Best Total Time-Waster of the Day: Iron Maiden’s 8-Bit “Speed of Light” Video Game

I never played Iron Maiden’s 1999 video game, Ed Hunter. Did any of you play it? Was it terrible? It looks like it was probably pretty terrible.

https://youtu.be/dCC6D-W80nU

Holy shit, how do you make a Maiden video game, with Eddie’s name in the title no less, and not actually include Eddie? I mean, I get it, the FPS format allows you to “be” Eddie. But the pleasures of the character are visual ones. Having Eddie ostensibly off-camera the whole game is a dumb idea.

Somewhat more entertaining: a new 8-bit platformer the band has release to help promote their upcoming album, The Book of Souls. The game takes its title from the name of that album’s first single, the immensely catchy “Speed of Light.” Which, not-so-coincidentally, has a game-themed music video:

The game itself isn’t amazing or anything — it’s basically a poor man’s Donkey Kong, with Eddie in place of Mario and some random thug in place of Donkey Kong — but it did manage to help procrastinate for ten minutes, which is basically the most you can really hope for from a free, browser-based game meant to promote a record. Plus, at least you can goddamn see Eddie.

Play for yourself here. Book of Souls is out September 4.