Unless you've been living under a rock
for the past few years and missed recent marketing
blitz and/or dismissed it out right because it looks an album cover from
Iron Maiden circa 1983, you may not know that the latest title from Tim
Schafer, Double Fine and published by EA, Brutal Legend is out today.
Tim Schafer has already proven he can make games that are both
entertaining and quirky. But with Brutal Legend, you might wager that
playing a Roadie who is trying to liberate an enslaved Heavy Metal
world that seems to exist in an alternate universe, might be a little
too far out there, even for Schafer. Throw in a Heavy Metal sound track
that would make the guy that runs the Tilt a Whirl ride at the
traveling carnival squeal with delight like a little girl and you would
be willing to bet your next paycheck that all but the most hardcore
Schafer fans would be the only ones who would buy and enjoy Brutal
Legend. Luckily, you would be wrong on all counts.
When Brutal Legend first loads on your 360,
you don't start at a load screen but instead are thrown right into a full screen movie of
Jack Black as he ushers us into the back room of a local record store
(if you are unsure of what a record is, you may certainly Google it for info). Jack starts off by telling us of a
special disc that's kept in the back with the rare titles. No one knows
where it came from, even the old timers. After a quick search he
locates the platter and offers to let us take a look if we can handle
it. As the album is opened up and laid on the table, the game menu
appears among the stereotypical old-school heavy metal style artwork of
alien vistas, mountains of skulls and other bad ass, semi-demonic, rock
imagery.
This surely beats most Family Photos that we've ever seen!
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Awesome! |
Starting a new game
introduces us to Eddie Riggs (voiced perfectly by Jack Black). Eddie is
the consummate roadie whose job is to take care of all the little
details behind the scenes so the band can do its job: give the audience
a rocking show. Unfortunately, Eddie's talent of stage and prop
building, instrument repair and other knowledge is currently being
squandered as he is working with a band that is so lame they make the
Jonas Brother's look like AC/DC by comparison. An on
stage accident causes Eddie's blood to be spilt and then he is
transported to another place in a very dramatic and satisfying way. At
this point the game asks if you want to bleep out the profanity and to
tone down the gore in the game. Since this has an Mature Rating, it's
nice to see that Double Fine offer players this option but make no
mistake, even with the filtering turned on, it's not a recommended that you let
the kids play or watch this game even for a second.
When Eddie wakes up he then finds himself lying on an altar. Stairs on
either side of the altar lead to a lower level where robed figures are
kneeling and chanting. Upon seeing the new arrival, the figures raise
their heads, causing the hoods to fall back and reveal faces that are
made primarily of teeth. Drawing wicked, curved daggers, the figures
begin to move towards Eddie. This is where the player takes control of
Eddie and after dodging the bad guys, you spy a double bladed axe
embedded in a pile of bones nearby. This becomes your main melee weapon.
You also retrieve a guitar that can be used for magical summons and
ranged attacks. Fighting your way past the robed figures brings the
house down around you, literally. During a break in the combat you get
a look at your surroundings and see that you are at the top of a
mountain made of huge skulls and bones in a Heavy Metal world. Muscle
car parts litter the landscape and Gothic statues stand alongside the
crumbling remains of a vast freeway system, which snakes its way
through massive grasslands. It's all strange yet, somehow familiar.
At this point I realize I am grinning like an idiot (Ok fine, more
so than normal) as it's clear that Brutal Legend is as much a homage to
the great art of Frank Frazetta, Simon Bisley or the original Heavy
Metal magazines as it is to the classic heavy metal from the late 70's
and early 80's. What makes it work is that it's done with respect, a
dash of humor and a wide variety of game play (I can definitely respect
that - Ed. Vader). All punctuated with a classic metal soundtrack.
Eddie meets Ophelia, who is a dark-haired head banging beauty with
enough mascara to make a raccoon jealous. Ophelia is part of a small
resistance, fighting against the ruler of this land, General Lionwhyte.
The two team up and decide it's time to flee as more enemies are
swarming their way. After a bit more hack-and-slash combat, Eddie
assembles a hot rod out of parts lying around the battlefield and he
and Ophelia make a run for it. During these opening segments, gameplay
varies between hand-to-hand combat, combating a massive boss creature
with your car, using your guitar to summon a massive magical attack and
then driving down a crumbling mountain road as you try to avoid
obstacles and enemies alike. It's a rapid fire series of gameplay that
leaves you breathless once it's over and wondering what could be next.
Once you are safely down the mountain, Ophelia recommends meeting
Lars who is trying to form an army and break the hold of the evil
LionWhyte. A spotlight shines on a point far off in the distance and
this will serve as a beacon for you to follow to your next mission
throughout the game. You can drive directly to the light to advance the
plot line or scout around on your own to find side quests to complete.
As you move through the game and complete missions, artwork and other
features unlock and give you extra incentive to fully explore this new
world. Also, you gain perks for upgrading combat moves, weapons or
repainting your hot rod. This certainly helps increase the desire to
explore the strange, yet beautiful landscapes.
Lars is the bare-chested, feather haired 'leader' who seems a bit
reluctant and clueless on how to get the revolution started. Eddie
recognizes that in order to mount a battle, you need warriors. The
first members to fill the ranks are a bunch of long-haired, thick
browed, head bangers with necks as thick as a side of beef, that spend
their lives working in a quarry by, well, banging their heads to break
the rocks. Serving as a kind of a tutorial, this mission teaches you
how to play epic riffs on your guitar to perform special actions that
include rallying the head bangers to your cause. You also learn how to
command your long haired troops to attack specific targets, guard areas
and rush to your side. This serves as prep for the strategic element of
combat that makes up much of the game later on.
Even though this is essentially a tutorial, the gameplay is fun as
you free the slaves, and try to take down the supervisors while
learning the finer points of the expanding combat. And I appreciated
the way Brutal Legend eased me into the more advanced features. Later
the game takes a more strategic turn as you capture resource points to
summon different kinds of troops to meet the enemy on the battle field.
Other missions include hacking and slashing, racing your vehicles or if
you prefer, you can mix it up in multiplayer with up to 8 players.
It's not all about combat however; the interaction between Eddie,
his new troops and the supervisors of the quarry are well-scripted and
funny at points. And the humor is not limited to the dialog. Having
lived through the 80's, I find it especially funny that the main
protagonist has a name that is similar to a not so popular hair band.
Also, Lionwhyte is able to fly from place to place by flapping his,
wait for it... hair. I am glad Schafer chose to go the 'Hair Band'
route rather the less flattering 'Butt Rock' phrase. Sure Brutal Legend
is a 'Mature' title but having Lionwhyte use his butt as a mode of
transport would be pushing limits in a way I don't want to witness. The
game gets its Mature rating thanks to the language which seems more
prevalent at the start of the game and the graphic violence during
combat. Limbs and heads get severed; blood gushes and spatters in
viscerally satisfying ways. Again, this fits with the overall style of
the game but it's not something for kids.
Born to Ride Eternally! |
We find this photo to be Strangely Arousing. |
Something I have neglected to mention until this point is the
character animations. The expressions are pleasingly well-preformed and
for lack of a better word, expressive. Characters show a wide range of
emotions as they converse with each other and although this does not
happen very often in games, looks and reactions are able to convey
points and feeling without a word having been spoken. It's yet another
attention to detail that is the mark of a quality game. Coupled with
the rich and colorful palette the overall look of the game is one that
is as much fun to watch as it is to play.
While the classic Heavy Metal music that serves as background for
the action scenes brings nostalgic smile to my face, it may not be to
everyone else's liking. I would suggest you embrace the music as it
adds to the overall setting of Brutal Legend. And who knows, as with
the rhythm games that have flooded the market in recent years, you
might find some golden oldies you will love. What I did take issue with
was the fact that on the battlefield, your troops and the enemy grunts
are sometimes difficult to tell apart when you are battling the same
faction. The only different between your leather clad army and theirs
is the pastel colors that other team wears. In the thick of battle I
found that I would rush into a group of head bangers or rocker chicks
and swing away like mad only to find out that the group was mostly
composed of my troops. Also, as the game moves through the main story,
the humor that was present front and center at the start falls a bit by
the way side. It does not disappear completely but it does noticeably
lessen.
I also found that controlling the vehicles in the game was a bit
more difficult than I was used to. At first I would often confuse the
camera control with the steering but this could be that I am more used
to a mouse and keyboard than a controller. What can I say? I'm a PC
whore (Don't be so hard on yourself - Ed. Vader). Finally, the game is
a bit short if you rush through the main story. But there are enough
side-quests to help stretch things out and the desire to find all the
unlockables is enough to encourage players to either take their time or
go though the game a second time.
Earlier this year it was not clear if Brutal Legend would ever
actually make it to the market. Had this happened gamers, would truly
have missed a fun, visually unique and pleasing world that every mature
player should enjoy, even with its limited short comings. However,
other titles from Tim and company have also received similar
compliments in the past and still garnered less than stellar sales when
they were first released. Now is the chance for gamers to reward
publishers for releasing quality titles by voting with their wallets.
Brutal Legend is a game that may seem a bit different at first glance,
but the important thing is that it's a labor of love and it's fun. The
variety of missions and humor mix well and should be enough to hook
anyone. The professional voice acting allows you to enjoy the dialog
and cut-scenes in a console title for once. If you don't want to take a
chance on a game that seems a little off the beaten path, that's your
loss. But as Twisted Sister (a consummate Butt Rock band) once said "I
Wanna Rock!"