Deadly Tide (Video Game Score)

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Who, what, where, why? Those were the questions, now the answers. Who: Mark Stratford. A name I never heard off frankly. What: Deadly Tide, a game of Microsoft from the year 1996, a shoot em up underwater. Where: the music is found on the fourth disc, starting with the second track you will do fine. Why: simply because it is good music. Of course games are today the graphic gem of motion capture, actors lend their voices or overall quality to the game and mostly you receive the perfect fit of music. Mark Stratford isn't big but if he can make music for such a shoot-em-up then he deserves at least the decency of a review of his score. I know the soundtrack is short, seems to be consisting of a full synthetic sound but don't let this fool you. Because first of all the themes are good, not once do you encounter a noisy tone or electronic failure and especially because it has so much intelligence, you can listen to it time after time. Each track is a highlight and after finishing the game, I inserted my own track titles for my personal pleasure.

The sad thing about this kind of score is that not a lot of people will hear it. Or you have to own the 4 set disc or you must be interested in games as 'film' music. I know this isn't much, but I'm pleased and I'm sure anyone who played the game thought wonders of the initial background music. It fits so well with the scenes. Sometimes, heck a lot of times you even get a synthesized choral effect but this especially works wonders because it even enhances your vision about this composition. Perhaps it begins to sound the same after a while but the themes and various action tracks keep rolling with variation, except the end of each track which seems to end with almost the exact same sound each time. Deadly Tide overall is no joke, I love it and does the game proud. The best part still is that it rocks outside the game even more. What do people say about good film music? Needs to work in as outside the movie / game? Well then this is surely the right one. Especially worth remembering are the following tracks 'Main Title / Welcome to Earth', 'Surprised Alien Attack', 'Stop Nuke Count / Break Trough Lines' and 'Survive the Tunnels' with its combination of synthetic and choral wonder, truly superb.

Playing the game helps to appreciate the music even more but any good music works outside of its creation as smoothly as possible. Deadly Tide doesn't disappoint in these situations. Now the only problem is finding the game if you want to listen to it. I'm afraid a 1996 game isn't that easy anymore to find, but those that have the prosperity of discovering its whereabouts should cease the day. I don't think it will cost that much anymore. It still might sound unpromising but Deadly Tide of Mark Stratford is a wonderful surprise, offering more quality then first expected and especially a fan of movie music will no doubt be surprised by its sound. It's no orchestral score like Outcast, but it serves a mighty good portion of action music. And perhaps even play the game for all its worth, it's a short but cool game, it's a short but riveting action score.

\도도/

Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title / Welcome To Earth (3.58) Excellent Track

2. Surprised Alien Attack (5.45) Excellent Track

3. Stop Nuke Count / Break Trough Lines (2.43) Excellent Track

4. Capture Alien Fighter (2.43)

5. Destroying Alien Mining Facility (3.55)

6. Protect Home Base From Destruction (4.39)

7. Survive Alien Tunnels (3.11) Excellent Track

8. Destroy The Reserves (3.46)

9. Eliminate The Hostile Threat (2.07)

Total Length: 32.55

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