5 Outstanding Original Game Soundtracks

By Edward Smith /

2. Freedom Fighters €“ Jesper Kyd

September 2003 was the month that everybody€™s brains fell out and all the game shops sprouted legs and ran into the sea. At least, that€™s the only possible explanation for why Freedom Fighters sold less than three-hundred thousand copies. Simple squad mechanics, complex level design, the perfect union of narrative and gameplay - it€™s a masterpiece, right? So if you haven€™t got it (statistically speaking that€™s all of you) get on eBay now and order a copy. Done? Ok, we€™ll continue. Jesper Kyd, the Danish music-man behind Assassin€™s Creed, Hitman and Borderlands wrote the Freedom Fighters score whilst living in a post-9/11New York City; rousing Russian choirs and baritone army chants back the jaunty, boot-march rhythm of Kyd€™s instrumentals, perfectly encapsulating the cold oppression of the Soviet occupation, and the determined spirit of the underdog rebellion. Here€™s one great track of many.Freedom Fighter€™s doesn€™t mix tracks as fluidly as Splinter Cell, but Kyd€™s compositions are still context sensitive: creep up to an enemy weapons cache and plant a C4. Wait for the detonation, and bask in the shuddering crescendo of Soviet orchestra. Kyd€™s eighteen track score makes the creeping bits creepier, the action beats heartier and the eventual payoffs beautifully satisfying.