Review: Brütal Legend

Eddie Riggs
is a heavy metal roadie working in a business that has passed him by.
Gone are the days of real metal music, replaced by wannabes and faux
rappers.

Fortunately for Eddie, an on-stage mishap transports him to “The Age of
Rock,” a time and place where the world is eager for music, and the
heavier the music, the better.

In this land, Eddie joins forces with a band of oppressed people who seek to reclaim their freedom in Brütal Legend.

Putting together a tour bus and a crew, Eddie and his team set forth … to rock.

Key components in Eddie’s efforts are his weapons – his battle axe and
his guitar – both upgradeable.  The Deuce – a souped-up customizable hot rod – gets Eddie where he needs to be.

All three can be upgraded in the Motorforge, an underground lair ruled by
the Guardian of Metal (Ozzy Osbourne). The Motorforge is also the place
to get custom paint jobs and purchase busts of key characters in the
game, which can then be displayed on Mount Rockmore.

As Eddie explores the world, he finds various monuments and ruins. Key among these is the Tab Slabs that reveal new guitar solos that can be used
in battle. The first one found is the “Drop a Deuce” that allows his trusty car to spawn wherever he is.

Solos are performed by hitting buttons as they scroll across the top of
the screen. They are performed in real time, so Eddie is vulnerable to
attack while in the midst of a solo.

A particularly nice solo when being attacked is one in which Eddie crashes a flaming zeppelin of lead into the ground that kills nearby enemies.

Other artifacts to be found include Bound Serpents that add health and
attack powers, Landmark Viewers that give a higher viewpoint of
locations and Buried Metal that unlock new songs for the stereo in the
Deuce.

Eddie is voiced by Jack Black, whose snappy one-liners keep the action
moving. The cutscenes and interaction between characters shines in
Brütal Legend. The storyline actually draws the player in, weaving the tale with distinctly-drawn characters. Humor, both visual and verbal, gives the game its heart.

The heart of Brütal Legend is the one-on-one battles, played out in RTS
(real-time strategy) fashion. Conventional RTS games typically pit two opponents,
with both sides operating from a base. Both sides send out troops and
machinery to battle, build new outposts and eventually eliminate the
opposition.

Brütal Legend follows this model, albeit with a rock ‘n roll attitude.

As a battle begins, each side begins with a concert stage and some
troops. Units are dispatched to “fan geysers” scattered around the
battlefield. These geysers, once captured through the use of the Fan
Tribute guitar solo, are then converted to merchandise booths, which
supply your stage with more fans and therefore, more troops.

Defending your booths and demolishing opponent’s booths occupy much of
the action, with the final goal the destruction of the opposing stage.
As Eddie, you can direct the action from the ground or in the air,
although the view from the air limits your capabilities.

In a typical RTS, troops are broken down into the usual military types – infantry, snipers, heavy armor, etc.

In Brütal Legend, the units are more stylized. Your troops are made up
of a diverse bunch. At the bottom are the headbangers – strong-necked
brutes who attack with their heads. Razor Girls serve as the snipers,
using weapons culled from the carcasses of metal-boned hogs. Other
units include Thunderhogs, who provide healing for wounded troops, and Bouncers, with
heavy fists and a lumbering gait.

The soundtrack, playable from the Deuce, features more than 100 songs,
including offerings from Black Sabbath, Dokken, Motorhead, Def Leppard,
Rob Zombie, Osbourne and other legends of metal.

Visually, the game is clean, with no HUD (heads-up display) or any
other onscreen obstructions. The only exception is during a battle,
when there are visual clues as to which units are being created and
where defense is needed.

Multiplayer is full-on RTS, with three playable factions:

Ironheade – Eddie’s group, with headbangers, roadies and bouncers;

Drowning Doom – featuring grave diggers, ratguts and brides;

Tainted Coil – sporting soul kissers, skull rakers and battle nuns.

Brütal Legend is a very good game, but its chief drawback is its length. The single-player game does not take a long time to complete, depending
on the length of the battles. After finishing the final battle, a
player is free to go back and engage in secondary missions (racing, battles, etc.) and explore to
find the rest of the monuments scattered throughout.

Multiplayer can also extend playability for RTS fans. But, in the end,
the game’s brevity is the biggest hindrance to superstardom.

Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360 Rating: Mature Manufacturer: Electronic Arts Score: 8.5 rockin’ chilies