Yeah, I agree with you on the "epic sounding movie music" sentiment -- everyone wants to be Hans Zimmer and it ends up sounding bland and boring.
This. Some games work perfectly with a "cinematic orchestra" type soundtrack, but just like 3D, open-world gameplay, RPG elements, and every other innovation in the industry, it's been me-tooed to the point of nausea. That was one thing I particularily liked about
Portal - not only was it its own unique game in pretty much every other aspect, it wasn't afraid to
sound different.
I'm still waiting for the game that has a soundtrack done in the style of classic progressive rock, but I think I may have to write that one myself
