From its heavy metal-influenced world to its unique blend of game play styles, "Brutal Legend" delivers a funny, fresh and fun gaming experience that is easily among the year's best.
In a gaming world in which creativity and originality have become endangered species, Tim Shafer's "Brutal Legend" stands as a shining example of what makes video games great.
From its heavy metal-influenced world to its unique blend of game play styles, "Brutal Legend" delivers a funny, fresh and fun gaming experience that is easily among the year's best.
"Brutal Legend" tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, a no-nonsense roadie who gets transported to a heavy-metal themed world by the Fire Beast Ormagoden after a freak accident at an emo-rock show. Everything in this new world oozes rock 'n' roll, from environments that appear to be ripped straight from classic album covers to flamboyant characters who represent rock's different genres. From the giant stone monuments of iconic rock symbols that litter the landscape to the flowers with their high-hat petals, the attention to detail is amazing. Shafer and his team at Double Fine clearly love rock and metal music and the culture it spawned and that shows through here. My hat's off to them.
If you've played the demo (and if you haven't, shame on you!) you know that Eddie meets up with the lovely Ophelia and soon joins the fight to free the world from evil. I don't want to give too much away, but there are plenty of twists and turns ahead. The story is really well done, especially the dialogue. Shafer has always had a knack for crafting witty banter between characters and he continues that trend here.
Of course, it helps that Jack Black, who provides the voice of Eddie, completely threw himself into the role and delivers one of the most outstanding performances in a video game I've ever heard. Whether he's delivering an expletive-laden tongue lashing or a sharing a serious moment with Ophelia, Black brings the character of Eddie Riggs to life. I've never been a big fan of Jack Black, but I gained a new measure of respect for his talent after playing "Brutal Legend."
While Black steals the show as Eddie, he isn't the only star to lend a voice to the game. Rock icons Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, and Lita Ford all make appearances during the game. Ozzy's role as the Guardian of Metal was especially entertaining.
"Brutal Legend" not only earns high marks for its style and storytelling, but for its game play, as well. Part hack-n-slash action game and part real-time strategy game, "Brutal Legend" also contains a fair amount of driving, racing and exploration. The game seamlessly combines all of these different genres to create an experience unlike any I've played, but at its heart is remains an action game. Eddie has two weapons at his disposal -- his huge broad axe, the Separator, and his trusty guitar, Clementine. The Separator is used for melee combat, and Eddie can play riffs on his guitar to inflict elemental damage on his foes. Collecting fire tributes, which you get by completing missions or otherwise appeasing the metal gods, allows you to purchase upgrades for each weapon in the Motorforge, which is run by the aforementioned Guardian of Metal. Eddie can also use his guitar to summon The Deuce (aka The Druid Plow), his primary mode of transporation through the vast metal world.
After about an hour, the game introduces RTS elements into the combat scenarios. If you've been turned off by RTS games in the past, don't worry -- the controls are pretty easy to understand and the big battles are spread out so that you're not doing that exclusively. And you can still control Eddie and lead the fight on the ground if you choose, though I found that without some support it can be pretty tough to survive. In battle, Eddie can also team up with other members of his crew to perform devastating doubleteam maneuvers. The RTS battles also make up the game's online multiplayer component, with up to four players on each side dueling in a Battle of the Bands.
In a gaming world in which creativity and originality have become endangered species, Tim Shafer's "Brutal Legend" stands as a shining example of what makes video games great.
From its heavy metal-influenced world to its unique blend of game play styles, "Brutal Legend" delivers a funny, fresh and fun gaming experience that is easily among the year's best.
"Brutal Legend" tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, a no-nonsense roadie who gets transported to a heavy-metal themed world by the Fire Beast Ormagoden after a freak accident at an emo-rock show. Everything in this new world oozes rock 'n' roll, from environments that appear to be ripped straight from classic album covers to flamboyant characters who represent rock's different genres. From the giant stone monuments of iconic rock symbols that litter the landscape to the flowers with their high-hat petals, the attention to detail is amazing. Shafer and his team at Double Fine clearly love rock and metal music and the culture it spawned and that shows through here. My hat's off to them.
If you've played the demo (and if you haven't, shame on you!) you know that Eddie meets up with the lovely Ophelia and soon joins the fight to free the world from evil. I don't want to give too much away, but there are plenty of twists and turns ahead. The story is really well done, especially the dialogue. Shafer has always had a knack for crafting witty banter between characters and he continues that trend here.
Of course, it helps that Jack Black, who provides the voice of Eddie, completely threw himself into the role and delivers one of the most outstanding performances in a video game I've ever heard. Whether he's delivering an expletive-laden tongue lashing or a sharing a serious moment with Ophelia, Black brings the character of Eddie Riggs to life. I've never been a big fan of Jack Black, but I gained a new measure of respect for his talent after playing "Brutal Legend."
While Black steals the show as Eddie, he isn't the only star to lend a voice to the game. Rock icons Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford, and Lita Ford all make appearances during the game. Ozzy's role as the Guardian of Metal was especially entertaining.
"Brutal Legend" not only earns high marks for its style and storytelling, but for its game play, as well. Part hack-n-slash action game and part real-time strategy game, "Brutal Legend" also contains a fair amount of driving, racing and exploration. The game seamlessly combines all of these different genres to create an experience unlike any I've played, but at its heart is remains an action game. Eddie has two weapons at his disposal -- his huge broad axe, the Separator, and his trusty guitar, Clementine. The Separator is used for melee combat, and Eddie can play riffs on his guitar to inflict elemental damage on his foes. Collecting fire tributes, which you get by completing missions or otherwise appeasing the metal gods, allows you to purchase upgrades for each weapon in the Motorforge, which is run by the aforementioned Guardian of Metal. Eddie can also use his guitar to summon The Deuce (aka The Druid Plow), his primary mode of transporation through the vast metal world.
After about an hour, the game introduces RTS elements into the combat scenarios. If you've been turned off by RTS games in the past, don't worry -- the controls are pretty easy to understand and the big battles are spread out so that you're not doing that exclusively. And you can still control Eddie and lead the fight on the ground if you choose, though I found that without some support it can be pretty tough to survive. In battle, Eddie can also team up with other members of his crew to perform devastating doubleteam maneuvers. The RTS battles also make up the game's online multiplayer component, with up to four players on each side dueling in a Battle of the Bands.
Outside of the main story, there are plenty of side quests and hidden items to discover. The side missions were a bit of a letdown, with only a handful of different game types that get repeated over and over (how many times do I need to stage an ambush?) I had more fun trying to find all 120 dragon statues and the vista points. Finding these items not only earns you fire tributes, but they unlock things like concept art or songs that you can listen to while cruising in The Deuce.
"Brutal Legend" is alot like the classic rock albums it pays homage to. Like songs on a record, the pieces that make up "Brutal Legend" -- its game play, style, presentation, etc. -- are great when considered individually. But it's when you listen to the album (or play the game) from start to finish that you truly gain an appreciation for the vision the artist was trying to achieve. "Brutal Legend" is an instant classic and a game that will be talked about for years to come.
"Brutal Legend"
Developer: Double Fine Productions
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Available for: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 ($59.99)
Rating: M for mature
Score: 9.6/10
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