Rock ‘n’ Roll has been present in games since the first generations of consoles, being one of the musical genres with memorable tracks in several titles. With the evolution of technology, world-famous bands took the risk and got to the point where they actually feature in a few titles in the gaming sphere.
You have plenty of bands coming from multiple countries and different backgrounds, and they share only one thing that unites them, which is exactly their love and passion for Rock and Heavy Metal. One of the most prominent countries, when it comes to this subject, is Ireland, as they’ve managed to reveal top-class bands like The U2, who helped to cement the great status Rock has in today’s world.
Although we don’t have the U2 featuring in any game in specific, we can highlight another ongoing Irish trend, which is linked to games of chance, and more specifically, sports betting. The vast majority of bookmakers Ireland are some of the best-run and administrated in the world, with juicy bonuses and fair odds. So if you dream of being a rockstar but unfortunately couldn’t really make it, then we absolutely recommend you to try your luck on the betting niche, as you can become very successful off it.
Although it was quite tricky to come up with the list we’ll be presenting you in the next lines, we’ve counted on the help of Ireland betting expert and Rock N Roll enthusiast, Kate Richardson, who did a great job of picking 13 games that feature either great Rock and Metal soundtracks or legendary players from the segment. In case you’d like to check Richardson’s work better, you can give her a follow by clicking here.
So, without further ado, let’s get moving with our list!
Queen: The eye
Released in 1998 based on songs by Queen that mixes action and adventure. You take control of secret agent Dubroc, who, after finding a database of rock songs, begins to be pursued by the corporation called The eYe, which controls the planet. The soundtrack is absolutely worth a try, even if you’re not really into the main narrative.
Revolution X
The 1990s were a time when rock bands got involved in multimedia projects. Aerosmith also embarked on this with Revolution X. The game is a rail shooter, the kind in which the character follows a pre-defined route in a restricted way as the game progresses. You use a machine gun to shoot down enemy soldiers and shoot explosive CDs while listening to great rock music.
Ed Hunter
In the 1990s, Iron Maiden used to use Eddie, their mascot in various actions, and games were not left out.
In 1999, taking advantage of the tour called Ed Huntour, Ed Hunter was released, a rail shooter that puts Eddie in scenarios based on artwork from the band’s records and also locations mentioned in the group’s songs. Unlike Revolution X, here the gameplay is much more cadenced, but the soundtrack is one of the highlights.
Guitaroo man
Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game in which the player controls U-1, a young man who assumes the identity of Guitaroo Man, a superhero who must save the planet Guitaroo from the Gravilian empire. The visual design was produced by the artist Mitsuru Nakamura and much of the repertoire of the songs was produced by the Japanese band, COIL.
Rocksmith
Following the music game craze of the first half of the 2000s, Rocksmith was released in 2011 by Ubisoft. The highlight was the possibility to plug in musical instruments such as electric guitars to play a real instrument.
Despite being considered a game, many people report that they learned to play real instruments, based on the teaching methodology used in the game, which involves challenges and video lessons.
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening
Okay, Devil May Cry 3 is not a game about a rock band or some character completely identified with rock, although its soundtrack is composed of a lot of hard rock. The title appears on the list because it produced one of the best guitars used in games so far.
Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast
The Iron Maiden holds the most recent game on this list. Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast is a classic turn-based RPG where you collect the various incarnations of the band’s mascot, and add them to your team. You can either enjoy the story mode or challenge other players’ groups, always to the sound of the Iron Maiden soundtrack.
The Beatles: Rock Band
The Fab Four-themed version of Rock Band was the pinnacle of the musical instrument games genre. The Beatles: Rock Band brought in 2009 a giant repertoire of classics, between those included on the disc and the DLCs. Although many songs were left out, being able to sing and play along with the Beatles is too tempting.
Omikron: The Nomad Soul
In Omikron: The Nomad Soul, David Bowie plays Boz, a revolutionary who lives only in the digital world and is also the lead singer of the band The Dreamers. Bowie also composed several songs for the game, which were featured on the album Hours.
Brutal Legend
Brutal Legend is literally a game that lived up to its name. Here the player takes on the role of Eddie Riggs, a roadie who is transported to the land of Heavy Metal. The title makes several references to the musical scene and features legendary faces such as:
- Ozzy Osbourne
- Rob Halford
- Lemmy Kilmister
And a few more others.
Guitar Hero
The main goal of the franchise was to put the player take the role of guitarist in a rock band. Although the game could be played with the standard console controller, the highlight was the possibility of using a guitar-shaped controller to make the experience more immersive.
The last title in the franchise was Guitar Hero Live, released in 2015 and had online elements such as GHTV, in which players had the possibility to access channels that broadcast music and could follow the songs played or compete with people who were on the same channel.
Rock & Roll Racing
Rock & Roll racing stood out for its futuristic look, its peculiar cast of runners, and the striking soundtrack. Although the main objective was to get first in the races, the biggest fun came from the soundtrack and the possibility to use all kinds of weapons to destroy the opposing cars.
Rockband
We finish our list with Rock Band, as it expands the concept seen in Guitar Hero as the main idea here is that the player could form a band. For this, in addition to the guitar, it was possible to use peripherals such as microphones, drums, and keyboards.
The series had 4 main titles; spin-offs dedicated to bands like The Beatles, and Green Day, and also received mobile games.
Header image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
