Brutal Legend

Brutal Legend is fun, there's no question about that. Some say that the mish-mash of hack-and-slash and Real Time Strategy gameplay doesn't gel, and what you get is a game that does neither exceptionally. While they're not necessarily wrong, what's here is functional. But what makes Brutal Legend enjoyable is Tim Schafer's characteristic writing and sense of humour. Like with Psychonauts, the writing is what you're here for, and it's expertly voiced by talented actors and famous rock and metal musicians. It must be said that if you're a fan of rock and heavy metal, the soundtrack is going to make you very happy, with classic songs from Black Sabbath, Manowar, Motorhead and Iron Maiden, just to name a few. All in all, while flawed, the game exudes charm from its pores, and it's easily worth its asking price.

It doesn't matter if 3/4 of the game are something in between a strategy game and Overlord. The writing, the style and the music save the day. On easy difficulty level the strategy part is not a problem any more, and seriously, with music by Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Dark Tranquillity, Manowar, Megadeth and many other famous metal bands this game is totally worth playing. Add some funny jokes, amazing style and awesome voice acting by Jack Black, there is no solid reason to skip this game. PS. The game was released natively on Linux and is available on Steam if you wish to run it on that particular platform.

I originally saw TV ads for this game back when it was a console exclusive, and thought it looked amusing, so when it came out on PC I decided to give it a try. What I found was not only one of the most hilariously awesome games I've every played, but one that gave me an appreciation of an entirely new musical genre...no mean feat! Brütal Legend reminds me of Beyond Good and Evil in that it defies genre categorization: it's an action combat game, it's open-world exploration, it's a racing game, it's an RTS, it's an RPG, it has comedy and blood and music and romance...in short, there's something here for everyone. Opinions seem to be split in that some think the game would have been better with the RTS elements removed, but I found them a fun change of pace. So regardless of whether you have any interest in hard rock or heavy metal (and you probably will by the time you're finished with this), I can't recommend Brütal Legend enough.

What you get out of this game is heavily dependent on your expectations. If you think you're getting an action-adventure, think again. This game is primarily a RTS game, specifically one of those rare ground-level RTS games like Sacrifice, or Citizen Kabuto. Commanding an army of various Metal creatures, the gist of the game is to destroy your enemy's Stage (base) after fighting off their groupies and stars (units) and stealing their fans (resources). It's a little tricky to get used to if you haven't done this kind of game before, but it's quite fun once you get the hang of using Rally points and your ability to fly to coordinate your army effectively. The single-player mode, as is true for most RTS games, is there mostly to teach you how to play so you can do random maps or multiplayer. The MP community is small, but devoted, so don't worry about finding other players. The main storyline is short, but fun, with plenty of Doublefine's quirky humor backed by a grand performance by Jack Black (among others), and there's plenty of collectible nonsense and sidequests, if you're into that kind of thing. Oh, and did I mention the Metal? The scenery in this game is just plain amazing. So is the music. I've rarely seen any game that was so thoroughly committed to showing a specific aesthetic, and done it so well. So, absolutely, yes, buy this. 10 bucks is a bargain. Raise your head up high, put your fist up in the air, make Metal LOUDER THAN HELL!