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The world of Brutal Legend is experienced through the eyes of Eddie Riggs (voiced by and partially based on Jack Black) a roadie who prefers staying in the shadows while his talentless band makes sure that Heavy Metal dies an aurally painful death. However, a freak stage accident somehow sends him back to the ancient past – a glorious age of Metal – where head bangers seek salvation and the gods of Metal still roam the Earth. But damnation in the form of a demon overlord and his pansy hair-winged emo-freak General Lionwhyte quashing the weak human resistance quickly makes Eddie power slide into the role of this era’s saviour to vanquish the forces of Black Metal.
Co-leading Eddie’s revolution are the brother-sister team of Lars and Lita Halford, and Eddie’s eventual love interest Ophelia – warriors who have been so far unsuccessful in taking on the might of the evil forces. But raising a truly rocking army compels the roadie to comprehend the artefacts of Heavy Metal inscribed across the landscape – from metallic spiders who fabricate guitar strings to mountains made of gigantic amplifiers. The legendary back story of the world of Brutal Legend, inspired by Norse mythology, can also be unlocked in parts while exploring the world itself. The narrative has its fair share of twists and turns and some shocking revelations, and manages to hold off well despite having some cheesy moments.
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The core of Brutal Legend consists of a variety of gameplay elements seen independently in a variety of games but never before strung together in a single package. Surprisingly lacking the ability to jump, Eddie can still hack and slash with his weapons – an actual Axe used for melee and an electric guitar called Clementine used for ranged attacks – and drive his self-built hot-rod, christened Deuce, all over the strange metal world. Not only does Riggs battle various bosses by himself, he also teams up with various army units to fend off the minions of demonic forces. Various button mashing combos as well as simple Guitar Hero-esque timed guitar-playing solos keep adding to the Eddie’s arsenal of moves over time as he explores the open world. Apart from the on-foot combat, other gameplay modes include timed solo racing events and assisting a huge moving Stage Truck defend itself while it reaches its destination.
But perhaps, the most important gameplay bit is the real-time strategy battles, which form a huge chunk of the main story progression levels. Once Eddie raises his army, he can take part in various so called ‘Stage Battles’ in which he manages his units to either defend his own base or destroy the similarly setup enemy boss’s. This is done by harvesting currency in the form of spiritual fans of Heavy Metal music being pelted by the player’s stronghold Stage, by capturing various fissures on the ground from where these fans emerge. This is analogous to mining gold from a captured gold mine.
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The currency can then be used to create battle units ranging from simple melee, ranged attack and healer units to the more complex vehicular pieces, each having its own special attack ability. Each of these units can also be double teamed with in battle, increasing their battle efficiency by being able to perform more powerful attacks. These minions can be controlled by giving them various orders, such as retreating, advancing, moving to a marked area and following Eddie. Eddie himself can also dish out damage on the field using his normal combat moves and electrifying guitar solos. To make managing the units in a vast battlefield easier, Eddie is given the ability of flight through his mysterious demon wings, which make movement much faster than running on the ground from one unit to another and also gives a better overhead view. However, these wings vanish as mysteriously as they appeared once each stage battle is over.
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The RTS element employed in the game came as quite a surprise, often in an unpleasant way to Schafer fans expecting a simpler action-adventure game as was assumed with the Brutal Legend demo prior to the game’s release. Though the mechanics of the battles are not broken in any way, they may appear forced onto the players, changing the whole genre of the game.
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The same mechanics are employed in multiplayer battles where up to 4 players can choose one of the 3 available factions and fend off the enemies to defend their own base and destroy the others’. Each faction has its own style which may turn the tide of the battle to the player’s favour – Ironheade is fast and furious with lots of fire attacks, Drowning Doom consists of emo kids who can slow down opponents with their curses while the demonic Tainted Coil can spawn monsters just about anywhere on the battle field. Just like other RTSs, Brutal Legend’s multiplayer is all about forming your own strategies while deciphering those of the opponents.
The story levels can be started at any time and in between Eddie is free to roam the vast world of Brutal Legend, where car radiators grow on trees and long buried artefacts can be raised from the ground with the help of guitar solos. One such artefact, the Motor Forge, acts as a store, which can be found in various locations on the landscape. Managed by the Guardian of Metal (based on and voiced by the metal legend Ozzy Osbourne himself), the Motor Forge allows Eddie to upgrade his combat moves, add weapons to the Deuce and purchase other abilities. The in-game currency for this comes from completing the story levels as well as free-roaming the world to explore various landmarks and complete the side-missions, which consist of short battle sequences, animal hunting sequences, 1-on-1 racing events, etc.
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Although the world created by Schafer is humungous and fun to explore, the lack of a mini map showing marked locations and routes to be followed is a serious letdown. Seeking rays of light at a distance showing Eddie’s destination can often be frustrating as taking the wrong route can sometimes lead in the complete opposite direction. Also, the lack of proper checkpoints while free-roaming is disappointing as it often happens that dying in free-roaming at a particular point can result in being reborn in the very opposite end of the landscape.
Everything about Brutal Legend just oozes massive dollops of creativity from the ingeniously designed human and demon army units to the creatures that roam the epic Metal world. Apart from the brilliant menu deployed in the game, another unique aspect of the game is the ability to tone down the violence and the language if the player so wishes. The whole look and feel of the game is very cartoony, which is a good thing, since not turning off the brutal violence filter would have otherwise led to some very disturbing imagery. Some of the landscape pieces inspired by glorious Metal album jackets add to the beauty of the apocalyptic world. But the translation of concept art to console graphics doesn’t really result in consistent frame-rates at times, particularly when lots of combat units fill the screen. Drops in frame rates are also experienced during environmental weather fluctuations like times of heavy rain and lightning. But ignore the minor annoyances and you shall reap the joys of the wonderful world created as a tribute to Heavy Metal; to a fan of the genre, it is orgasmic.
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But what kind of a tribute would Brutal Legend be to Heavy Metal without the music itself? Thankfully, the soundtrack, including everything from Black Sabbath and Judas Priest to Jack Black’s own Tenacious D, is what Mosh-Pit dreams are made of. Driving the Deuce through the world of Brutal Legend with the music blaring at full volume is one of the most incredible experiences the game provides, and redeems Schafer’s idea of creating Brutal Legend into a sandbox. The numerous cameos by metal legends are also excellent; the instantly recognizable Lemmy Kilmister (of Motorhead fame) needs a little work with his voice acting, but Ozzy (Black Sabbath) and Rob Halford (Judas Priest) pretty much nail their characters, filling them to the brim with all sorts of awesomeness. Not to forget that Eddie Riggs can probably be mistaken for Jack Black’s long lost brother from another mother, with Black infusing Eddie with all his characteristic zaniness. As expected, the dialogs are typical Schafer stuff – clever and very, very funny.
Conclusion
Apart from the real-time strategy gameplay element, which some players might develop a heart-burn to after gulping down, Brutal Legend offers an exceptionally unique experience, particularly for the head banging fans of the Heavy Metal genre. A beautifully imagined apocalyptic world, interesting characters, wide array of gameplay elements and a brilliant aural experience all contribute in making Brutal Legend a worthy addition to the Tim Schafer’s legacy. I personally look forward to Jack Black being such an integral part to more video games in the future; the man certainly is an entertainer. So in short, is Brutal Legend the greatest embodiment of Heavy Metal in the world? Maybe not, but it sure is a f*cking awesome tribute!
(+) The combination of Jack Black, Tim Schafer and Heavy Metal Gods. Enough said.
(+) A decent story, entertaining dialogs and amazing characters.
(+) Driving around an apocalyptic world filled with demonic creatures in a missile-launcher equipped hot-rod with the greatest Heavy Metal soundtrack blaring through the speakers. Hell Ya!
(-) The real-time strategy elements are not everyone’s cup of tea
(-) Short game length for being a sandbox
(-) Lack of a mini-map and some graphical glitches here and there
Title: Brutal Legend
Developer/Publisher: Double Fine Productions/EA
Genre: Action-Adventure
Rating: 18
Platforms: PS3 (Rs 2,499), Xbox 360 (Rs 2,499)
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