Brutal Legend Review

I usually don't like to review games until after I have beaten them, but in the case of the awesomeness that is Brutal Legend, I will make an exception. To put it bluntly, BRUTAL LEGEND ROCKS! It has its downfalls, which I'll delve into, but on the whole as a package, it is the definitive heavy metal game.

I won't bore you with the intricacies of the story (which goes from 0-60 in about the length of time of an Iron Maiden guitar solo), but I will say a few things that I like. It's a decent story, probably Tim Schaefer's weakest, however, in the grand scheme of things, way better than a lot of crappy stories these days (I'm looking at you Mirror's Edge). Tim Schafer games include all of the Monkey Island Games, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle and Psychonauts.

The story is basically a "what if there was an parallel universe where Heavy Metal was created and passed down by the gods and people forgot it over time, but if you rock out and play some kickass solos you get awesome powers." I mean, how awesome is that!? If you didn't say very awesome, then you are dead wrong

It takes some huge balls to create a game like this, both figuratively and financially, as in the last 20 years (or if we want to get very technical, since Metallica's Black Album), heavy metal has been slowly dying. It has since been replaced by many things, none of which are even close to being the same thing. Goth and scream metal are not the same things. In fact, one of the main villains you fight are Goths, but I won't get too much into that. How metal is this game? Well, apart from the kick ass solos you bust out in a Guitar Hero styled way, there's also 82 metal songs in this game. These aren't just little blurbs or major bands, I'm talking huge names and huge songs and really obscure (but still AWESOME) songs. This is a game that has Ozzy, Lita Ford, Rob Halford and Lemmy doing voice acting. Let it be known that Ozzy does have the smallest part in terms of importance to the actual story, but he is the fucking GUARDIAN OF METAL. I mean, do I really need to sell you on the metal level of this game? I think not. If you like metal, don't read the rest of my review. Just go buy this damn game.

Ok, for all of you people on the fence who kinda like metal or Jack Black, here's what is good and bad about the the actual gameplay.

Good

• The hack and slash parts are excellent and everything controls very well. From driving your car (Druid Plow) to running and picking certain enemies to attack, everything is smooth.
  
  
• The actual hack and slash battles are also equally excellent, making you think about how you will attack a huge group of enemies and switch between your battle axe, and your guitar (or, other battle axe if you want to use Heavy Metal lingo).
  
  
• The side missions, while repetitive, have a good variety to them. There are a decent amount and you don't really HAVE to do them, although they will help you later on buy more upgrades that you will need. They aren't bad if you do them sporadically, like I have, but if you want to do a whole bunch in a row, you will notice that they get very boring and that the little cutscenes right before are almost exactly the same in each case, but overall, I liked the variety of them.
  
  

• The graphics are gorgeous. There is a bit of pop-in when you are driving, but GTA has pop-in too and I think it's still an unavoidable thing when you are talking about a huge open world game. The characters are very cleanly rendered and the style of everything is awesome. When it really shows off is when there are LOADS of enemies and units on screen. There is almost no slowdown (once I've seen in), while there are loads of units fighting. This was never designed to be a realistic looking game, and I wasn't expecting that, but the art design and style is phenomenal.
  
  
• The voice acting is among the best I've ever heard. Even with huge names, they don't give them WAY too many lines and the more important people are voiced by phenomenal voice actors (Tim Curry or even Jack Black). My only qualm was that Rob Halfords character looked like it should have been voiced by David Bowie.

Bad

• About an hour in you have your first boss battle, or "stage battle" as it's called in the game. No matter what Tim Schaefer says, this is totally a RTS design. Read this Penny Arcade strip to get a sense of what i am talking about. I, for one, am not a fan of real time strategy games. However, they are not quite that hard, except for the one I am currently stuck at! GRRRRRRRRR! However, they are unnecessarily long and while it is encouraged that you actually fight in these battles, you don't have super powers or a health bar so it is tough to gauge how much you can actually take, and these enemies will kill you (you automatically respawn an infinite number of times until someone actual wins or loses the battle, but its annoying).

That really is the only bad thing I could find in this game, and while it is a design choice and a matter of personal preference (I hate RTS games, too much going on at once), but if you can get past that, you'll love this game. Please play the demo on 360 or PS3 to play the 1st half hour of the game if you are on the fence. That should make you want this game a lot more. If you are thinking about it, PLEASE buy it. This is a game that will LIVE AND DIE by the sales it has when you purchase it NEW. Please support the fine developers at Double Fine and only purchase new, as I fear that if this game bombs, it will just make it harder for an original game with an original idea to get created if you aren't from a big company and because dammit, Tim Schaefer deserves it.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10.0

Demo Round Up - 9/30/09

I'd like to introduce a new feature here at Gamerology called "Demo Round-Up." Most game critics will review a game in the interest of saving you money. On Demo Round-Up, we are going to sift through the weekly demo releases and tell you which are worth your time. You've heard it said that "time is money," but in this day and age, time is quickly becoming more valuable then the greenback. This week, we are going to take a look at Brutal Legend, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Wolfenstein.

Brutal Legend

Brutal Legend comes from the genius mind of Tim Schafer. He is best known for the Monkey Island series among other great titles. Despite his wealth of creativity, his games have been overlooked by the gaming community as of late- Psychonauts being his latest critical jewel that didn't find success on a large scale. Brutal Legend looks to change all that. This game is fronted by the likeness and unmistakable vocal stylings of Jack Black as he takes on the role of Eddie the Roadie. This gives the game instant mainstream appeal. The beauty is that this isn't a mainstream title. It's all about Heavy Metal, leather jackets and blowing demons' heads off with delicious power solos. Let's not forget Eddie's kick-ass belt buckle that actually has the power to summon Ormagöden, The Fire Beast, Cremator of the Sky, and Destroyer of the Ancient World. Who knew Hot Topic sold such valuable artifacts?

The demo lasts about twenty minutes and features a variety of gameplay including literal axe wielding, guitar shredding, and hot rod driving. The game's initial boss fight is also included. Suffice it to say, you'll be going toe-to-toe with a giant worm complete with a set of jowls stocked with teeth. The game is genuinely funny and takes some shots at the current metal scene. Overall, the demo is a fair representation of what we can expect from Brutal Legend without spoiling any crucial story elements.

Verdict: Download it!

Uncharted 2 Multiplayer

When a franchise has established itself as a tried and true single player experience, the idea of adding a multiplayer component is often met with the inevitable sighs and eye rolls. I am here today to testify on behalf of the Uncharted 2 multiplayer. It is well-tuned and incredibly addicting. I had the privilege (not really, I pre-ordered Infamous) of testing the multiplayer component long before any demo was available. I saw the bones of a great game that desperately needed a healthy dose of polish. I am pleased to announce that Naughty Dog has not disappointed and Uncharted 2 plays better than ever.

An incredible portion of the multiplayer game is available in the demo right from the start. You'll have 5 maps to battle on in various game types as well as full co-op support for multiplayer-specific modes. The controls are easy to pick up, but will take some time to master. The cover system, shooting and climbing mechanics all worked great and overall the gameplay felt incredibly smooth. There is an large number of unlockables including character skins, boosters (similar to COD4: Modern Warfare's perks) and taunts. Matchmaking could use an adjustment; first time players will be pitched against much higher level combatants. The unlockable booster system gives those with higher ranks a distinct advantage.

Uncharted 2 is a real looker too. It is certainly one of the best looking games ever made. The multiplayer looks better than most games single player campaign. Naughty Dog claims to be pushing the Playstation 3 to its limits and the demo made a believer out of me. Do yourself a favor and download this demo now. It has the potential to keep you busy all the way up until Uncharted 2: Among thieves is released on October 15th.

Verdict: Download it!


Wolfenstein

Last and certainly least, we have Wolfenstein. I was hoping to bat a perfect average this week, but I had no such luck. First of all, the game has been out for almost two months. Why are we getting a demo now?

Wolfenstein is running on the Doom 3 engine from ten years ago. As such, it looks inexcusably dated. That would be more forgivable if the gameplay was more akin to the the current generation of First Person Shooters. The entire experience feels like something that would have been great in 1999. No doubt it would have gotten top marks across the board. I regret to inform Raven Software that it is in fact 2009 and the gaming world has come to expect more from its developers. The demo will take you about half an hour and gives you a pretty clear picture of what Wolfenstein has to offer. Too bad it's not a pretty picture.

There are some redeemable qualities like the ability to upgrade weapons via the Black Market. This feature is something that I hope becomes more popular in the genre. In fact, all signs are pointing toward Gears of War 3 featuring more role-playing-like qualities. The shooting component works fine and over-all the game doesn't necessarily feel broken, it just feels uninspired. If you are a die-hard fan of the series, then at least wait for this to hit the bargain bin.

Verdict: Skip it!