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GAME - Brutal Legend (XBOX 360/PS3)
 (Double Fine/EA) Total Time: 80hrs
Tim Schaffer - is a LEGEND. And if you haven’t heard – as of recent he’s a BRUTAL one !
He’s a legend among game designers, with such excellent titles as Grim Fandago and Full Throttle under his belt, (not to disown the rather cute Psychonauts either) consistently delivering games that are fun to play, but also quite engrossing and immersive as well.
On the plus side, he’s a rather dedicated metal head, which is quite evident not only by his subject matters of choice but also by his humor and references as well.
Now the little intro above – wouldn’t have made much sense anyway – if TS, hadn’t decided to dedicate an entire game to the genre of HEAVY METAL.
Enlisting the well known Hollywood comedic actor and Golden Globe award nominee “Jack Black” (whose credits include “The Pick of Destiny”, “King Kong”, “School of Rock”, “Kung Fu Pand”) as Eddie Riggs, a tough and street tested “roadie” of some lukewarm rock band, that suffers an accident/near death experience during a concert and is transported in some sort of a parallel universe/other time.
While “In trance” he experiences a re-awakening in that parallel dimension, a land forged in fire and steel, a mish mash of a pseudo medieval scenery – that features all kinds of weather and terrain as well as a night/day cycle – a world full of fearsome beasts and heavy metal clichés !!!
There our hero, equipped only with an “AXE” (guitar) and another ax (blade), at first will encounter numberless monsters that he has to slay as well as a host of strange characters… many of who are voiced by actual heavy metal personalities like Lemmy Kilmister, Rob Halford, Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford and other celebrities such as Tim Curry, the well known British actor. To top that there’s a soundtrack to the game with an excess of 100 heavy metal songs, spanning all eras and genres.
One of the great virtues of the game is that it manages to seamlessly join a lot of different gaming styles into one. While it’s basically a 3D platform hack’n’slash fest – there are quests that our hero has to undertake and achieve, there’s a primal and rather underutilized real time strategy element in the battles, there are the solos – that are required to complete some tasks and require of you to tap some buttons in time with a tune that is replayed (a very primal guitar hero – element) and then there is the “Druid Plough” aka “The Deuce” your upgradable and highly pimpable Hotrod set of “wheels”, that you can use to get around the vast map of the BL “continent”.
The game is loads of fun – thanks in no small part to Black’s amazing performance and voice-acting.
The guy is also a big metal fan and again that shows. This doesn’t seem like a job – it seems like a labor of love for him – right from the menus – (which are hilarious – btw – you should also not launch the game immediately – just to see a little funny sequence…) down to the last small detail. Every aspect of the game shows the creators great love for the genre, but also their wish to not take themselves too seriously. This is a tribute to the music they love – with tons of references to the music culture – that comes with it – and with impeccable humor. There’s also a romantic involvement of Eddie with one of the female leads, as well as every other human emotion conceivable, sometimes presented seriously, while at other times satirized. You got envy, sloth, malevolence, desire, lust, pride … you name it…
But this isn’t the sims you know !
So apart from the definitely “cool” character of the game, which is going to be quite endearing to the avid metal/rock fan – but at the same time not too exclusive as to make a non rock fan – feel alienated (although he might not perceive a lot of the in-game references and in-jokes) there are some other technical aspects to consider, such as the graphics, control and sound…
The graphics are quite cool, a mixture of both gothic looking heavy metal art and comic, with vibrant colors (all shades of black included, hehe) that are well design and animated and are not too far away from the Lucas art’s adventure games style… (that TS, did so well). They are definitely rocking – but not too scary … even the gratuitous violence – has a comedic twist – and the foul language used – can be bleeped off…although IMHO, you ‘re not gonna hear anything that you would not hear in a film or out in the street. The world is atmospheric and the world effects – such as the night/day cycle and the weather changes – make things look more interesting. The only qualm I ‘d have is that the “enemy” units are not too easily distinguishable from one’s own – thanks to the fact that they look quite alike – but only have some slight garment color differences, making it hard to tell who’s who in one of the battles.
The soundtrack is one of the most awesome things in BL. There are more than 100 songs to choose from – most available once you get your hotrod – and some unlock-able by the player. The classic metal fan will rejoice – battling the forces of evil and slaying demon – or simply cruising down a hillside with nitros blazing while listening to classics by bands like Judas Priest, Anvil, Manowar, Diamond Head, Angelwitch, Motorhead, Anthrax, Testament, Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Kiss, Motley Crue, Accept, Running Wild, Megadeth, Savatage, Whitesnake, Riot, Metal Church, Crimson Glory, Omen, Saxon, Ufo and more. There are also inclusions of more obscure tracks, by bands great bands like Brocas Helm, Ostrogoth and Cloven Hoof and there are also more modern acts as well like Cradle of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Ministry, even our own Rotting Christ and even some (very few thankfully Nu-Metal bands – which shall remain unnamed – and thankfully once you get the Mouth of Metal – you can turn those off.) Honestly once I finished both the main campaign – I didn’t mind at all – completing the side missions and the side quests – just to cruise around – listening to that divine selection of metal blaring through my 7.1, 1000 Watt set at full volume… it’s quite rejuvenating and guaranteed to get you in trouble with the neighbors – but what the hell ! The effects are cool and the voice acting as aforementioned is tip top !
The controls are pretty good and responsive – even though they can become a little cumbersome in battles, they are fine once you get the hang of them – (within the first 20-30 minutes) and if I could have two wishes those would be – that Eddie could JUMP – because it’s ridiculous to need to go around some rather short obstacles – (plus they could include the VH song) and that the car could go a liiiiiittttle faster.
The multiplater is pretty good – if we try to forget the fact that the factions – do look quite alike, which can be quite confusing – but then again – you cannot kill your own – so that is not a cardinal sin, but rather a design oversight and there are at least 2 content packs with maps and new weapons that can be downloaded at a small premium from Xbox Live.
In conclusion - Brütal Legend is a tribute to THE METAL genre, a cool game and another showcase of the incredible comic talent of Jack Black. Tim Schafer has added another jewel on his crown and has given us another good reason to call in sick for work. The cameos are great, the music is Kick.A$$ and the fun is guaranteed!
But don’t take my word for it – check out the official trailer at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxnho1yTjRo
(note to review poster – maybe you ‘ll want to use the embedding code)
I m a legend tonight, baby…
Rock on ! And bring on a sequel already ….
Reviewer: Dimitrios Fatouros
Rating: N/A
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Added: March 3rd 2010
Views: 244
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