Review: Brutal Legend

Russ Pitts

The Boss of You
May 1, 2006
3,240
0
0
MurderousToaster said:
The guy speaking sounds like a telemarketer

"Hello, is the owner of the house in?"
Hello, I'm the Editor-in-Chief of this website! Nice to meet you.

Unlike a lot of folks who do game-related podcasts and videos, I actually have professional vocal training, which might be what makes my voice sound odd to you, if you're used to listening to stuff on other sites ;)

Or it's possible I was channeling my inner cable TV salesperson for this video. That's always a distinct possibility.

Wanna buy some cable TV?
 

Desert Tiger

New member
Apr 25, 2009
846
0
0
Gonna buy this along with Assassin's Creed 2, COD Modern Warfare 2 and Smackdown vs RAW! 2010.

...

I've got a pretty broad gaming palette, apparently.
 

Onyx Oblivion

Borderlands Addict. Again.
Sep 9, 2008
17,032
0
0
Fantastic game...didn't learn how to open Serpents until after I'd passed over 40 of them, though.
 

hansari

New member
May 31, 2009
1,256
0
0
Russ Pitts said:
BaldursBananaSoap said:
At the time of writing I had played for 9 hours and was just over 50% complete. I dilly dally a lot though, so the game's story is probably about 12-15 hours long. I will most likely get 20+ hours out of it. Not bad.
Giantbomb is claiming its like 4 hours...how much dilly-dallying do you do?
 

Doug

New member
Apr 23, 2008
5,205
0
0
Russ Pitts said:
MurderousToaster said:
The guy speaking sounds like a telemarketer

"Hello, is the owner of the house in?"
Hello, I'm the Editor-in-Chief of this website! Nice to meet you.

Unlike a lot of folks who do game-related podcasts and videos, I actually have professional vocal training, which might be what makes my voice sound odd to you, if you're used to listening to stuff on other sites ;)

Or it's possible I was channeling my inner cable TV salesperson for this video. That's always a distinct possibility.

Wanna buy some cable TV?
A-ha! So thats your day job Russ! We were all wondering where the money came from.

Anywho, I've played more of Brutal legend now, and I can safely say the experience has only got better, and the RTS sections are good, though its just fun to drive around the world of metal in the Druid Plow.
 

bcponpcp27

New member
Jan 9, 2009
961
0
0
CaptainChaosify said:
Good review.
Can't wait for the game to come out in Ireland. :D
Eagi said:
Any more recognisable faces apart from Jack Black and Ozzy?
I know some of the people that show up in the game but they might be a spoiler to the game.
Rob Halford, Lemmy Kilmister and Lita Ford, I'm not so sure all of them are real people though.
Welcome to the Escapist. :)
Yeah, those are totally real people. Lemmy is the lead singer of Motorhead, and Lita Ford had here own. I recognize Rob Halford's name, but can't place him at the moment.

Seems like a cool game, i'll probably wait till summer though, already have money invested in two other games coming out this fall.
 

Russ Pitts

The Boss of You
May 1, 2006
3,240
0
0
Doug said:
A-ha! So thats your day job Russ! We were all wondering where the money came from.
Err ... no ... actually my day job IS being the Editor-in-Chief of The Escapist. We have an office and everything. And benefits. It's pretty sweet. The acting and stuff was from a former career and ... hang on. I think I'm about to spoil your illusion of how old I am. Better to stop there.

Actually, I'm totally living in my parents' basement and running this site in my spare time with some friends who are also in school and young and sexy and stuff. Yeah. That's it. :-/

hansari said:
Russ Pitts said:
BaldursBananaSoap said:
At the time of writing I had played for 9 hours and was just over 50% complete. I dilly dally a lot though, so the game's story is probably about 12-15 hours long. I will most likely get 20+ hours out of it. Not bad.
Giantbomb is claiming its like 4 hours...how much dilly-dallying do you do?
I can't speak for Giantbomb review process, nor would I want to. But I can assure you the game is longer than 4 hours.
 

MurderousToaster

New member
Aug 9, 2008
3,074
0
0
Russ Pitts said:
MurderousToaster said:
The guy speaking sounds like a telemarketer

"Hello, is the owner of the house in?"
Hello, I'm the Editor-in-Chief of this website! Nice to meet you.

Unlike a lot of folks who do game-related podcasts and videos, I actually have professional vocal training, which might be what makes my voice sound odd to you, if you're used to listening to stuff on other sites ;)

Or it's possible I was channeling my inner cable TV salesperson for this video. That's always a distinct possibility.

Wanna buy some cable TV?
Quite possibly the vocal training part.

(Also, I would buy some cable T.V, but I've checked, and it's not available in my area. Poor me)
 

TsunamiWombat

New member
Sep 6, 2008
5,870
0
0
Does anyone know how to unchain those statues? Not the dragons with the ball gags, the other ones?

Oh and I beat the game and it does feel short, but because I didn't want it to end. They could've totally dragged it out by having you
Go back and reclaim your land from Tainted Coil
 

Wingmna

New member
Feb 10, 2009
76
0
0
in between demon's souls and uncharted 2, this is at the bottom of the list...

TBH from other reviews is looks more like a failure considering it comes from Timmy, looks he focused more on the metal theme then actual gameplay this time round
 

CD-R

New member
Mar 1, 2009
1,355
0
0
TsunamiWombat said:
Does anyone know how to unchain those statues? Not the dragons with the ball gags, the other ones?

Oh and I beat the game and it does feel short, but because I didn't want it to end. They could've totally dragged it out by having you
Go back and reclaim your land from Tainted Coil
The Earth Shaker. Seriously I'm pretty sure it's in the manual.

Edit: Nevermind it actually it doesn't say that specifically.
 

Doug

New member
Apr 23, 2008
5,205
0
0
Russ Pitts said:
Review: Brutal Legend

Brutal Legend is f*&#ing metal. (That's a good thing.)

Read Full Article
I've a quick question about the game Russ. After completion of the story, can you still roam the land? Only, I don't think I'll be able to collect all the collectables and...
The Brutal Legend history videos
...before I complete the story without having to look up a map or something, and I feel that could spoiler the rest of the story for me.
 

Jaqen Hghar

New member
Feb 11, 2009
630
0
0
Doug said:
I've a quick question about the game Russ. After completion of the story, can you still roam the land? Only, I don't think I'll be able to collect all the collectables and...
The Brutal Legend history videos
...before I complete the story without having to look up a map or something, and I feel that could spoiler the rest of the story for me.
As far as I know from reading around: You will be able to collect everything you missed after beating the game. There are even things only available after you have done so.
Still got a few missions before I have beaten it. Think I am going to do some of the side-missions first though. Only done like... three or four of them. And I am 48% done or something with 5:54 on the clock. Which means it is shorter than I had hoped, but longer than what some reviewers say. Either way, I am having a blast.
 

Doug

New member
Apr 23, 2008
5,205
0
0
Jaqen Hghar said:
Doug said:
I've a quick question about the game Russ. After completion of the story, can you still roam the land? Only, I don't think I'll be able to collect all the collectables and...
The Brutal Legend history videos
...before I complete the story without having to look up a map or something, and I feel that could spoiler the rest of the story for me.
As far as I know from reading around: You will be able to collect everything you missed after beating the game. There are even things only available after you have done so.
Still got a few missions before I have beaten it. Think I am going to do some of the side-missions first though. Only done like... three or four of them. And I am 48% done or something with 5:54 on the clock. Which means it is shorter than I had hoped, but longer than what some reviewers say. Either way, I am having a blast.
Indeed, I think it depends on skill level, game level, and all that, heh - either way, its great! Very fun, funny, and exploring the world is fun too :) Sadly, I do think the main thread will be under the 15 hour mark for me, but I can always try multiplayer and finish off finding everything.
 

asunder 82

New member
Oct 15, 2009
7
0
0
Erm, Hi there. New round these parts. First off, Mr. Editor In Chief, have you ever been told that you sound a lot like Agent Smith? Quite disconcerting that.

Anyway, to the game at hand. I have to say that after a couple of days with Brutal Legend I've had to give up on it.

It comes as a bitter blow as I had been really looking forward to this one. I'm not a metal fan, was always more of a Radiohead type music fan (which will probably result in snorts of derision from the metal faithful) but I was a big, big fan of Double Fine's previous work on Psychonauts.

The first major disappointment is that even after following this game through internet sites and physical media I was not prepared for what the actual game actually turned out to be. Even the demo didn't hint at what the game would turn out to be: a heavy metal tinged tutorial for a hack 'n' slash/RTS hybrid set in an open world.

The idea must have seemed exciting and different on paper but in reality it has turned out to be a clumsy unfocused mess. The controls are not tight enough, nor the mechanics sound enough for the game to pull off hack and slash combat with any conviction and the fact that it manages to make all aspects of micro managing troops and resourcing more convoluted in this new guise makes the game completely ineffectual as even a watered down RTS.

It really is a shame as a lot of love has obviously been poured into the world, the characters and the lore and as an homage to metal it really is unmatched. The writing snaps and fizzles along and it's got loads of nice little touches. The problem is that video games are a tactile experience and although Schaffer's time served in point and click adventures has given him a great canvas for expanding his story telling it hasn't given him much training in how to create a great gameplay moments. Great games are built on satisfying controls and mechanics, not on great story telling and it's that which needs most focus for the next Double Fine adventure. As it stands the gameplay elements seem superfluous to the creative vision and not as an intrinsic part of it's DNA.

I await the masterpiece that the studio is capable of creating, given the right focus.
 

Megacherv

Kinect Development Sucks...
Sep 24, 2008
2,650
0
0
The only thing that's annoying me is the first proper 'show' against the Drowning Doom. The enemy leader (whom shall not be named for risk of spoilers) is so impossible to remove from the battlefield, and their forces take so many hits to kill it's truly annoying. If anyone has any tips (and not switching to 'Gentle' mode, that's not the point) I'd gladly accept them.

On the plus side, I got this yesterday, which was 2 days before the UK release (wooh for pre-ordering!)
 

Megacherv

Kinect Development Sucks...
Sep 24, 2008
2,650
0
0
Avykins said:
Dammit. You make it sound soo appealing but... It has jack black. That is too much of a deal breaker for me. Would be like having a Final Fantasy VII movie with that twat justin timberlake playing Sephiroth. It just kills it.
Bring on the PC version dammit so we can mod that hack out!
What the f*k are you on about?! That's one of the most awesome things in the game! Nobody else can play his character.
 

Megacherv

Kinect Development Sucks...
Sep 24, 2008
2,650
0
0
Avykins said:
Megacherv said:
What the f*k are you on about?! That's one of the most awesome things in the game! Nobody else can play his character.
A fat, talentless, humourless, loud mouthed, arrogant hack? Shit half of america can play that role.
And if they need help all they need to do is watch any of his "movies" as his character never ever changes. Because he is unable to play anything else, he does not have enough acting ability to.

Edit: Oh and you can swear... No one will tell your mother.
Well, argue that to Tim Schafer, as he was the one that got him to play the part. I personally think he's just ace. I can't describe it, he's just awesome.