Waldetoft still knows how to weave a dense web of instrumental layers and bring them together in a satisfactorily developed, heavyweight orchestral composition, mixing quieter, melody-driven passages into his raucous compositions. Other aspects of Europa Universalis III‘s signature sound seep into Rome as well. It also has to, as the choir will be one of Rome’s dominant musical forces. The instrument samples that Waldetorf uses pack a wallop and while the synth choir still doesn’t sound as forcefully as it ideally would, it’s more commanding than on Europa Universalis III.
Rome‘s mighty action tracks feature a more successfully implemented mix of instrumental colours, and they also benefit from the simple fact that they sound a lot punchier than their predecessors. Waldetoft had applied a similar mix of orchestra and solo instruments on Europa Universalis III, but not to an entirely satisfying degree on the album’s comparatively bland march-driven composition. Here as on that earlier soundtrack, solo instruments are spliced into the orchestral onslaught, and on Rome, it falls to the non-Western instruments to provide melodic direction and some relief from the orchestra’s monolithic tones. Waldetoft lets rip on these cues - the sheer impact of the combined choral and percussion sounds is impressive - but as on Europa Universalis III, Waldetoft also manages to cleverly shape the orchestra’s fortissimo passages, so that the music doesn’t feel bloated and monotonous. The propulsions that drive “Auxiliaries”, “Barbarians Approaching” and “Battle of Zama” find a happy middle-ground between hammering force and intricate layering that makes the bombast not just bearable, but actively stirring. Waldetoft avoids the electronic manipulations of Gladiator and the catchy in-your-face nature of its rhythms. This is not to suggest that Rome‘s first action tracks are wholly derivative or lacking in quality. Powerful, soaring horn and choir melodies lead this mighty conglomerate of rhythmic force, while a number of ethnic solo instruments - duduk, djembe, yan ching (a Chinese zither) - add colour and period sheen to the proceedings. Heavy brass rhythms, reinforced by choir and string staccatos, mix with an array of percussion instruments of various national origins. The ingredients that Waldetoft uses here and throughoutthe game aren’t surprising and follow the conventions that any large-scale, Antiquity-themed soundtrack post-Gladiator apparently needs to follow. After the album’s first cue’s pastoral mood has subsided, Rome launches into battle with “Auxiliaries”. At least according to the opening tracks of this soundtrack, this is a game about empires clashing in all their ferocious might, and Waldetoft easily surpasses his battle tracks on Europa Universalis III in volume and intensity to depict this struggle. BodyĮuropa Universalis Rome wastes no time in letting you know that it’s a heavy-hitter. Finally, in April 2012, Paradox Interactive released Waldetoft’s score for Rome as a digital download, together with two other scores of his ( Europa Universalis III and Victoria II). As on that game, the music for Rome was composed by Andreas Waldetoft, who only saw his work receive a dedicated release about four years after the game had hit store shelves. Once more, critics reacted well to the depth of Paradox Interactive’s latest offering, although it didn’t receive as much acclaim as Europa Universalis III. The main difference was that Paradox Interactive’s flagship franchise moved into ancient times for the first time, with all the tweaks and adjustments that this brought to the gameplay. You still have dozens of nations to choose from, and once you’ve started the game, you’ll either be delighted or intimated by how many options Rome offers you to manipulate every possible political, economical and social aspect of your kingdom. Between Rome and predecessor Europa Universalis III, not much had changed.
Europa Universalis Rome continued developer Paradox Interactive’s franchise of ‘grand strategy games’.
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