boast a fully robust orchestral presence, for this early entry is sparse on power and performance quality. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Broughton admitted at the time that he had never encountered a computer game before, and under such circumstances, his efforts in recording music for one are quite impressive. There was enough money to hire 55 members of the Sinfonia of London, a group with which Broughton was familiar. The sparse depth of their performance is the score's greatest weakness (along with a few blatant errors in the brass section early on the album), but considering that most games at the time featured crappy electronic MIDI nonsense, this was definitely a step up. Still, the recording is nowhere near Michael Giacchino quality, and subsequent orchestral game scores would put "Heart of Darkness" to shame. The structure of Broughton's score includes four major themes over its 35 minutes that span the distance between evil and comedy, heroics and fear. The title theme isn't as full as many of Broughton's others, yet it is still adventurous enough for the imagination and journey of the main character. The initial theme on album (over the main titles) is that of the villain, and it adequately portrays the mystery and magic of the Master of Darkness. It falls one step (or minor chord) short of becoming a gripping villain's theme, though the primary themes together undoubtedly work wonders in the game. The other themes represent secondary characters of the story and adopt a light-hearted, fluffy, and comical attitude. These sequences, with the cute performances of the tuba and French horn, will remind of the middle sections of James Horner's The Land Before Time. The bouncing tuba and marimba theme for the amigos in particular will leave the most lasting impression. Overall, however, it is difficult to truly appreciate this music outside of the experience one would get by playing "Heart of Darkness," for the recording isn't robust enough to stand well on its own. It is still a momentous effort for a video game, of course, and Broughton collectors will surely be impressed by the opening cues. Its enhanced features, including a demo of the game, only worked on PCs (Macs would eventually get their revenge in other ways). It's a fun, noisy, and refreshing score, but a bit underwhelming when put in perspective. ***
The insert includes the following note from Broughton:
It was a prescient thing to say. I was soon to be very impressed not only by the work itself, but by the level of loyalty, commitment, technique and attention the creative team gave to the game, to each other and to the many people who were involved in its making. The music accompanies the many computer-animated scenes that propel the story of Andy and his dog, Whisky, through the boy's fear of the dark. The game is played between the scenes, each level having to be mastered before the story can proceed. Though it is not so apparent in this recorded assemblage, several of the scenes are mere bridges; others are dramatically very intricate, lasting for several minutes. The music is in an animated/adventure style, full of humor, energy and large dramatic gestures. There are several themes that play throughout: the dark, pounding Master of Darkness theme that opens the score; the expansively buoyant adventure theme that represents Andy; the tuba and marimba theme for the goofy but warm-hearted Friends; and the insistent English horn motif that accompanies the Evil Helper. But to really enjoy the score, you have to play the game." This enhanced CD includes a demo version of "Heart of Darkness." To play the game under the best possible conditions, consult the recommendations below. Minimum Configuration: IBM PC or 100% compatible computer. Windows 95 with 486 DX2/66 MHz processor and 16 MB RAM. Or Windows 98 with Pentium processor and 16 MB RAM. Or Windows NT 4.0 (service pack 3 or later) with 75 MHz Pentium processor and 24 MB RAM.1 MB PCI or VLB SVGA graphics card (DirectX-compatible), sound card (DirectX-compatible), Double-speed CD-ROM drive (with sustained data rate 300 KB/sec) and 84 MB available hard disk space. Recommended Configuration: IBM PC or 100% compatible computer with 90 MHz Pentium processor or better. Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0 (service pack 3 or later) with 32 MB RAM. 1 MB PCI SVGA graphics accelerator card (DirectX-compatible), 16-bit stereo sound card (DirectX-compatible), 4X or better CD- ROM drive and 84 MB available hard disk space. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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