Clint Mansell making Mass Effect 3 music

Mass Effect 3 may sound very different to Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2 - BioWare has hired Clint Mansell, whose best work has been done partnering with celebrated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and Black Swan), to make the game's music.

Mass Effect 3 appears to be his videogame debut.

"I'm doing a videogame this year actually: Mass Effect 3," Mansell told The Quietus.

"I'm definitely interested in different outlets – that's one of the reasons I get involved in short films. It's not so much that I can experiment as it is to be in a situation where nobody's looking over your shoulder. Short films are usually made by young people and they've got ideas I can bounce off. They can take me in a different direction.

"So in a game, the character might arrive at a big boss and you have to have a piece that can quickly become dramatic.

Where this leaves two-time Mass Effect composer Jack Wall remains to be seen. Eurogamer has requested clarification.

Mansell said that as a composer on a game you take on a role that closely resembles a DJ.

"You've got the holding pattern, then the big explosion where you need the score to kick in. Then you need to take it off on a tangent," he said.

"You've got all these different elements that change depending on what the player does. You have to figure out an overall symphony, but be able to break it down into component parts.

"You can bring the pain when required."

Excitingly, Mansell said he likes to fly to London to record his work (composed at home) because "the resources and the musicians are the best". But he's not fussy; if BioWare decides to fly him from Los Angeles to Canada then hey ho, he'll go.