Overview

Unreal set the precedent for many first-person shooters with its excellent story-led presentation and ground-breaking engine. Among the many impressive features of the game was its soundtrack by Alexander Brandon and Michiel van den Bos. The electronic music for the game set the atmosphere for the title wonderfully while being enjoyable on a stand-alone level too. In addition to a full 20 track soundtrack release, a 13 track soundtrack was included with the strategy guide version of the game.

Body

Despite its sparing length, there are a couple of exclusive tracks featured on the soundtrack for Unreal. One of these is the main theme, which sets the tone for the game with its mixture of synthy melodies and sci-fi soundscaping. It's a great track, though the opening track on the commercial release is somewhat better in my opinion. Less impressive is "Extreme", which is too short to be a worthwhile exclusive despite its functional merits.

Among the conserved tracks on this release, "Dig" wouldn't be out of place in a stealth section of a game, with its slow beat and thin textures. The way the melody comes in actually reminds me of some of the gold produced during the Amiga days, although the sampling is considerably more mature. Another surprisingly emotional track is "Skytown", which evolves through a considerable dramatic arch during its playtime. It's a vivid complement to the setting that works well on a stand-alone basis too.

I was also impressed by Brandon's "Vortex Rikers" and "Ruins", which provide a somewhat darker perspective on the Unreal universe. Michiel van den Bos' "Chizra" is quite a bit more abstract than Brandon's tracks, with its mixture of industrial and ethnic percussion. "Cellars of Dasa" is also quite effective in context, though I would have preferred other selections such as "Wargate" or "Erosion" from the commercial soundtrack in its place.

As with the commercial soundtrack, the release ends with a bonus remix interpreting the music from Unreal in a Euro dance style. It's an enjoyable track with plenty of melodic emphasis and upbeat stylings, though hasn't stood the test of time particularly well unlike the rest of the music here. It is stylistically quite superficial and doesn't have much mainstream appeal either, given it is a bit dated compared to today's club beats.

Summary

Overall, the soundtrack for Unreal was an impressive achievement in game music. It succeeds in being melodically compelling, functionally effective, and technologically commanded, and remains an enjoyable stand-alone listen to this day. That said, this strategy guide soundtrack features just 30 minutes of music and omits a number of great tracks, so it is better to head for the commercial soundtrack release.