Republic: The Revolution

Republic: The Revolution is a computer game available for both Mac OS X and Windows computer systems. Featuring cinematic graphics and detailed levels of play, players follow this simulation through the eyes of a rebel leader in a new Republic of Russia with the goal of ousting its president. Composer James Hannigan, who has lent his musical talents to such games as Reign of Fire, Catwoman, and Evil Genius, approaches this simulation game with a bold and heroic style. At the same time, the music also features restrained solos and Russian choir marches, fleshing out a soundscape that brings the setting of this game to life. Scores for film have taken similar approaches, such as The Hunt for Red October, The Peacemaker, Enemy at the Gates, and K-19: The Widowmaker, but as Republic is a game score, the fully-developed themes and action music are less dominant. They are replaced by instrumental and vocal solos, which work better for a background of game play.

The album opens with "Rise of Karasov", which presents the bold main theme that also appears in "Karasov's Legacy", "Journey to Berezina", and "The Overthrow". Anthemic and heroic, this theme captures the rebel movement nicely. Quieter parts of the album consist of solo performances: a female vocalist is featured in "A New Day Begins", "Blood Brothers", and "Net Eveta" while a solo violin dominates "Pugachev By Night" and "Journey to Pugachev", appearing alongside a clarinet in the latter. The violin and vocals are also used together at various points in the score. The main theme and the female soloist join up toward the end of the album in "Net Enyeta".

Hannigan also employs some other effects for various scenes in the game that only appear in individual cues. "March of the Old Guard" is a short cue along the lines of a Sousa march featuring Russian vocals. "Buskers of Ekaterine" also differs from the rest of the album with a bouncy accordion and fiddle piece. Finally, bringing more of the militaristic sound to bear, "Covert Operations" begins with an eerily pulsating electric violin, as used in Black Hawk Down.

Larger budgets have given video games a nice advancement in the quality of their music, now often featuring fully orchestrated scores and it is nice to see this pass on to computer games as well. Hannigan's musical accompaniment to this game of Cold War rebellion hit the mark in terms of what sounds should support the on-screen images. I would have liked to have heard more of his main theme, but overall, the score benefits from the variety of solo instruments and focused orchestrations to the needs of the game.