28 March 2011, Australia & New Zealand – The roar of the engine, the rumble of the exhaust, the screech of the tires – these sounds help draw players into the world of SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED™ to deliver this year’s most authentic racing game. Audio is as important an aspect of the entertainment experience as gameplay and visuals but it’s the game’s incredible score that transforms it from a racing game to an epic experience.
To accomplish this, EA has enlisted some of the world’s top composers and alternative music’s top bands to expand, enhance and re-imagine ten tracks to create the SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED soundtrack. The composers tapped into chart topping songs from Rise Against, Hollywood Undead, Escape The Fate, The Bravery, Anberlin, 30 Seconds To Mars, Stone Temple Pilots, Switchfoot, Biffy Clyro and Jimmy Eat World to create the soundtrack.
SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED features a completely new style of soundtrack that uses sonic themes to engage the player and represent the driver’s battle. Each composer was tasked with using the emotional themes of the game to create a cinema-level score.
“This is a totally unique approach to videogame scores,” said Steve Schnur, Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing for EA. “We’ve brought together some of the most cutting-edge composers from various film, TV, trailer and gaming backgrounds in entertainment to re-imagine the music of ten absolutely distinctive bands and sonically encapsulate the driver’s emotional journey.”
Composers:
Ramin Djawadi, best known for his Grammy-nominated score for IRON MAN, his Emmy-nominated score for PRISON BREAK, and score for EA’s 2010 Medal Of Honor
Troels Folmann, a British Academy Award winning film, trailer and game composer, known for scoring hundreds of film trailers and TV promos
Heavy Melody Music, whose team has created original music for Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Super Bowl TV commercials and many other games
Stephen Baysted, has scored numerous racing games including Need for Speed SHIFT
Mick Gordon, the AudioGang award-winning composer behind Need for Speed World and Need for Speed SHIFT.
Artist – Song
30 Seconds To Mars – Night Of The Hunter
Anberlin – We Owe This To Ourselves
Biffy Clyro – Mountains
The Bravery – Ours
Escape The Fate – Issues
Hollywood Undead – Levitate
Jimmy Eat World – Action Needs An Audience
Rise Against – Help Is On The Way
Stone Temple Pilots – Take A Load Off
Switchfoot – The Sound (John M. Perkins Blues)
Developed by the award-winning Slightly Mad Studios, SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED will be available in Australia on March 31 and April 1 in New Zealand for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC.