Tim Schafer’s tribute to the Gods of Rock
Format: PS3, Xbox 360 (version played) Dev: Double Fine Pub: EA
Out: 16/10/09 Players: 1, 2-8 online
The camera zooms out and pans around an island of skulls, as a shredding guitar solo can be heard in the background. Epic heavy metal moments like this come courtesy of Brütal Legend, a brand new IP from Tim Schafer and Double Fine – the creative force behind the excellent (but rather unpopular) Psychonauts.
You’re cast into the role of Eddie Riggs (Jack Black), a roadie who, through unexplained magical circumstances, gets transported to an alternative world of heavy metal. In this alternative world, you help to raise an army called ‘Ironheade’ to take back the sacred grounds from dark enemy forces.
One thing you’ll realise early on is that Brütal Legend is a very clear parody of the dispute between three different genres of rock: heavy metal, emo and glam rock. Besides that, the story is simple, with a twist so obvious that it’s impossible to miss it coming. However, the writing mixes slapstick humour and mature comedy to such great effect that it manages to keep you enthralled until the end.
Brütal Legend’s graphical prowess isn’t great technical-wise, but from a creative standpoint it’s among the best of the year. Everything is accentuated, colour palettes change for every world you visit, creating a beautiful and varied world that you actually want to go and explore. The atmosphere created by the game is pitch perfect for the audience of rock fans it is aimed at. You can tell that a lot of time has been dedicated to making the game’s scenes, and each vista of the map (accentuated by sweeping ‘binocular’ moments) just helps you realise how every section of the gameplay appears varied on the surface; but this is at the sacrifice of significant developments in this area.
Third-person controls feel adequate, with limited fighting combos you can perform, and player-controlled guitar solos that can alter the in-game world and assist you in combat (my personal favourite being the ‘face melter’). Surprisingly, Brütal Legend is part open world adventure, beat-’em-up and real-time strategy. The RTS sections felt too simple, making it a seesaw affair as you take ‘head-banging’ fans and vice versa. Nothing else really happens in this department.
Despite some ace cutscenes and animations, gameplay is definitely the weakest part of the package – from the point of view of what is missing. But if you look at this differently, you can see that they’ve simplified the many gameplay types to make an accessible and enjoyable title (most of the time).
Single-player’s RTS elements are dissected and used for the multiplayer section of the game, which runs with minimum lag on the main hand. Besides this, it’s a relatively standard affair of online capabilities: leaderboards and stat keeping. Not really an enticing package to keep you coming back for more.
Which leaves me with an interesting dilemma as to how to judge this title. Based on the in-game atmosphere created through visuals and audio, Brütal Legend stacks up among the elite in terms of creativity and just sheer addiction. Vistas show real heavy metal flair and the soundtrack is faultless for a game of this calibre. However, the gameplay is a hit or miss affair, making it easily accessible to newcomers, but not presenting any complexity at all for more play beyond the story mode.
It’s one fatal flaw that stops Brütal Legend from being the best character action title you can purchase. If you can overlook these issues, and play it for the short term, be prepared to raise your horns for the most heavy metal gaming experience of this generation.
Jason England
Tags: action, beat-em-up, brutal legend, double fine, ea
