Mass Effect 3′s soundtrack sets the captivating tone for Commander Shepard’s struggle to take Earth back from an ancient alien race known as the Reapers. Like previous Mass Effect games, a number of talented composers will play critical roles in the game’s musical development, with direction led by BioWare’s acclaimed audio team.

“The magic of BioWare games has always been the emotional power of the story, so music is extremely important to the experience,” said Casey Hudson, Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series. “With Mass Effect 3, we’re taking players on a more personal journey, even though the scope is bigger than ever – an all-out galactic war!  Each composer has played an intricate role in delivering the combination of epic scope and delicate emotion that will make Mass Effect 3 the best game in the series.”

The Mass Effect franchise is set in a science fiction universe blending world-class shooter combat with interactive and cinematic storytelling and space exploration. It is one of the most highly decorated series in the history of games, having earned over 200 international awards including the 2011 AIAS Interactive Achievement Award for Game of the Year for Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 3 enhances all elements of gameplay from its critically acclaimed predecessors and tells the epic story of Commander Shepard and his journey to unite the galaxy against an unstoppable force destroying life as we know it.

Purchase now via Sumthing Digital, Amazon MP3, or iTunes.

New York – October 4th, 2011 – Sumthing Else Music Works, Inc. proudly presents Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Original Soundtrack featuring the original music score from Tripwire Interactive’s critically acclaimed World War II first person shooter experience for the PC. Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Original Soundtrack is released today for digital download at www.sumthingdigital.com, Amazon MP3, iTunes® and other digital music sites. The CD soundtrack will be available at retail outlets through Sumthing Else Music Works www.sumthing.com on November 1st.

Focusing on the Battle of Stalingrad and the surrounding operations, both German and Russian from July 1942 to February 1943, the game allows the player to experience one of the most brutal battles in all of human history. For the first time ever in a first person shooter, gamers will be able to experience WWII from the Axis side in a German single player campaign.

Heroes of Stalingrad features a unique dynamic music system that adapts the emotional mood of the soundtrack to match the morale of the player based on the flow of the battle. To highlight the differences between the two warring powers the game features a completely unique soundtrack for both the Russian and German sides. Award-winning composer Sam Hulick (Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2) composed the evocative, emotional and haunting music that sets the mood for one of the most brutal battles in all of human history-the battle for Stalingrad.

Heroes of Stalingrad takes the award-winning Red Orchestra franchise into the next generation of gaming. Cutting-edge graphics and audio built on Unreal Engine 3, inventive features and streamlined realism deliver an unrivaled WWII experience. As always with the Red Orchestra franchise, Tripwire delivers unrivaled accuracy and attention to detail, along with gritty, vicious combat in multiplayer, co-op and solo modes. For more information visit: www.heroesofstalingrad.com.

About Sumthing Else Music Works

Since its creation in the late 1990′s by the world-renowned songwriter, musician and record producer, Nile Rodgers, Sumthing Else Music Works has become the acknowledged industry leader in licensing and distributing video game soundtracks. Possessing full in-house services worldwide, from retail marketing and sales through physical and digital distribution, Sumthing is partnered with the world’s leading video game developers and publishers including BioWare, Bungie, Capcom, Crytek, Eidos, Epic, Gearbox, Microsoft, Sega, Sony and THQ. Their catalog of titles includes the best selling video game soundtrack of all time, Halo 2: Volume One, as well as award-winning and critically acclaimed titles including: Gears of War 3, Space Marine, InFamous 2, Red Faction: Armageddon, Halo: Reach, Homefront, Alan Wake, Fable III, Halo: Legends, God of War III, Uncharted 2, Halo 3: ODST, Dark Void, Borderlands, InFamous, Resident Evil 5, Street Fighter IV, Halo Wars, Halo Trilogy, Gears of War 2, Fable II, Too Human, Brothers In Arms, Crysis, Advent Rising, Fable, Gears of War, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2 Volume Two, Halo 3, Hitman: Blood Money, Hitman: Contracts, Jade Empire, Kameo: Elements of Power, Mass Effect, Red Steel, Unreal Tournament III, Freedom Fighters and many others.

For more information on Sumthing Else Music Works and its complete catalog of video game soundtracks, visit www.sumthing.com and www.sumthingdigital.com.

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Full interview here: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/714182/meet-the-composers-interview-with-mass-effects-sam-hulick/

The musical score was mixed and mastered by John Rodd (Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Avatar: the Game, plus over 150 major motion pictures) and features live performances from violinist Jeff Ball and the Men’s Chorale from the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale. With subtle nods to Beethoven, Wagner, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, and Mussorgsky, the score sets the perfect mood as a backdrop to the Battle of Stalingrad, filled with moments of both utter desperation and majestic heroism. Samples of the score can be heard on the music page.

Below are photos of John Rodd’s studio: Clearstory Sound.

“I feel very fortunate to have worked almost entirely on projects where the producer was not afraid of doing something different from the norm,” Hulick says. The latest trend of copying Hollywood film scores has “game developers wary of venturing outside the box musically, and it’s safer and a surer bet to stick with what works, though that’s not always the most exciting and rewarding route.”

Read more at MusicComposerBlog.com.

“For Heroes of Stalingrad our goal was to create a soundtrack that was fresh and different than the standard bombastic music usually heard in this genre,” said John Gibson, President of Tripwire Interactive. “Not only did Sam do this, but we were also blown away at how well he was able to nail the feeling of desperation and defiance that the soldiers in this battle would have felt.”

Heroes of Stalingrad will feature a unique dynamic music system that will adapt the emotional mood of the soundtrack to match the morale of the player based on the flow of the battle. To highlight the differences between the two warring powers the game will feature a completely unique soundtrack for the Russian and German sides.

An early version of the main theme music is now available in a video set to a montage of the latest screenshots from the game here:

Keep up to date with the latest development news feeds for Heroes of Stalingrad by following the official Steam game group here:

http://steamcommunity.com/games/RO2