I was a bit apprehensive about Brutal Legend despite creator Tim Schafer’s respected pedigree in the gaming world. As a fan of heavy metal I could appreciate what he was trying to do, but I was pretty sure that it would come across as either heavy-handed or pandering in execution. And, it seems worth mentioning, as a decided non-fan of Jack Black–who lends his voice to protagonist Eddie Riggs–I had another potential hurdle in the way of what enjoyment I might conceivably get from the game.
Those nit-picks were mostly a moot point, as Brutal Legend does far more right than it does wrong, and is ultimately a very enjoyable experience with the fine layer of aesthetic polish that Schafer has built his following and reputation on. The art direction and music are both very good, and I’m glad to hear that in most cases those responsible for the soundtrack dug respectably deep and didn’t go with lazy, obvious choices that a less dedicated developer might have chosen out of laziness. What we have instead is a respectable mix of new and old tracks that are both semi-popular and relatively obscure, and though there’s an occasional head-scratcher in there (KMFDM, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson), the fact that bands like Brocas Helm, Slough Feg, Budgie, and Angel Witch made the cut is enough to let the inclusion of a few less “true” metal bands slide.
The gameplay itself is divided into a few different types. The core of the experience is a console-friendly real-time strategy game where you command an army of metal-heads in an attack on another leader’s army. You start out with a stage that serves as a base of sorts and build merch tables, which earn you fans that can be spent on new units and upgrades. Kudos to Double Fine for making console-friendly a genre best suited for PC gaming, but it’s still a little hard to control when things get hectic. When you’re not moving the plot along in these battles, you’re free to explore the world, taking on side missions, searching for relics, and earning “fire tributes” (the game’s currency) to unlock new moves for Eddie and new weapons and upgrades for his hot rod, the Druid Plow. The side missions are a mixed bag, as there are only a handful of mission types, and most of them become a chore as the game progresses. The repetition of similar missions also brings out another nitpick: there should have been a bit more recorded voice work so you’re not constantly hearing the same lines over and over. There were also quite a few instances where I became stuck thanks to driving around and becoming entangled in the scenery and had to either load my last checkpoint or try and wriggle free from parts of the scenery that should have probably been destructible in the first place. A small nitpick, but one that nonetheless detracts a bit from the experience.
Overall Brutal Legend remains a satisfying experience whose charm helps outweigh its flaws. The game is short enough that it could be beaten over a weekend if you’re dedicated, but there are enough things to hunt down and unlock in the world (which you are free to roam after beating the game) that achievement/trophy hounds will have reason to come back well after the credits roll. There’s also online multiplayer, but I didn’t give it a go.
