Once you get past the fairly generic main theme statement (“Restless”) in Gears of War 3, Steve Jablonsky’s score is a fairly solid stream of action cues, designed to follow players as they worm their way through dangerous segments with brief moments of calm. “Infected Large and Hungry” is all action (literally a nonstop motor of synth percussion and strings with no endpoint), and the cheekily titled “Bridge Too Far Indeed” gooses its thunderous percussion with guttural male voices.

Jablonsky’s shown an affinity for colouring moods with subtle wordless chorals, and the effect within GOW3 adds some character depth and sincerity to more reflective moments (“Hanover’s Favorite Son”), or a foreboding danger when layered with trilling, shrieking brass in lengthy action pieces like “A Fine Mess.”

Running a full 78 mins., GOW3 is a solid action album, and while it doesn’t share themes with the recent Crysys II [M] scored by Jablonsky’s mentor, Hans Zimmer, there are some stylistic similarities, making this CD a close cousin in the realm of video games beefed with that recognizable blockbuster sound typical of both composers. Like Crysys II, most cues have a formal beginning as character action starts with a fast move, but few cues have any resolution. The cue editing is nevertheless tight, interpolating somber and less aggressive moods, transcending the score’s somewhat cheesy heroic theme recap at the end.

© 2011 Mark R. Hasan