In my comprehensive review of Halo, I briefly commented on the excellent musical aspects of the game. I avoided going into too much detail, though, as I knew I wanted to dedicate a separate review to the soundtrack itself. I recently purchased a copy of the official Halo soundtrack from Bungie's online store, and I couldn't be happier. While the game itself will play various pieces to match the onscreen action, the CD soundtrack presents 26 compiled songs for your listening enjoyment. Released on the Total Audio label, the Halo Original Soundtrack is 66 minutes of orchestral goodness that should definitely please fans of the game.

As fans undoubtedly already know, Marty O'Donnell and Mike Salvatori are the audio gurus responsible for the fabulous music in Halo. They've created a unique and complex score that blends orchestral arrangements and ambient synthesizers with pseudo-Gregorian chants. This style captures the tone of the game much better than the teeny-bopper pop fluff or looping cheese-rock riffs you'd find in many B-grade sci-fi games, an observation which becomes increasingly evident throughout the game. There is a wide range of musical diversity present in the 26 tracks, so the listening experience remains quite fresh for the duration. From the pseudo-spiritual chanting on "Under Cover of Night", to the digital blip-bleeps on "Alien Corridors", to the screaming guitars on "Rock Anthem For Saving The World", the Halo soundtrack is chock full of high-quality compositions that always heighten the emotional impact of key moments in the game.

The musical interludes are few and far between when playing Halo, so that each arrangement makes a greater impact when the music does kick in. Hearing these songs back-to-back is a little odd then, but the tracks are ordered to provide the greatest possible experience. I first fell in love with the music upon hearing the violin and drum fight song (parts of "Truth and Reconciliation Suite" and "Halo") that plays at the title screen after the famous chanting choir. I really haven't heard anything else like that in a game, ever. I also have developed quite a liking for the soothing "Perchance to Dream", which rekindles fond visions of stealthily head-bashing a room full of snoozing Grunts during Assault on the Control Room. Ah, sweet memories.

Most of the songs on the CD are capable of reminding players of key moments or specific battles. Whenever I hear the dueling violins of "On a Pale Horse", I remember those tough engagements trying to shoot down a pair of Banshees on a narrow overpass. Similarly, "Brothers in Arms", with its awesome, goose-bump-inducing crescendo, always gets me psyched up for blasting some Covenant keister on the Pillar of Autumn. That's damn good stuff, folks. The music is intimately tied to all the other aspects of the game, and just as I cannot play the game with the volume muted, I can't listen to the soundtrack without visualizing key moments. This is a sign of excellent game design, and should serve as a lesson to developers that skimping on music will adversely impact overall enjoyment of a title.

The only problem with this set is that, much like other Xbox game soundtracks, the fidelity of the CD is not quite as clear or deep as the game itself, which has Dolby Digital 5.1 sound output. When the bass drums kick in during "Halo" at the title screen, my living room is enveloped in sound and I can feel each drum beat vibrating through the floor boards. Listening to the same piece on the CD, the drums are barely noticeable in the background and the song loses a lot of its impact. While the CD still sounds quite clean and crisp most of the time, the clarity and deep bass response that I hear during the game are noticeably missing. Halo players that don't have A/V hardware probably won't even understand what I'm talking about here, but audiophiles will likely form a similar conclusion. Again, this isn't a fault of the CD itself, but is worth mentioning nonetheless.

In the end, the Halo Original Soundtrack is an excellent companion to an excellent game, and will no doubt satisfy most Halo players. The arrangements are unique and diverse, and the audio quality is fairly good. This set is a great deal for the $16.00 Bungie is charging, so it won't break the bank like a lot of the Japanese import soundtracks that gamers collect. I'm not sure the offer is still valid, but I received a free "making of Halo" DVD with my purchase, which put the icing on an already sweet cake. If you liked Halo, the Original Soundtrack is a requisite purchase.

Track Listing:
1. Opening Suite
2. Truth And Reconciliation Suite
3. Brothers In Arms
4. Enough Dead Heroes
5. Perilous Journey
6. A Walk In The Woods
7. Ambient Wonder
8. The Gun Pointed At The Head Of The Universe
9. Trace Amounts
10. Under Cover Of Night
11. What Once Was Lost
12. Lament For Pvt. Jenkins
13. Devils... Monsters...
14. Covenant Dance
15. Alien Corridors
16. Rock Anthem For Saving The World
17. The Maw
18. Drumrun
19. On A Pale Horse
20. Perchance To Dream
21. Library Suite
22. The Long Run
23. Suite Autumn
24. Shadows
25. Dust And Echoes
26. Halo