Game music of the day: Red Steel 2

Welcome to GamesRadar's daily blast of all things pertaining to the ever-growing field of game music. Each post will introduce new sounds, games, composers and fan-made remixes of gaming's greatest aural achievements.

Game: Red Steel 2

Song: Main Theme (short version)

Composer: Tom Salta

Up until now I've been sharing years-old tracks from games that are long since gone. Today I was able to grab a couple of brand-new cuts from composer Tom Salta, who workedon Red Steel 2's surprisingly strong West-meets-East soundtrack. He's been a part of Ubi's musical stable for a while, having handled audio for the original Red Steel, HAWX and the two recent GRAW titles.

The above theme is a perfect example of what's in store - an excellent fusion of Wild West adrenaline cut with feudal Japanese wind instruments. The whole OST is balanced this way, never dipping too far into one genre or another,always managing to invoke both contrasting styles without one taking over.It's rare that a Wii-specific game gets this kind of audio splendor, so soak it up.

And here's a bonus track called "Back to the Old Temple," a Zen-like, atmospheric tune that plays as you saunter through, you guessed it, an old temple. It leans a bit more towards the Eastern side of things, but again, it's of higher quality than Wii owners are used to. Hats off to these guys for making something that's moody, thematically fitting and (best of all) enjoyable to listen to.


"Black Hole Power" by Yoshito Hirano


Quite possibly the most improved sequel of all time

Brett Elston

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.