Motorhead’s Lemmy Set to Star in New Video Game

The legendary Lemmy, founder and frontman of the band Motorhead, lives on through his electrifying fusion of heavy metal and punk rock. His music, as well as his archetypal hard-living lifestyle, ensure that he has been immortalised in the minds of the rock ‘n’ roll world. But Lemmy’s lasting legacy is by no means restricted to the musical sphere – the heavy metal pioneer is now making an appearance in a video game. Brought to you by Haemimont Games, Motorhead: Through the Ages is a content expansion pack for the popular action role-playing game Victor Vran. The games latest instalment, Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, includes the new content, which we take an in-depth look at below.

Victor Vran

First released in early 2015, Victor Vran is set in a Gothic-fantasy fairy tale in which both magic and science play a prominent part. The main character – whom the game is named after – is a demon hunter who arrives in this fantasy land (called Zagoravia) to help its inhabitants fend off a demon. Okay, that all seems pretty straightforward. So where does Lemmy come in?

Victor Vran: Overkill Edition, an updated title, was released on 6^th June 2017 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. This new title comes with the Motorhead: Through the Ages content, which provides fans with a virtual tour of the band’s music and ethos. It isn’t the first time that Lemmy has appeared in a video game though – he features in both Guitar Hero: Metallica and Brutal Legend. The band has even made the transition over to online gaming in the form of Motorhead’s rock game on CasinoEuro

Lemmy’s Influence

Those of you who are die-hard Motorhead enthusiasts will know that Lemmy was a huge fan of games. In particular, he used to love the video game machine at his local hangout, the Rainbow Bar and Grill, which he lived only two blocks away from between 1990 and his death in 2015. Believe it or not, the owner of the bar even brought the game machine up to Lemmy’s apartment following his terminal cancer diagnosis, and rumour has it he played it until the moment he passed away

It also appears that he had more influence on the band’s Victor Vran content than you may think. He was one of the people who conceived the idea back in 2014, and former bandmate Phil Campbell noted that Lemmy was extremely excited by the prospect of the game. He added that his old friend would ‘always be sending new designs over to the game studio’, and that he would have been delighted with the result.

Features of the New Content

As already mentioned, the Motorhead: Through the Ages content gives Victor Vran players and Motorhead fans (and those who happen to be both, for that matter) the opportunity to explore the band in new and original ways. The game features three completely new worlds which are inspired by Motorhead’s music, album covers, and general awesomeness. Fan-favourite songs make up the game’s soundtracks, such as ‘Stay Clean’, ‘Ace of Spades’, and ‘Iron Fist’; all uniquely remastered to suit the gameplay. As Phil Campbell rightly said, ‘You can kick ass to a kick-ass soundtrack!’

But that is by no means it. On top of new worlds and soundtracks, there are also Motorhead-themed demon powers – eight of them, to be exact – and three impressive outfits based on the band members. Revolver and guitar weapon types mean that you can slaughter demons Motorhead style, and, of course, Lemmy is represented in the game itself.

Motorhead Today

The sad passing of the great Lemmy in 2015 clearly hasn’t stopped him from having an impact on heavy metal fans and gamers alike, but what about the rest of the band? Well, Motorhead has seen a significant number of members come and go over the years, but the majority of their best-selling albums were recorded with ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke on guitar and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor playing the drums. So, where are they now?

Phil Taylor went on to play in a group called The Web of Spider between 2005 and 2008, and also sporadically played drums for Mick Farren and The Deviants. He passed away in 2015 – incidentally just seven weeks before Lemmy – aged 61. On a more positive note, Eddie Clarke is still alive and kickin’, and remains very much involved in music. He played at the UK Download Festival in summer 2007, and ended up reverting back to his blues roots with a 2014 album entitled ‘Make My Day – Back To Blues’.

Image Sources:

1. Victor Vran: Overkill Edition – http://loudwire.com/victor-vran-overkill-edition-motorhead-through-the-ages-gaming-expansion/
2. Lemmy playing a video game – http://www.eurogamer.net/forum/thread/315503
3. In-game Lemmy – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-4UkSVWjKU