One big chunk of the immersive gameplay experience, along with great graphics and content, is soundtrack. What would Super Mario Bros be without the memorable soundtrack by Koji Kondo? That said, what would Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (and the original too) be without soundtrack composer Tom Salta?

Well, Tom Salta's soundtrack of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 pretty much lets us in on both the action and the general feel of a particular scene or a level. We've got three of examples of which from IGN. One is a tearjerking soft aria (The Tragedy of War), while the other two illustrate mounting tension (A Bridge Too Far and Juarez Under Fire).

For those who haven't played Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 yet - or was too busy taking care of business to pay attention to the score, click on play to check out the songs. Oh, there are a couple more over at Full Article.

If you fell in love with Tom Salta's game music for Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and Red Steel, then you'll be happy to that GRAW's award-winning composer is making a comeback for GRAW 2.

This time around, Tom has enlisted the help of the likes of the Hollywood Studio Symphony and the Page LA Studio Chorus groups. The former is best known for their works on "Chronicles of Narnia", "Spider-Man 2", and "Lost".

And while GRAW2 will be featuring hints of GRAW's Bruckheimer-ish tunes, Salta used a more aggressive and expressive overall tone to help draw out the title's intense moments. Well, given that some things are better experienced rather than heard, it may be best to mention that you can catch a glimpse of the game's soundtrack by way of yesterday's multiplayer demo - enjoy playing through while you're at it.

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!