In our book, Tom Salta is a minor god and one of the Lords of Gaming. For example, the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter "Main Theme" is perfect for the game; when you hear it, your first guess is "ah, this music is for an action movie from Jerry Bruckheimer."

Our point is Tom Salta's music fits the game's genre. And his music is populist - it's for we the people (and not for some snobby musical elite) because it's composed of the patterns, sounds, and instruments that we, the movie-watching common folk, expect to hear for the genre we're playing or watching. And then he adds a few unique touches. And you go away moved.

In other words, he gives a game that "big screen movie" feel. And this isn't empty hype or hero-worship on our part. You might remember the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards where Ghost Recon was nominated for Best Video Game Score.

Look at what he has for Ghost Recon and Red Steel. Ghost Recon's "Main Theme" we already covered in that "gosh, Tom Salta makes me wet my pants" opening paragraph above, so we'll move on to Red Steel.

"Katana" (Choir Theme) Words cannot explain what this music sounds like. Amazing. We're listening to it right now and I can't resist trying to slice through our Patrick Star stuffed toy with a plastic ruler. Classic Japanese sounds (reminds the QJ anime geeks of "Ghost in the Shell"). The dynamic movements and the dissonance between the orchestra and the choir and the percussion... We have to invent a word: ninjorgiastic!

Heavy Theme Head-banging might affect your gameplay. This music grabs you by the gut and *twists* it.

J-Pop Theme I personally found this mediocre. That's not to say it's bad. Most of us liked the sound of "Katana" better, and as J-Pop goes, we've heard better. I can't find the QJ writers who are serious J-Pop fans (they're probably out having fun and having a life), so I guess you'll have to take my one opinion as the truth. Hehe. Or you can listen to it at his website and tell me I'm wrong.

Do you think Red Steel is a contender for the 2007 Best Video Game Score award? Comment and discuss below!