Robbie WilliamsMusic has always been a part of my home, whether it was being picked up from school with Bodies blasting through my mom’s car speakers or my brother traumatizing me with a Rock DJ video when I was way too adolescent. A better man tells the story of the pop star’s early career, exploring his inner demons and the sheer absurdity of international fame in a brutally forthright way. Oh, and he’s portrayed as a CGI monkey. But despite how great it is – no, seriously – it misses this truly bizarre moment in Williams’ career.
Exposure is the most significant quality for any profitable artist, and it often involves branching out into other mediums. Jeremy Renner gave us his short-lived app for all you Rennerheads, Katy Perry: Pop exploded faster than her latest album, and Kim Kardashian’s free-to-play mobile game said goodbye to over 22 million players last April. For me, the most compelling multimedia venture of Robbie Williams is Robbie Williams Racing. While this iOS and Android experience isn’t Williams’ first foray into gaming, it’s such a strange design that it easily outshines the Nintendo Wii exclusive We Sing Robbie Williams.
Cast your mind back to 2009. Williams was preparing for a comeback from the divisive Rudebox, his seventh album, which moved away from stadium anthems in favor of pulsating synth-pop collaborations with the likes of Pet Shop Boys. His next album, Reality Killed The Video Star, begins a marketing push to reach fresh audiences, including gamers. Developed by the now defunct company Artificial Life Inc. Robbie Williams Racing game includes as many as two songs (two songs!) from the above-mentioned album, leaderboards, various vehicles, and even commentary from the cheeky monkey himself.
If that wasn’t enough, in case you haven’t heard Bodies enough, Robbie Williams Racing packs in a total of nine remixes to really drive home the point that there are bodies in his chemistry, the graveyard, and the Bodhi tree. Perhaps the game’s unique selling point, however, is its setting in the Mojave Desert, from, yes, you guessed it, the Bodies music video. According to A description from the developerplayers could also race “on a buggy track modeled after Robbie’s real track in his own backyard.” Whether it actually existed at the time is another matter, as there does not appear to be any evidence that the Williams racetrack actually existed.
Like Better Man, I am willing to allow myself to be manipulated by facts, as the game’s trailer dispels all doubts in a matter of seconds. “Hi, this is Robbie. Welcome to my iPhone game,” Williams announces in a montage that I can only describe as the core of Windows Movie Maker that ties the whole thing together. Admittedly, I respect the inclusion of first-person driving, which is a inventive choice.
I can only live vicariously through the accounts of others who witnessed this monumental moment in Williams’ life. According to A review from SoftonicWilliams’ greatest in-game banter included such gems as “would you like a pint after the race?” You know what, Robbie, I could. I’d be curious to see how wild the ratings for this game were in 2009. Before Facebook Mums took over Candy Crush games with an iron fist on the iPad, I bet Robbie Williams Racing was a bloodbath.
Unfortunately, and as expected, Robbie Williams Racing disappeared from the annals of gaming history. Even with painstaking internet searching, any chance of playing it is virtually impossible. For me, Robbie Williams Racing stands out as a goofy signpost to a wonderfully charming era of gaming that has fallen apart over the years. I’m a sucker for tie-ins, and I can only hope that the next pantheon of rising pop stars takes on something as gleefully silly as Robbie Williams Racing. After all, he just wants to entertain you.
For more such features or latest mobile hardware and gaming news, please follow us Google News stay in the loop.
