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.

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…)

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