Overview

Extreme Road Trip 2 is the newly released sequel to one of the most popular racing titles released on smartphones. For the soundtrack, veteran remixer and Mass Effect 2 co-composer Jimmy Hinson (aka Big Giant Circles) took over the role of his friend Magnus Pålsson (aka SoulEye). He wrote the music in a similar spirit to its predecessor, but incorporated more tracks and richer fusions throughout. For the game's soundtrack release on Bandcamp, he also commissioned a trio of bonus remixes.

Body

The title theme maintains the retro feel of the franchise, while taking the soundtrack in a bigger and bolder direction than its predecessor. Both facets of racing are reflecting by the contrast of the two main elements of this theme — gritty rock riffs on electric guitar and the uplifting melodies provided by the chiptune lead. With the support of a solid chord progression, the bleepy main melody is utterly delightful and takes listeners to all the right places. It's also very well-developed, this single theme matching the length of the entire soundtrack for the original game. OverClocked ReMix's Benjamin Briggs also offered a bonus remix of this track for the soundtrack release. Blending buoyant chiptune sounds with soft electronic backing, some parts of this remix are full of frivolity, others are quite dreamy.

Moving to the main gameplay, "In the Zone" is full of energy and charisma. This time round, Hinson seems to draw some influences to the mainstream trance scene by offering an anthemic melody, dreamy soundscapes, and pounding beats. However, the racing feel and chiptune emphasis is still strong here. This track is featured in three other versions on the soundtrack release. Hinson wrote an alternative version of the theme that features harder electronic and rock elements, but otherwise stays similar to the original. Vyxor offers a deep, introspective remix of the theme that warps the main melody and emphasises minimalistic synthpads. Ryan Ike's remix is even stranger, shifting from an Asian-inspired introduction into a dubstep remix filled with contrasts.

The last major track on the soundtrack is "Power Trip". Of all the tracks here, this one is most reminiscent of SoulEye's ingame music for the original game, with its all-chiptune rendering and super-catchy upbeat melodies. It's incredibly well done and will delight all old-school gamers out there. Hinson commissioned no bonus remixes of this track, unlike the other two. The soundtrack is rounded off by a couple of short but sweet fanfares.

Summary

The soundtrack for Extreme Road Trip 2 is much more ambitious than the original. Though there are just three main tracks, all are quite different and excellently done. Hinson's choice to flesh out the soundtrack release with several bonus remixes was also an inspired one and each remixer provides a fascinating perspective on the originals. Overall, highly recommended and well worth the 4 USD pricetag.