On a very special thirty-third episode of “Barrel Roll! A Video Game Podcast”, we see nearly all of the WingDamage crew stepping up for the podcast. Dave, Luke, and Nate join the regular hosts to talk about what they’ve been playing in our appropriately titled “Whatcha Been Playing?” segment.

All those present that have had a chance to play Batman: Arkham Asylum agree that it is fantastic. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is carrying the torch of the series extremely well, and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2… is also talked about.

The news gives us a chance to talk about which Flight of the Conchords songs we’d like to see on Rock Band. We also discuss the infamous Sega Fishing Controller and related games that Jonah is obsessed with tracking down. This is brought on because of the recent leak regarding the possibility of Dreamcast games on the PS3 download store.

In “Let’s Play Together”, Jesse and Jonah talk about Capcom’s new Wii brawler, Spyborgs. You can actually win a copy of that from us right now. Speaking of giveaways, the winner of our PAX Pack #2 is picked and PAX Pack #3 is announced.

Then we talk about stuff in “Let’s Talk About Stuff”. The stuff we talk about this week is the fantastic new album from The Protomen, “ACT II – The Father of Death” (Check out Jesse’s review). We got permission from the band to play a few clips, but you should really just go buy the album. You’ll be glad you did.

We even manage to squeeze in a quick “Movie Time” where we discuss how horrible Mortal Kombat: Annihilation was.

All this and other off-topic wackiness on episode 33 of Barrel Roll.

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Outro Music – “Fortuna (Star Fox)” by The OneUps

The Protomen – “ACT II – The Father of Death“

When I was first told of “The Protomen”, I was skeptical. The band’s first album was described to me as a rock opera based on the classic Mega Man series. Though I am a huge Mega Man fan, I just couldn’t see something like this actually being executed well. To my surprise, I loved it. In fact, I was so fond of it that I feared their next album wouldn’t be able to live up to it.

Fortunately, my fears were dashed to pieces. Not only did the album turn out great, it actually surpasses the quality of the first! The album is approximately twice as long as the previous one (which isn’t hard to do), sounds much more “refined”, and kicks the “epic level” up a notch or two.

Though the title says “Act II”, this album’s story is actually a prequel. The last album focused on the origins of Proto Man and Mega Man, taking place in an Orwellian-style city under the control of Dr. Albert Wily and “the watchful eyes” of his robots. The Father of Death takes a step back and gives us a glimpse of how the city got the way it is.

It starts with Dr. Thomas Light recounting the death of his father who worked himself to death in the mines to provide for his family. In an effort to prevent this situation from ever having to be repeated, Light is determined to build robots, with the help of Wily, to perform such dangerous jobs in the place of humans.

While Light wanders the streets, wondering whether he made the right decision, Emily Stanton (his “beloved”) walks into his apartment only to find Wily going through Light’s belongings. After she rejects him, he has her killed by one of the newly created robots. He then frames Dr. Light for the murder and takes control of the quickly developing city under the guise of making it a better place.

One of the great things about The Protomen’s storytelling is how they use different genres of music to perfectly fit the events unfolding. The first half of the album feels reminiscent of a “Spaghetti Western” film. As the old mining town steadily grows into Dr. Wily’s own personal metropolis, the music shifts from the western vibe it originally had to that of eighties synth rock.

Dividing the two halves is the instrumental “How the World Fell Under Darkness”; a song with a heavy string focus that seamlessly transitions itself into synthesizer pads. You can actually feel the time lapse of what must be decades from the way it plays out. Though this isolated moment is my favorite transition of all, the whole album moves brilliantly from track to track. This album would lose a lot of its appeal played out of order despite the individual songs’ strengths.

We may be moving to the digital age when it comes to distribution for music, but this album should really be purchased as a physical CD. Along with the fantastic cover art (partially featured above) is a booklet that contains not only the lyrics, but an expansion of the story. There are extra paragraphs of narration in both the vocal and instrumental tracks that help to flesh out the whole experience even further.

I must make it abundantly clear that you don’t even have to know what Mega Man is to love this album. The music is completely original (not remixes of songs from the series) and the story is the band’s own unique take on an origin story that’s never really been told in the first place. You can find the album on protomen.com for ten bucks.

Skip going to see the next crappy movie that comes out in theaters and buy this album with the money instead. Then bask in the glory of your wise decision.