Video Game Of The Week: Brütal Legend

TITLE: BRÜTAL LEGEND

DEVELOPER/ PUBLISHER/ PLATFORMS:
Double Fine Productions/Electronic Arts/360 & PS3

FUN FACT: Tim Schafer (Grim Fandango, Psychonauts) created main character Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) after being inspired by a Megadeth roadie.

WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: This thunderous action-adventure (with some surprising RTS influences) game is unique for its style, story line and gameplay. Throughout the game there are multiple cameos by real heavy-metal legends (Shout out to Ozzy!) and it’s filled with plenty of humor, middle fingers, and foul language. Thank you, Jack Black!

STORY: Upon insertion (ayo!), the game doesn’t have a load screen, but an actual full-screen movie—featuring Jack Black at a record store—that sets up the storyline for the game. As the greatest roadie of all time transported to a fantastical heavy-metal realm, your task is to a) liberate the land from the evil Lord Doviculus and b) rock the fuck out whenever possible.

GAMEPLAY: During single-player mode, you’re armed with a guitar and battle ax to kill enemies (stick-figure goths, glam rockers, emo kids, misfits, etc.) by playing different combinations on your guitar. Outside the main narrative, there’s plenty of mini-game sequences (beat ‘em up, racing, shooting) that are way less lame than the term “mini-game” suggests. There’s ability to unlock songs, collectibles, and upgrades to pimp your ride.

The multi-player portion lets you and up to seven other people playing as various game characters to wild the fuck out on each other (no Rob Halford).

GRAPHICS: Featuring tons of leather, skulls, studs, hot-rods and flames, the 3-D alternative reality is clearly heavy metal-inspired—classic album cover art references are sprinkled throughout. Character animation is expressive and lively—from using a Zippo to light a stogie to flipping people off, typical bad-ass attitudes are present and accounted for. It’s extremely detail-oriented and you’ll need to look twice at everything… like seeing Mariah and Nick together for the first time.

DOWNSIDE: Some mission objectives aren’t stated explicitly, and the only way to figure them out is to fail. Also, after a while, the game’s side quests become a little repetitive. And in a move that’s a little disappointing for button-mashers, Eddie Riggs can’t jump. Of course, being voiced and modeled by Jack Black, what did you expect?

VIDEO: BRÜTAL LEGEND Video Game Trailer

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