Posts Tagged ‘Brutal Legend’

Tenacious D to perform at BlizzCon 2010

Monday, October 11th, 2010
Time to melt faces.

Time to melt faces.

Last October, Jack Black starred in Electronics Art’s Brutal Legend as protagonist Eddie Riggs. This year, at BlizzCon 2010, Black will perform under the banner of Blizzard.

(Gamespot) – Blizzard today sent word that rock group Tenacious D, a band composed of Jack Black and Kyle Gass, will perform at this year’s BlizzCon during the closing ceremony on October 23. The band is known for its HBO show Tenacious D: The Greatest Band on Earth, as well as its two albums, live concert DVDs, and feature film Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. According to Blizzard, Tenacious D will debut new songs during their set.

As in years past, BlizzCon will feature a variety of activities catering to the tastes of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo fans. Those in attendance will be able to play prerelease builds of Blizzard’s upcoming games, including World of Warcraft: Cataclysm and Diablo III. The show will also include a variety of panels form Blizzard developers, casual and competitive tournaments, contests, a silent auction, and a merchandise store.

Some 20,000 tickets were sold at $125 a pop to BlizzCon 2009, though Blizzard has said that the event remains unprofitable. Highlights included the announcement of WOW’s third expansion, Cataclysm, as well as a live performance by metal maestro Ozzy Osbourne.

BlizzCon 2010 will be held October 22-23 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. The event is sold out, but those interested in the latest Blizzard news can purchase a BlizzCon 2010 Virtual Ticket for $39.95 to watch more than 50 hours of content from the event over at www.worldofwarcraft.com.

Gamers United 2009 – Donating Games For a Good Cause

Thursday, December 17th, 2009
openningpic

Rock On, Gamers

To get into the perfect holiday season mood, what better way than to donate to a great cause? Last Wednesday, I was invited to go to the Gamers United event in LA at the Custom Hotel. A list of gaming and nerd culture celebs were there which includes Carlos Ferro, who played Dom from the Gears of War franchise. With over 100 games donated to the UCLA Hospital for the youth recreational area, the event was a pure success and I’m looking forward to next year’s event.

The event was all fun and games especially since I had to grab a couple of interviews from different voice artists. I grabbed interviews with Jeff Rector, Jennifer Hale, Greg Berger and Spike Spencer. Let’s jump into the funniest interview that I had: Spike Spencer

spikejeff

Jeff Rector and Spike Spencer

‘I did not f*** that sheep.’ Truly, the weirdest thing anyone has said to me to end an interview. With his latest work being Supa Pirate Booty Hunt, Spike always keep himself busy whether it be VO work for games or animation of different assortments. Spike claims that this new series is better than some of the stuff is on Adult Swim. I suggest that you all check the link to catch on the series. For those who are wondering what Spike is known for, he has VO’d as Hanataro Yamada from the anime: Bleach.

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Game Review: Brütal Legend

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

Brütal Legend, and Jack Black, score a Busy Gamer 4
Brütal Legend, and Jack Black, score a Busy Gamer 4

First Glance:
Jack Black is the hero, heavy metal carnage is the theme, and Lemmy and Ozzy are part of the game? I’m in. Seriously. In.

The Short Story:
Brütal Legend is the game that almost wasn’t. EA made the wise choice to pick up the title and after spending a good amount of time with the game, I’m glad the project came to fruition. With excellent voice acting, a mind crushing sound track, and solid gameplay, Double Fine has produced a product that would have a shame to lose.

The Score:
Brütal Legend is the type of game that tries to blend several different types of play into one game. Hack and Slash, RTS, driving, rhythm and put together a story to tie it all together. A lot of companies have tried this approach and failed. But Brütal Legend pulls it off admirably and you’ll find yourself looking forward to what comes next. The controls are basic but solid and take very little time to learn. The story itself is well done and when Jack Black voices the main character, you can count on the humor level being high. There’s a lot to do in Brütal Legend but you may find yourself ready to pass on a second helping of the same story on a higher difficulty level. Short sessions are very possible and the game will humor will keep you coming back for more. Brütal Legend scores a 4 on the Busy Gamer scale.

Body of review:
I’ll admit it. I was a metal head in high school. I had the weird long hair, the jean jacket, the concert tees, the whole nine yards. I’m also a big fan of Jack Black’s acting and of Tenacious D as well. So when I say I had some high expectations going into Brütal Legend, you should know I mean *high* expectations. And it didn’t fail to deliver.

So that's why they call it an "electric" guitar.

So that's why they call it an "electric" guitar.

Brütal Legend is the tale of roadie Eddie Riggs who is a stylized, buff, ass kicking version of Jack Black who also voices him. Eddie can fix anything, build anything, get anything, and while he’s a roadie, he’s also a pretty good musician. As the story begins, Eddie is working for what passes for a heavy metal band in this day and age and lamenting the fall of metal. While pulling one of the band members fat out of the fire, a piece of the set falls on Eddie and what appears to be a fatal accident transports Eddie to a land where heavy metal is not only alive and well, it’s a way of life.

Once the action begins, our hero finds an axe of legend to wield and then finds another axe… to play. He discovers that the guitar he plays can cause his foes to burst into flames or be struck by lightning. So between the two “axes”, he finds a means to quickly and efficiently beat his foes. And throwing up the horns is completely acceptable after a successful fight.

As the story moves on, Tim Schafer’s wickedly humorous writing and Jack Black’s perfect delivery as Eddie drives the story while solid gameplay and the oddly beautiful graphics pushes us to hear more of it. Combat consists of three buttons for the most part. One to swing the axe, one to play the guitar to different effect, and the third is to block. And while it may seem like an oversimplified game mechanic, the game offers a variety of foes that Eddie must learn to overcome using a combination attacks. This keeps the combat flowing nicely without being an intimidating factor. Once you learn the moves, it’s hard not to appreciate the devastation you can cause.

After dispatching a few waves of demonic foes, it’s time to move on to one of the driving portions of the game. Initially, to learn the controls of the car (called the “Druid Plow”, HA!), you’ll race down a path to escape the evil horde that’s coming for you. And with just enough time behind the wheel to feel some confidence, you’re thrown into a battle for Eddie’s life… using the car. And then, if you’re victorious, you get to drive very fast to cross a bridge that’s crumbling behind you. (more…)

LEGEND-ary Tim Curry “Out Demons” Ronnie James Dio!

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
Tim Curry gets to play big baddy in Brutal Legend

Tim Curry gets to play big baddy in Brutal Legend

(Gamespot) – Earlier this month, Brutal Legend made its presence felt at the Electronic Entertainment Expo courtesy of a massive banner across the front of the Los Angeles Convention Center. As the show ended, it also made headlines for being the subject of a legal spat between current publisher EA and Activision Blizzard, which claims it retains publishing rights to the game.

Now, Brutal Legend is in the news again. First, EA sought to drum up publicity for the game by having its fans set a Guinness World Record for largest number of people playing Air Guitar at once. During the Download Festival in the UK, some 440 people and one official Guinness adjudicator assembled at the EA trailer to virtually and simultaneously play the classic Motorhead song, “Ace of Spades.” The previous record was 318 air guitarists, set in 2008.

In other Brutal Legend news Double Fine chief Tim Schafer has confirmed a major change in the game’s voice cast. “Ronnie James Dio is an amazing singer and truly one of the great figures of Metal, but as the character of Doviculus evolved, we realized that [actor] Tim Curry was a better fit for the part,” he told GameSpot. “Anyone who has seen his amazing performance as the Lord of Darkness in the movie Legend knows why we cast him in the role of Doviculus, Emperor of the Tainted Coil.” Curry (pictured in Legend) is also famous for playing the transvestite mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter in the cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Barring any legal delays, Brutal Legend WILL SHIP in October for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A Wii version of the game is also rumored to be in the works.

“Brutal Legend” temporarily axed.

Monday, June 8th, 2009
Brutal Legend's tour stops here.

Brutal Legend's tour stops here.

Now that E3 is over, we all wait around to see the exciting titles that were demoed at last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. One title that is now been put on hold is Double Fine’s “Brutal Legend”. The game, starring the voice and bad assitude of Jack Black, WAS set for an October launch, which publisher Electronic Arts promoted heavily at the show. They even dedicated a portion of its press conference to the game and plastered a massive Brutal Legend banner over the front of the Los Angeles Convention Center’s South Hall.

Here comes the fun part…Activision is looking to halt the release of Brutal Legend with claims that they still have the rights to release the game, even though the game was among a slew of titles dropped by the publisher last year in the wake of its merger with Vivendi Games. Associated Press reports that publisher Tony Hawk filed suit against Double Fine in a Santa Monica court friday to prevent the game’s release. Whoopsie?

Activision has already threatened such a move in February in Variety magazine. EA told Variety, “We doubt that Activision would try to sue. That would be like a husband abandoning his family and then suing after his wife meets a better looking guy.”

Sorry Jack, looks like we won’t be seeing you until 2010.

[Source]

-BG Crew










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