Soundtrack Review: Medal of Honor: Underground (2000)

Posted by Jon Blough

December 10, 2008

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2000mohu Soundtrack Review: Medal of Honor: Underground (2000) This is a review of the the video game score for Medal of Honor: Underground by Michael Giacchino.

This score is in some ways a stylistic reverse of its predecessor as it abandons the noble power of the Allied theme for a more flowing, sweeping main theme here. The theme is imbued with lots of French flavor, like the accordion layering the horn solo in “May 10, 1940”. If you think the theme is brilliant, you may equate this score on par with the first in the series. If you find yourself missing the bold, diverse inserts of the Allied theme, the score will still be strong but a bit less than perfect. The restraint in the theme’s performances in the score’s more low-key tracks (all more atmospheric and less satisfying than any from the first MOH score) are likeable enough but fail to grip you. However, the theme gets plenty of satisfying performances in the action, particularly its brass usage in the thunderous “Panzer Blockade”, and its performance in the first cue is truly beautiful.

Also new to the series here is the choir, with the mournful “Last Rites” and the exciting “Battle of Monte Cassino” taking the series to elegiac new heights. The action cues also a step up from those of this score’s predecessor. “Labyrinth of the Minotaur” goes rampant in its brass performances, while “Escape from Casablanca” and “The Motorcycle” chase are impressively driving and energetic. Almost all of the action cues also receive plenty of powerful blasts of the Nazi fanfare, which gets a more central role in this score than in the first score. The lack of the dark, winding secondary theme for the Nazis is a disappointment though. This score wows in a lot of instances and only disappoints in a few; while not great, it is another strong, often thrilling effort in the series.

Album (66:00)
01. May 10th, 1940 (Main Theme) (04:33)
02. The Streets of Paris (03:48)
03. Amongst the Dead (03:16)
04. Fleeing the Catacombs (03:06)
05. Panzer Blockade (03:18)
06. The Road to Tobruk (03:22)
07. Escape From Casablanca (03:20)
08. Passage to Iráklion (03:38)
09. Labyrinth of the Minotaur (03:21)
10. Ascent to the Castle (03:24)
11. Last Rites (03:31)
12. The Battle of Monte Cassino (03:13)
13. The Motorcycle Chase (04:17)
14. Returning to Paris (03:22)
15. Beneath the City (03:09)
16. Each Night He Comes Home To Me (03:51)
17. May 10th, 1940 (Alternate Version) (04:33)
18. Er laesst mich niemals allein (OSS Radio Broadcast) (04:32)