The relationship between heavy metal and video games has smouldered away for as long as square-eyed pixel-fiends have been button-bashing in darkened rooms. Tapping into fans’ escapist tendencies by endowing the ability to slay dragons, disembowel demons, rock festival stages and, er, kick-ass at pinball, those pixellated dream-vehicles open that same vein of adrenalized, out-there excitement that the best metal songs do.
When they cross over, the results can be spectacular, shambolic or something simmering in between. Rifling through several decades’ of floppy discs, cartridges, CD-ROMS, DVDs (and digital downloads) we thought it was high time we scrolled down memory lane to rank the most memorable times video games dipped their toes into murky heavy metal waters. So many hours spent rocking out in the digital realm…
13. ROCK BAND
(MTV GAMES, 2007)