Mass Effect 2 is about to get a little more epic. EA and Bioware announced today that Jack Wall was tapped to create the soundtrack for Mass Effect 2. His score for the game will be just about three hours worth of music. If you’re not sure who exactly Jack Wall is, and what he’s done before, the pop in your copy of Mass Effect for a little while and listen. He created the soundtrack for the first game too.

If you’re curious about the Mass Effect 2 soundtrack, you can get a sneak peek at it before the game comes out. EA has announced that the soundtrack will be released online on January 19, 2010, at certain online stores. Amazon already has a listing up for it, where you can already preview all 27 tracks…

Title: Video Games Live: Volume OnePrice: $16.98 ($0.99 per song download)Release Date: July 22, 2008Publisher: EMI Records Ltd. (Angel Records)Pros: An excellent collections of impressive performances. Often well-orchestrated collections and homages to game music with an honest air of respectability that even non-gamers can appreciate. The name implies there will be a Volume Two.Cons: A few segments are a bit slow and some of the instrumentation plainly mimics or masks the vocals.Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 91/100; A-; * * * * out of five.

No matter where you fall in the games as art spectrum there’s no denying that plenty of artistic efforts are put into many games’ production. Case in point is the Video Games Live tour which offers orchestral performances of video game music that would be difficult for any music snob to scoff at.

The CD (and digital download) release of Video Games Live: Volume One offers selected studio and live performances featuring the Slovak Symphony Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus and various soloists as conducted by Jack Wall.

Click through for a track-by-track review…