Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has taken on a rather unexpected new role, lending his voice to the newly released video game ‘Space Metal Mania’.
Available now through Amazon Luna, the heavy metal-inspired arcade shooter features Mustaine as the game’s Commander. He provides players with missions, dialogue and in-game callouts throughout the experience, even sporting an eyepatch as part of the character’s appearance.
The game combines a top-down space shoot-’em-up with rogue-lite elements, tasking players with battling waves of aliens, dodging attacks, taking down massive bosses and reclaiming occupied territories. Up to four players can join together for couch co-op, with the game allowing combinations of phones and traditional controllers.
Music is also deeply integrated into the gameplay rather than simply serving as background accompaniment. Enemy waves, attacks and boss encounters are designed around specific portions of the featured songs, including verses, breakdowns and guitar solos.
Jan Pytlik, Head of Production for THQ Nordic Mobile GmbH, explained:
“We designed the enemy waves and boss patterns around the verses, breakdowns, and solos of the songs. The tracks basically dictate the pacing.”
The soundtrack features 25 tracks from five major metal acts, including Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Avenged Sevenfold and Mastodon.
The full track list includes:
- Megadeth – “Symphony of Destruction”
- Megadeth – “Peace Sells”
- Megadeth – “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”
- Megadeth – “Wake Up Dead”
- Megadeth – “Hangar 18”
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Afterlife”
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Bat Country”
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Beast and the Harlot”
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Hail to the King”
- Avenged Sevenfold – “Nightmare”
- Iron Maiden – “Aces High”
- Iron Maiden – “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
- Iron Maiden – “Run to the Hills”
- Iron Maiden – “The Trooper”
- Iron Maiden – “Wasted Years”
- Mastodon – “Curl of the Burl”
- Mastodon – “More Than I Could Chew”
- Mastodon – “Show Yourself”
- Mastodon – “Steam Breather”
- Mastodon – “Teardrinker”
- Pantera – “10’s”
- Pantera – “Cemetery Gates”
- Pantera – “Cowboys From Hell”
- Pantera – “This Love”
- Pantera – “Walk”
The game’s visual presentation similarly embraces its metal influence, taking cues from 1980s science fiction and classic metal album artwork. Neon-filled environments, cosmic destruction, massive structures and oversized enemies populate the game’s various stages.
For Mustaine, the project provided an opportunity to step outside his usual role with Megadeth and become part of the game’s narrative. His Commander character delivers dialogue throughout the campaign, giving the game an additional connection to the music that drives its gameplay.
Pytlik described having Mustaine involved as a memorable experience for the development team.
“Having a literal metal hero jump in the booth and bring that classic, gritty swagger to the character was surreal and insanely cool for our team.”
‘Space Metal Mania’ is currently available through Amazon Luna, with Prime members able to play at no additional cost. The game does not require a dedicated console or gaming PC, with players able to use a phone and television to jump into the action.
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