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“Given time...MEDAL
OF HONOR: AIRBORNE earns its wings.”
|
 Medal
of Honor Earns its
Wings
Review by
Christopher
Coleman
After the success
of Infiniti Ward's
CALL OF DUTY 2 and
3 for the XBOX
360, the hope and
expectations
placed on EA's
MEDAL OF HONOR:
AIRBORNE were
high. AIRBORNE
would be EA's
first WWII shooter
release for the a
next-gen console
and with the
increased
processing speeds,
storage capacity,
an even more
immersive gaming
experience was the
expectation of
gamers. While
there was little
worry that
composer Michael
Giacchino would
deliver, it turns
out the game
itself was not as
well received as
EA would have
hoped - especially
from the PC
community. For
whatever bugs the
game might have,
it has to be
admitted that
parachuting into a
war zone is quite
a different
experience than
any other WWII
shooter has
provided until now
- thus hopefully
providing some
virgin territory
for the Giacchino
to jump into.
So we
endured a pretty
big build-up for
the game, then
somewhat of a let
down, but what of
the score?
No one was more
surprised than I,
as I found myself
quite
undwerwhelmed (yes
"under") with
MEDAL OF HONOR:
AIRBORNE after my
first few listens.
Something just
failed to grab me.
Perhaps
expectations were
just too high.
After bringing the
Medal of Honor
series to what I
have considered
its highest
musical moment in
FRONTLINE, I
didn't think there
was much head-room
left. After
listening through
a two or three
times, my initial
impression was
that I had been
right. It took a
quite a few
listens for me to
begin to
appreciate just
what MICHAEL
GIACCHINO had done
for AIRBORNE.
While remaining
faithful to his
past works, he was
still able to take
the music in some
new directions and
make the most of
what room did
exist.
The first track is
a good example.
Among a somewhat
non-descript
smattering of
blasts of brass
and encircling
strings, my ears
were finally
perked as the
memorable Medal of
Honor franchise
theme gets its
first full
orchestral
performance at
about the 2/3
mark. And so goes
the listening
experience through
the balance of the
score...at least
for one's first
few listens. The
score moves on,
solid as it is,
but only causing a
"Hmmm.
That's
interesting." only
so often. I
listened to track
after track only
to find myself
interested when a
familiar theme
appeared, but I'm
happy to say that
my experience
didn't stay like
this. Given
time...MEDAL OF
HONOR: AIRBORNE
earns its wings.
Now what slowly
comes to light, as
I was able pour
over AIRBORNE over
and over, are how
those "somewhat
non-descript
smatterings"
contain very
entertaining and
detailed elements.
The most
noticeable is the
new main theme he
has developed for
the game. While it
is introduced in
the first track,
it goes on to make
numerous
appearances
throughout the
soundtrack - each
variation a
welcome one. More
accurately, there
is an eight-note
segment of the
overall theme that
resurfaces time
and time again.
This motif,
itself, seems to
build off of a
variation of the
orignal, 5-note,
Medal of Honor
motif.
Listening closely
to the AIRBORNE
score, I pick up
homages to the
late, great, Jerry
Goldmsith and of
course John
Williams. It's all
done in good taste
and I can't help
but smile each
time I hear such
nods to greatness.
For example, in
track 2,
"Operation Husky,"
Giacchino revives
a technique long
since dropped from
John Williams' "toolbag."
Quick-paced
strings form the
backbone of this
piece provide a
familiar bit of
tension. It takes
a second or two
but I find myself
transported to
Williams' work of
the 1980s, in
particular THE
EMPIRE STRIKES
BACK and the
low-flying search
of a snowspeeder
over the terrain
of Hoth.
Now this
soundtrack doesn't
have anything that
comes close to
warranting a "bad"
tag, yet there
remain several
tracks which
eventually come to
truly stand out.
First, we have
Giacchino's almost
jazz-influenced
orchestration in
"Restoration
Temple" (track 5).
This is
immediately
followed by the
quick-tempoed,
"Gunfight in the
Ruins" (track 6),
which also derives
a lot of its
initial character
from the
percussion
section. Then on
the heels of this
track comes
another slight nod
to the
aforementioned
"Empire" in
"Operation
Neptune" (track
7). We have
the most
optimistic piece
of the lot,
"Unblocking Utah"
(track 10) which
continually builds
to a very
satisfying
crescendo of the
fanchise's main
theme. And finally
this release of
MEDAL OF HONOR:
AIRBORNE concludes
with the somberly
majestic "Medal of
Honor: Airborne
End Credits."
Due to its
relatively short
game-play, buggy
PC version, and
laughable
multiplayer, MEDAL
OF HONOR: AIRBORNE
has taken some
hard lumps from
fans and critics.
Still, MICHAEL
GIACCHINO
contribution
remains a
significant player
in the game's
immersive
qualities and does
deliver the goods
once again. In the
end, I don't feel
it reaches the
heights of MEDAL
OF HONOR:
FRONTLINE, but the
score remains an
entertaining
listen. The music
from the franchise
has become readily
available from
iTunes and also
directly from
Nettwerk Music as
mid-quality mp3s.
And even more
recently, two of
MICHAEL
GIACCHINO's Medal
of Honor works
have now become
available to
download as DRM-less,
256kb, mp3s from
Amazon.com! One of
them being -
AIRBORNE! I'm
increasingly
becoming less of a
fan of the world
of audio
compression
(relative to CD
quality, DVD-audio
and the like, but
it's still worth
getting your hands
on these tracks by
whatever means
available (legal
means that is) and
MEDAL OF HONOR:
AIRBORNE is no
exception.
Rating:
8/10
|
Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Medal of Honor:
Airborne Main
Theme |
3:51 |
**** |
|
2 |
Operation
Husky |
3:30 |
**** |
|
3 |
Back
Alleys |
2:27 |
**** |
|
4 |
In
the
Trenches |
2:37 |
**** |
|
5 |
Restoration
Temple |
2:49 |
**** |
| 6 |
Gunfight in the Ruins |
5:27 |
**** |
| 7 |
Operation Neptune |
2:37 |
**** |
| 8 |
Following the Demolition Wires |
1:09 |
*** |
| 9 |
Room by Room |
2:26 |
**** |
| 10 |
Unblocking Utah |
2:46 |
**** |
| 11 |
Operation Varsity |
3:41 |
**** |
| 12 |
Sniper Showdown |
3:19 |
*** |
| 13 |
Das Flaktum |
2:39 |
**** |
| 14 |
Destroying the Fuel Reserves |
2:32 |
*** |
| 15 |
Dropping into Nijmegen |
3:03 |
**** |
| 16 |
Wreckage of Nijmegen |
7:07 |
**** |
| 17 |
Defusing the Charges |
2:40 |
*** |
| 18 |
Taking Out the Sighting Tower |
2:33 |
**** |
| 19 |
Paestum Landing |
2:53 |
**** |
| 20 |
Medal of Honor: Airborne (End Credits) |
4:14 |
**** |
| |
Total
Running Time |
64 minutes |
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