Tom Clancy’s The Division Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the Video Game Score Tom Clancy’s The Division by Ola Strandh.

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At a glance:

Geek Score: 100
Total Minutes Of Excellence: 78.5
Album Excellence: 100%

How are the scores calculated and what does it mean?

Tom Clancy’s The Division is a 2016 third-person tactical shooter Video Game developed and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. It was released on March 8, 2016. he Division takes place in mid-crisis Manhattan, an open world with destructive environments that are free for players to explore. The player’s mission is to restore order by investigating the source of a virus. The gameplay is similar to other third-person-shooters, in which player character can carry three weapons, and explosives like sticky bombs and smart mines to fight against enemies. The score is composed by Ola Strandh.

It’s triple AAA time again. Who has been waiting for this game since it was shown on E3 back in 2013 with that jaw dropping new 3D engine Snowdrop? Drool. Yeah that was amazing. It’s strange how something shown in 2013 can look better than actual 2016 gameplay but there you go. Still, I think it was hyped up too much and I don’t “have” to play it anymore, but I’m very curious and excited about the score by Ola Strandh. The score opens with ‘Prologue’, a totally unexpected awesomeness retro synth world appears. Now this music I had never expected, but wow it sure is a show stopper. The synths are gorgeous, layers upon layers of synth and an exciting theme buried in the underscore. Well that was just the prologue. Who’s to say the music won’t change character immediately as soon as you get past the opening scenes? Strandh has a plan. ‘We Are The Division’ has hints of those awesome synths used in ‘Prologue’. It sounds mightily impressive so far I have to say and there’s nothing wrong jiggling that nostalgia bone. When I listen to this music I don’t “feel” what I’ve seen so far from the game, but rather a vast science fiction world to explore and maybe that’s exactly what we’ll get.

This score is tight. The action music in ‘Precinct Siege’ has a perfect blend of heavy percussion, action and heroic themes with added retro. This score simply kicks ass on it’s own and if the game is even half as good, it might be a classic. This score might be considered a classic itself centuries from now. It’s certainly one of the few unique game scores that give me that retro feel while still kicking modern ass. It’s not all ass kicking though as Strandh goes all zen for a while in ‘The Garden’ and certainly ‘Safehouse’ and ‘Skyline’. Now I can understand the purists say that ‘Times Square’ is a bit drone-y, but there’s a s lot going on in this cue. I’ve heard it three times now and I find something new and exciting every time. Strandh isn’t afraid to experiment either as he does at the end of ‘Lexington’. It might irk some, but I loved it. Still after having listened to this, I can’t help think that this was created for something else, but I expect it fits the game perfectly and that has made me excited about it again. Well done to all involved! By the sound of things, it’s going to be extremely hard to pick out a “best” video game score this year because this is going to be one of them.

HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Prologue
2. We Are The Division
3. Precinct Siege *
4. The Garden
5. Dyers
6. Safehouse *
7. Mortuary
8. Times Square
9. Grand Central *
10. Lexington
11. Mall Rats *
12. Skyline
13. Amherst
14. Ferro *
15. Power Plant
16. The Academy
17. Bliss
18. Dark Zone