Outcast

It seems as though it is becoming more and more common for computer games to take advantage of a full orchestral underscore during game play. With such games as "Heart of Darkness" (composed by Bruce Broughton) and "Medal of Honor" (composed by Michael Giacchino) getting some attention, I thought it would be only fair to point out one that might have slipped through the cracks. "Outcast" is an adventure game that, like most sci-fi games, involves a lot of wandering around, some action, talking to characters, and more. The games worlds are so involved and intricate that the game makers decided an orchestral score was needed. They ended up turning to composer Lennie Moore, who had previously worked as an orchestrator for William Stromberg (Trinity and Beyond). Moore's experience in orchestrating very classical-sounding music comes through in his score to "Outcast", which was performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra.

"Daokas" is very fast-paced piece that is in the vein of "Flight of the Bumble Bee". The strings are furious, and the interplay between the woodwinds and the brass makes it a very fun piece - it reminded me of how those great classical pieces played out. The progression in the piece is exciting, and a great start to an album that blew me away. "Soldier's Camp" is a tense piece that employs the use of a choir. The dark and moody "World of Marshes" has a mysterious, ominous quality about it.

Moore's writing is very classically grounded, and the "World of Snow" cue is a prime example of everything that is right about this score. The complex orchestration, the choir, and the thematic choices all mesh together to create a titillating listening experience. Two bonus tracks are included on the album: "Orchestra Rehearsal" is an amusing outtake from the recording session, and "Ulukai Dance" is a very strange "dance remix" type of cue that employs dialogue from the game to put together a rather amusing synth-based dance number.

William Stromberg conducted the Moscow Symphony Orchestra for this score, and it sounds absolutely top-notch. I still can't get over the fact that they are recording full orchestra scores for computer games these days, but I'm certainly glad that they are! Running a little over an hour long, (an hour!!) this score was released by Infogrames (the company that put out the game) and so it might be hard to come by. But if you can find it, I would highly recommend doing anything and everything you can to get this soundtrack. You won't be disappointed.