Review Summary: "Activation plus six minutes. Pulse is 45, respiration 10. Looking good, Cole."
Infamous is a comic book inspired game that was released for the Playstation 3 in 2009. As though the mere thought of exploring an open world city and fighting bad guys with electricity based powers isn't appealing enough, the game itself plays very well with an excellent soundtrack to boot. It's a unique mix of load and mellow beats and rhythms that supports a lot about the electrifying experience that this game offers.
The soundtrack to the game was mostly composed by Brazilian DJ Amon Tobin along with composers James Dooley and Mel Wesson. The former is notoriously known for his heavily layered style of drum and bass with jazz fusion and makes the musician an appropriate choice for this video game. Tobin's sound and style supports the nature of the game very well with a lot of jungle style drums paired with electronica sound bites. To some, the beats might feel a little too dominating and random, especially on the track "Alden Strikes" but the drums are definitely the most memorable part because the snare and punch is so well worked out. It brings a real sense of anarchy and social chaos to your speakers that you don't even need to play the game to understand how black and white the universe of it is.
This sound makes up a good portion of the first half of the album but it isn't all random snares and madness. There are also a lot of tracks with a slower but eerie vibe that compliments the social decay of the game's environments just as much as Tobin's adrenaline driven beats. Such tracks seem to be well placed alongside the rest so the album has plenty of chances to exhale and mellow out in the ambiance.
Overall, Infamous is a well executed soundtrack. The epic stadium sound might feel a little bit pretentious in a few spots but it has a varied rhythm and vibe that keeps things interesting throughout. It's refreshing for the game's genre and it compliments a lot about it's themes and atmosphere. It's a unique piece of work that's a real pleasure for fans of the game to have on their mp3 players and if you haven't played the game or don't own a Playstation 3, then listening to this just might get you curious enough to check it out.
