Light Force (Faster Than Light 1986) is yet another game set in space - actually when putting this article together, I realised for the first time just how many Hubbard soundtracks featured on space shootem-ups! It's quite surprising!

Light Force is an interesting composition, it’s a more subtle sound mix in some ways compared to Hubbard’s other work. It’s certainly distinctive and complements the game beautifully.

A test for knowing just how good some game music can be, is to listen to the music separately from the game, with the advent of the internet and the downloadable mp3s of C64 music you can experience this easily. Light Force is one of those 'stand out' tunes, which is great, even heard on its own.
 Light Force
Light Force by Faster Than Light


Sanxion by Thalamus
Flash video - press play button to start
Sanxion (Thalamus 1986) features one of Hubbard’s most famous pieces of music during the loading sequence for the game. Almost immediately it became a Hubbard classic. The music works so well because it’s 'different' from any other music that was around at the time - you just never heard anything sound quite like this! It’s a terrific mix and one of those sound tracks that actually becomes better the more you hear it.

It's not surprising that this music has been remixed and re-released numerous times by other musicians including Matt Gray on the compunet demo Sanxion Re-Loaded!

When the game loads you are also treated to a rendition of Romeo and Juliet! - A truly bizarre idea for the title music, but strangely it does seem to work and is not as out of place as you may think!

WAR (Martech 1986) had an interesting, unusual score and was quite a long soundtrack. The game is a space shootem-up similar to Uridium.

The music suits the game quite well. It starts slowly and a bit strange, but progresses to a strong and powerful mix. About half way through the music it really kicks in to gear with a rather busy, even hectic arrangement where so much seems to be going on – it’s almost like 5 sound channels are playing simultaneously, obviously it can’t be as the C64’s hardware only has 3! But it certainly gives that impression.

I think this soundtrack was underrated at the time, as although it is not as popular as some of Hubbard’s other work, it is certainly sufficiently different to other music you may have heard.

It's not surprising that this music has been remixed and re-released on CD by Chris Abbott of c64audio.com. Chris obviously recognised the quality of this music and finally gave it the promotion it deserved.
WAR
WAR by Martech

Delta (Thalamus 1987) is another stunning piece of work and really showcased the different kind of instruments that Hubbard music could incorporate.
Delta
Delta by Thalamus
During the loading sequence of this game - a music demo is available for use. You can use the joystick to switch the various instruments on different sound channels to create your own remix of the Delta loading tune. It was a brilliant idea and great fun.

But the best was yet to come - when the game loaded and you started to play the game - the most unusual and eerie piece of music plays. The music at first just seems a bit weird and nothing special, but it’s an inspired and original 11-minute extravaganza! With a simple but effective phasing in of the sound channels, the music gradually builds up as you continue to progress through the levels of the game.

It’s probably one of Hubbard’s most elaborate soundtracks. At first you’re not entirely sure what to make of it! - But trust me after hearing it for about 5 minutes you will soon realise that you are experiencing something special. It’s a captivating tune, which fits the game superbly. You will never hear anything quite like this on another C64 game and if you have never heard it before then it’s definitely a track you need to check out!