‘Brutal Legend’ game ultimately triumphs

Our Rating: B

Tim Schafer is one of gaming’s icons.

Known for his witty and genius work on LucasArts classics like “The Secret of Monkey Island,” “Day of the Tentacle” and “Grim Fandango,” Schafer has set the bar for engaging, comedic plots.

He left LucasArts in 2000 to found Double Fine Productions, whose first game “Psychonauts” would go on to win a bevy of awards for its hilarious humor and creative characters.
Double Fine’s sophomore effort, the M-rated “Brutal Legend,” is not nearly as funny or precocious as its T-rated predecessor.

However, it is an amazing game that deserves to be enjoyed, if you can look past its flaws.

“Brutal Legend ... [is] this overlap between medieval warfare and heavy metal … That all gets put together, the heavy metal, and the rock, and the battling, actually does happen. Let’s not flirt around with this, let’s just do it,” Schafer said.

And he did.

“Brutal Legend” is an eclectic mix of all genres of metal and rock, lovingly crafted into a living, breathing world. Many of the characters and places are named after or for metal bands, metal icons or influential rockers. Even the wildlife is hardcore, from the metal-quilled porcupines to the half-boar-half-motorcycle creatures.

“Brutal Legend” is an epic heavy metal tragedy centered on Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black, who thankfully tones down his over-the-top personality). Riggs is a roadie for the worst metal band in the world when an on-set accident causes him to be transported to that alternate world.

Here the human population has been enslaved by the evil emperor Doviculus, deliciously voiced by Tim Curry. Aiding him in his oppression of the humans is his glam metal commandant General Lionwhyte (voiced by Rob Halford, and whose glam hair is so large that it actually allows him to fly).

The resistance movement is headed by Lars Halford (voiced by Zach Hanks), his sister Lita Halford (Kath Soucie) and Ophelia (Jennifer Hale), a girl who ends up being Eddie’s love interest. Eddie’s arrival has been prophesied but like a good roadie, he does not take the spotlight. Instead, he offers to help Lars and his group defeat Lionwhyte and Doviculus.

From there, the game is a whirlwind of battles, road trips, and sidequests. All told, there is only around six hours of actual story—but it is one hell of a story!

Sadly, the game’s Achilles heel is that it simply tries to do too much.

Playing as Eddie by himself is like a hack-and-slash, whereas the big set piece battles play out more like a real time strategy game, with opposing factions producing units to send against the opponent’s stage. On top of that, all of Eddie’s special attacks are pulled off by playing a Guitar-Hero-like mini-game in real time.

It just does not work as well as it should. The set piece RTS battles are confusing, brutish affairs, and winning all depends on how fast you can rush to overwhelm the enemy’s stage. Luckily, the combat is only gimped in the single player game. In the online multiplayer however, battling real live opponents is a blast.

“Brutal Legend” is not another “Psychonauts,” but that is alright. The draw of “Brutal Legend” is not its gameplay, it is the story.

Schafer is in fine form: the world he has created feels surreal and real at the same time, and the tale he tells in it is something everyone should experience. If you can look past the blunders, this heavy metal game is ready to rock you.