Overview

Developed by Gulti and published by Square Enix, 0 Day: Attack on Earth is a shooter that portrays war against gigantic creatures in familiar cities. Three composers were selected for the title that should be familiar with shooter fans, namely Psyvariar's Yuki Yoshino (aka Emagicker), Raiden's Go Sato, and Radirgy's Kou Hayashi. They focused on conveying the intense battles of the game using a range of militaristic music and occasional experiments. While they succeeded in creating a fitting score, the soundtrack release isn't quite as appealing for isolated listening.

Body

Yuki Yoshino portrays the initial attack on earth with two militaristic compositions. Ideal for the initial action scenes, "The Beginning" is a crisis theme dominated by shrill brass motifs and racing timpani rolls, while "Prologue" takes a slower cinematic approach as the player learns of their mission ahead. The first major highlight is provide by "Sortie". It combines a driving bass line that pushes gamers into the action with a richly shaped string melodies to show the grandiose scenes that are unfolding. Yoshino's other contrbutions, namely the brooding "Inferiority" and gliding "Supremacy", also maintain the orchestral focus and are somewhat reminiscent of the Ace Combat series. Yet while functional and competent, these compositions are far from spectacular. They derive heavily from militaristic tradition, so lack originality, and don't really have the melodiousness or flair to make up for it. What's more, the compositions often lack intricacy and feature mediocre samples. They're acceptable, but not necessarily appealing.

Fortunately, Kou Hayashi's contributions to the soundtrack manage to inspire some interest. What's particularly fascinating about them is how much atmosphere they create with such minimal elements. "Kanda" mainly features just percussion and sound effects, but manages to be a impacting and chilling nevertheless, combining oriental and industrial influences to awe-inspiring effect. "Bridge of Vestige" creates an even more apocalyptic sound with its edgy bass line and dark brass passages, while "Ukareme Undercover" inspires urgency with its blend of exotic percussion and piano runs. Finally, "Kachidoki" blends the percussive and orchestral influences with more prominent techno elements to perplexing effect. In context, these compositions bring out so much energy and atmosphere to the scenes, despite their ambient nature. Out of context, they're unlikely to appeal to many people, but are certainly creative and rhythmically compelling nevertheless.

Go Sato's compositions also hybridise several stylistic elements. While "Shimmer of Hope", "Reckless Bet", and "The Decisive Battle" maintain the orchestral focus, they have considerably more melodic flair and energetic bass lines than Yoshino's compositions. They're still not must-listens, but hardly boring either. He rounds off the game in action-packed style with the dissonant "Disadvantage", heroic "Predominance", and frenzied "Menace". These each bring some character to the score, as they portray the emotions of the protagonists and enemies, and also make the climax of the game considerably more powerful. However, they still lack that spectacular element. The soundtrack concludes with Yoshino's bittersweet military anthem "Epilogue". Finally, Sato offers a relieving rock improvisation "The Morning Sun Lights Up the City" more reminiscent of his music on the Raiden series.

Summary

In an era characterised by so many high-quality orchestral scores, the trio behind 0 Day: Attack on Earth struggle to stand out. The majority of these compositions are merely average militaristic compositions that work in context, yet lack creative or entertainment value. The only really outstanding compositions here are Kou Hayashi's and even those are select tastes. The music here is still decent, so some may wish to still purchase a digital copy, especially those with affinity for the game itself. However, most others will be better sticking to Ace Combat and other big budget productions.