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I Am (Brutal) Legend By: PoisonRamune, the Apathetic Lizardman I had a read about Brutal Legend a few months ago and didn’t think too much about it. I immediately pigeon holed the game as “that metal game” which always kept me from looking into it further because I’m more of a fan of punk music than metal. However, when I finally saw the game in action at PAX last month, I knew that not owning this game was not an option. From the demo build that was playable at PAX, one would think that this game is a run of the mill hack and slash with heavy metal themes. This is correct in some respects, yet incredibly off the mark once you get past the first chapter. Brutal Legend is actually a very well made sandbox game that features: hack and slash, RPG, and real-time strategy elements. The game balances these elements very well, as no element ever really stands out more than the other.
While Brutal Legend manages to attain a very fulfilling experience by creating an interesting mix of game genres, the gameplay is not its biggest draw. The game’s strongest point is actually its story which is deftly written by the legendary Tim Schafer. In case you don’t recognize the name, Tim Schafer is actually considered one of the grandfathers of comedy adventure games with writing (or co-writing) credits for such titles as: Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts, and the first 2 Monkey Island games. The story focuses on a veteran roadie named Eddie Riggs. Disappointed with the way that contemporary heavy metal music has evolved (or in his eyes devolved) from its classic roots, Riggs silently wishes for a time where metal once again ruled. Riggs’ wish is answered inadvertently when a stage accident makes him bleed on his demon head belt buckle creating some sort of trans-dimensional portal to an alternate universe where metal is king.
Upon arriving in the dimension of metal, Eddie immediately finds himself in the midst of an epic war between a small band of human resistance fighters and a proverbial king of the demons. The humans believe Eddie is a reincarnated god of metal and ask him to join their forces. Using his electric guitar as a pyrotechnic firing ranged weapon and an axe given to him by the metal god, Eddie must lead the humans to victory against the demon king, Doviculus and his armies of minions. I understand that my description of this story sounds a bit cliché. However, this is really all I can tell you without spoiling the story as the script is filled with plot twists. Along with a very riveting story, you can also expect a copious amount of Tim Schafer styled jokes all through the game. Not only does the dialogue shine with a blinding amount of cleverness, but nearly all of the visual gags are also very well contrived and have perfect comedic timing.
The gameplay is pretty formulaic for a sandbox game. After the third chapter or so the game follows a pattern of: an escort mission to a new boss lair, a mini-battle outside of the lair’s gates, and full on stage battle between your “band” and the boss’s army. This actually works for the game, since I was able to mentally prepare myself for each upcoming mission. In case this seems a bit repetitive to you, keep in mind there are plenty of side missions scattered all throughout the map in order to give you a little more variety. One thing I will address about the side missions is the fact that there’s only about 8 or so different types of side quests offered (with about 4 of those types making up 90% of the side quests available). I would have liked to see more: delivery, cave clearing, and wingman side missions in the game, as they seemed to be the most fun but only appeared once. Even though I was pretty diligent doing all the side missions that appeared as they came up, I did end up getting pretty sick of sneak attack missions as they were the most represented side mission in the game (showing up over twice as much as any other side mission). I can understand why those missions show up so much, as they’re basically like small dress rehearsals preparing you for your stage battles. Stage battles in this game are very strange; they’re a mix of a control the point level found in real-time strategy games with frantic hack and slash gaming. The goal of each battle is to destroy the other army’s stage (yes, stage as in concert stage) by throwing the most rocking concerts the world has ever known. Using Eddie as a sort of general, you are to have your troops (each represented by a different member of a rock show’s stage crew) clear fan geysers (allowing you to build merchandise booths which will yield you summoning/recruiting currency) and take out the enemy’s forces. However, as you participate in each stage battle Eddie is not just idly hiding in the corner while barking out commands; he actually gets to jump in the fray (under your control) to aid your troops in the assault. I will admit that the stage battles are a bit daunting and a touch confusing at first, but you’ll eventually get pretty good at controlling Eddie and soldiering your troops at the same time after your second stage battle (possibly sooner if you play the sneak attack missions as you go). Despite what others have said about the stage battles being too hard or outright impossible, I found them very easy if you used half a brain and actually set commands for your troops as opposed to sending Eddie out charging into battle and letting your troops do their own delegation (in fact, my last few stage battles involved my troops idly patrolling the stage battle area while I waited to build up a force strong enough to quickly decimate the opposing general’s stage).
I have a couple complaints about the game that I feel I should bring up. The first complaint is the fact that the multiplayer is a little boring. It’s basically head to head stage battles on various maps with different armies available to you (the 3 main armies found in story mode). This in itself wouldn’t be so bad and would actually be kind of fun, except for the fact that everyone plays like a jerk online. It seems that the multiplayer really favors annoyance rushes as opposed to any legitimate strategy which leads to games becoming frustratingly long or ridiculously short. One thing I will note is that the player vs AI is very fun, as the computer will change up its strategies, making you actually care about what you’re doing. My other complaint with the game is the fact that it’s very short. Though I’m not really a fan of 100 hours games, this one could honestly be finished in less than 10 hours if you’re just playing the story missions. While there’s nothing wrong with making a game that’s relatively short, it does make it sort of a hard buy with a $60 price tag. The final issue I have with this game involves its story. It's a very minor issue, but has bothered me throughout the entire game. Everyone in the story calls Eddie Riggs a time traveler (even Riggs himself); however, I want to know when was there a point in our natural history that involved: cults, dinosaurs, and metal heads fighting in a war for human rights and freedom? It should be obvious that Riggs is an interdimensional traveler, making contact with an alternate universe. Then again, maybe this whole issue is moot, since this is more of a science fiction point.
The game’s design is top notch. This may very well be my favorite graphic presentation in a video game yet. Though the game is extremely influenced by heavy metal imagery, it doesn’t suffer from the black, white, and silver/gray motif that’s often associated with metal. Deep reds, cold blues, vibrant purples and power radiating greens add depth and interest to the various landscapes and locales. In fact, I think the only place that has the cliché super dark color scheme is the lair of the final boss and even that uses really innovative design techniques to keep it interesting. Even the title screen and opening menu is drawn out in a genius way, as it’s presented as an album that Jack Black flips through with the: insert, inner cover, and record itself representing various menu options. Speaking about Jack Black, the game also boasts a voice acting cast that’s basically every rock fan’s wet dream. Not only is the protagonist, Eddie Riggs voiced by Jack Black, but the cast of legendary voices also include: Rob Halford (Judas Priest) Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath), and Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead). Along with an amazing ensemble of voice talent, the game also features an appropriate heavy metal soundtrack. Spanning over 30 years of metal and 100 songs this soundtrack simply rocks. Not only did the game’s soundtrack affirm the fact that I actually do listen to and like metal (albeit classic 80’s metal), it also broadened my musical horizons as I found that Nordic death metal isn’t really that bad. Unless another game comes out in the next two months that totally blows Brutal Legend out of the water (and that’ll be a pretty hard task in my opinion), this is looking to be my Game of the Year. Not only is it a mix of gameplay styles I love, it’s also a really amazing story driven game that keeps you very riveted the whole way through (I found myself waking up at 4 or 5 in the morning just so I can see what would happen next to Eddie and friends). I seriously suggest this game to anyone that loves: adventure games, Tim Schafer, heavy metal, real time strategy games, or epic storylines in their video games (however, you may need to wait for the price to drop for this to be personally worth your while). Final Verdict:
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