Review Summary: You like video games? You like metal? You like Entertainment System.
Have we not all woken up on a bright, spring Saturday morning, pulled on a pair of pants, scarfed down so cereal, and raced to the TV to play video games? Of course we have; we're OLD, and no matter how primitive things were back then, we will always have that feeling deep inside of us that wished we were back there. It's different now -- kids have emulators. But the few who have felt the heavy inspiration of late 80's - early 90's video games appreciate the same nostalgia. Even less know and love Entertainment System, a band with the same feelings as the kids from the olden days; in fact, they love them (the video games) SO very much that they went ahead and made a collection of video game theme songs, but performed in a rock format. Introducing 'The Computer Always Cheats.'
It sounds like a good idea on paper, right? I mean, not many bands have ventured to experiment with nintendo rock or chiptunes from video games. Well, it's a bit more complicated than that.
Of course, who doesn't LOVE to hear a version of a song they LOVE in a different genre? There are always orchestrated versions of pop songs, and, what is it now, nightcore and daycore? Well, that's just what makes or breaks this album -- you're only going to LOVE it if you know these songs and would like to hear them "rock'd." As for those who play more modern video games, well, you're going to have trouble trying to appreciate this album for what it is.
Aside from knowing what you're listening to or not, this album is just average. Does it thrill me at all? No. Can I hum the melody to any of these songs after I've listened to it? No. Has this been done before? Yes, in fact, The Megas sound just like them. No album has truly suckwed the nostalgia out of me more than this one; the unoriginal production and distortion leaves me thinking that I'm listening to Iron Maiden's 'Killers,' especially on the first 3 songs: "Mega Man 2", "Street Fighter 2", and "Punch Out!", the latter of which has a beginning so unnecessarily similar to "Beat It" that I couldn't help but lower this album's initial score. In fact, the only remotely enjoyable song on this album is track 9, "Super Metroid", which at least was a creative take on the original chiptunes of the game.
To sum things up, if you LOVE the video game scores presented on this album, give it a listen. But if you've never heard of anything here, you're not going to have a great time listening to this; if you want something similar to this, I would honestly recommend Iron Maiden's first three albums. Otherwise, listening to this was a waste of my time. 2.5/5
