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Soundtrack Review: Crysis 2 (2011)

Reviewer: JØrn Tillnes

Crysis 2 Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the video game score Crysis 2 by Hans Zimmer, Borislav Slavov and Tillman Sillescu.

"It's not over-the-top great, but it keeps me entertained for the short amount of time it is being played"

It's funny that a hyped up project like Crysis 2 just sneaks past everyone and silently release the score on iTunes. It has been talked about for ages but now it's finally here. There were rumors that Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe were doing music for it, rumors that was killed, then confirmed by Hans Zimmer himself recently. If we base the facts on iTunes tags alone, Hans Zimmer is in fact involved in the project and on the cover it says in big bold letters: "Featuring Music From Hans Zimmer". Inspecting more closely that includes only 3 tracks on the score while Borislav Slavov and Tillman Sillescu is doing the rest. Lorne Balfe is a no-show on the iTunes release (but rumors has it he will appear on the 2CD release.

Track List

1. Crysis 2 Intro (By Zimmer)	*****
2. Insertion (By Zimmer)	*****
3. Battery Park (By Slavov)	****
4. New York Aftermath (By Slavov)	*****
5. No Escape (By Sillescu)	****
6. Close Encounter (by Sillescu)	****
7. SOS New York (By Slavov)	****
8. Chase (By Slavov)	****
9. Under Assault (By Sillescu)	***
10. Crynet, Shoot Him Down! (By Slavov)	****
11. Sneak and Shoot (By Slavov)	****
12. One Way in (By Slavov)	****
13. Gate Keepers (By Slavov)	****
14. Rampage (By Sillescu)	*****
15. Invaders (By Zimmer)	****

It's obvious that the only involvement of Hans Zimmer here is the main theme which is a very good one I have to say. It is featured in the first two cues 'Crysis 2 Intro' and 'Insertion'. It must be a dream gig for Zimmer just doing themes which he loves to do. If you remember, he did the same for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year with Lorne Balfe doing the rest.

2CD

There will be a 2CD release of this from La-La Land Records coming out shortly by the way so there might be more fun to be had. I feel this release actually warrants a 2CD release and I will explain why.

Like I mentioned, the Zimmer stuff is top notch but the main composer here is Borislav Slavov with additional score being done by Tilman Sillescu. Tilman Sillescu is quite known in the game music arena, at least to me, but Borislav Slavov is a new name for me. Borislav Slavov (aka Glorian) is a Bulgarian composer currently employed by Crytek Black Sea. He has previously worked on Knight of Honor, WorldShift, Gothic 3 and also Two Worlds II.

Borislav's cue 'New York Aftermath' is a beautiful and creepy end of the world cue with some gritty ambient noises in the background while a solo violin is playing on top and then goes into a percussion/piano piece and then a beautiful string variation of the theme that was made by Zimmer.

The rest of Borislav's music is tight and enticing, yet leaves me with a few questions. It's pretty basic action stuff, but I like it a lot, just wish it was more distinct.

Tilman Sillescu has three tracks on the score, 'No Escape', 'Close Encounter' and 'Rampage'. The first two cues are standard action stuff not unlike Borislav's cues, but 'Rampage' is a bit different in that it uses parts of Zimmer's theme.

Update: There is a new 16 tracks release called Crysis 2: Be Fast! on Amazon MP3 and iTunes.

Conclusion

I would say this that Crysis 2 checks a lot of the boxes I require for it to be a great action score. It's not over-the-top great, but it keeps me entertained for the short amount of time it is being played. The iTunes release is only 36 minutes long, so I am definitely getting the 2CD release. I also have to mention that the leaked release of Crysis 2 is real and has pretty much everything presented here on the iTunes version plus some additional material that will probably be in the 2CD release. If you can't wait for the 2CD release, get this one as it is dirt cheap on iTunes right now.

->Buy the MP3 Album on Amazon<-

Listen to the Crysis 2 soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, Borislav Slavov and Tillman Sillescu below:

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