Zero Punctuation: Brutal Legend
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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See, the problem is, this game IS awesome. I love metal, plain and simple, and since this is really my first tim schafer game, i have to say i am impressed. A lot of the reasons yahtzee states he dislikes the game are the exact reasons i DO. The soundtrack is awesome, the landscape is unique, the gameplay is an odd (but functional) mix of very different styles. It's funny, tells a good story (that i'd love to see expanded upon in a sequel) and has phenomenal voice acting from everybody involved (impressive considering most of the important parts are voiced by people who aren't a part of the voice acting community). Sure it's got it's flaws, (like the mt. rockmore example yahtzee stated and repetitive side missions) but once you get around them, this game is a real gem for metal fans, which is who this game is for.
Also, i never thought heavy metal music could be used for DRAMATIC effect, but this game does so several times and quite impressively at that. In the end, i must say that i think yahtzee was doomed from the start as he makes it clear that he doesn't like metal, he doesn't like jack black, he doesn't like an overabundance of certain types of games (understandable), and he doesn't like RTS's (no matter how light the gameplay on those parts is). If you like any of those things, this game is for you. It's the most metal game in existance, and it's fucking brutal.
OH, AND FOR EVERYBODY WONDERING, THE HORNBLOWER FOR MT. ROCKMORE IS BY THAT FIRST RACING MISSION, BUT INSTEAD OF TURNING TO JUMP THE BROKEN BRIDGE, KEEP GOING STRAIGHT, YOU'LL SEE A BUNCH OF STONE HANDS THROWING THE "DEVIL HORNS" NEARBY, IN THE CENTER OF THAT IS THE HORNTHROWER WITH WHICH TO CHANGE THE EFFIGIES ON MT. ROCKMORE.
Also, i never thought heavy metal music could be used for DRAMATIC effect, but this game does so several times and quite impressively at that. In the end, i must say that i think yahtzee was doomed from the start as he makes it clear that he doesn't like metal, he doesn't like jack black, he doesn't like an overabundance of certain types of games (understandable), and he doesn't like RTS's (no matter how light the gameplay on those parts is). If you like any of those things, this game is for you. It's the most metal game in existance, and it's fucking brutal.
OH, AND FOR EVERYBODY WONDERING, THE HORNBLOWER FOR MT. ROCKMORE IS BY THAT FIRST RACING MISSION, BUT INSTEAD OF TURNING TO JUMP THE BROKEN BRIDGE, KEEP GOING STRAIGHT, YOU'LL SEE A BUNCH OF STONE HANDS THROWING THE "DEVIL HORNS" NEARBY, IN THE CENTER OF THAT IS THE HORNTHROWER WITH WHICH TO CHANGE THE EFFIGIES ON MT. ROCKMORE.
Not a mention of the games terrible gameplay or lack of jump?
Shame, i was expecting more from Yahtzees 'review' of this. In the end he only talks about the bad RTS but not the terrible 3rd person fighting mechanics and over all stiff gameplay.
Shame, i was expecting more from Yahtzees 'review' of this. In the end he only talks about the bad RTS but not the terrible 3rd person fighting mechanics and over all stiff gameplay.
Despite my good experiences with RTS games, the idea of Brütal Legend ultimately being an RTS makes me somewhat less inclined to buy the full game.
As for the two principles, I think it's less a Tyler Durden relationship between Jack Black & Tim Schafer, and more Tim's quiet, unassuming and brilliant Jekyll to Jack's high-energy, loud-volume microphone-igniting Hyde.
As for the two principles, I think it's less a Tyler Durden relationship between Jack Black & Tim Schafer, and more Tim's quiet, unassuming and brilliant Jekyll to Jack's high-energy, loud-volume microphone-igniting Hyde.
Ah yes, that poor RTS component. As far as RTS's go, yes, it isn't a very good one. But what it is is an excellent...whatever the hell it is. Frankly I would love to see it repeated in the future when it's no longer new and scary. As much as I hate it when people say it's not an RTS (because it is) they're right, it isn't. I know that didn't make sense but I'm as confused about it as anyone.
It is a fairly unique game play style that is VERY similar to an RTS. It's name true name would obviously be TPRTS (Third Person RTS) but that doesn't quite grasp it's ingenuity. It's one of those perfect ideas that is much newer than it feels. The depth of it's strategy, once you realize it, rivals that of any conventional RTS. Hint: Start exploring the team attacks.
This is, I hope, the future of RTS on console machines (as long as they last anyway). Brutal Legend's implementation isn't perfect. But the discomfort mostly comes from having both Hack-n-slash players and RTS players to learn a new kind of game to play. Playing it as an RTS will get you overpowered. Playing it as a Hack-n-Slash will have you overrun. But put them together and you get a game that is more than the sum of it's parts.
Complain all you want about the implementation, but the core mechanic is solid. It has that Mirror's Edge complex about being more of an experiment than a good game. However, I believe this experiment was much more successful.
It is a fairly unique game play style that is VERY similar to an RTS. It's name true name would obviously be TPRTS (Third Person RTS) but that doesn't quite grasp it's ingenuity. It's one of those perfect ideas that is much newer than it feels. The depth of it's strategy, once you realize it, rivals that of any conventional RTS. Hint: Start exploring the team attacks.
This is, I hope, the future of RTS on console machines (as long as they last anyway). Brutal Legend's implementation isn't perfect. But the discomfort mostly comes from having both Hack-n-slash players and RTS players to learn a new kind of game to play. Playing it as an RTS will get you overpowered. Playing it as a Hack-n-Slash will have you overrun. But put them together and you get a game that is more than the sum of it's parts.
Complain all you want about the implementation, but the core mechanic is solid. It has that Mirror's Edge complex about being more of an experiment than a good game. However, I believe this experiment was much more successful.
Funny how Yahtzee pronounces it the right way, but the Escapist forgot it yet again in the title and description of the video.
By the way, german in not the only language that has the 'ü' in it, there are many others
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9C
I belive it is written 'Brütal Legend' but pronounced 'Brutal Legend' since there is no word like brütal in any language I know of.
By the way, german in not the only language that has the 'ü' in it, there are many others
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9C
I belive it is written 'Brütal Legend' but pronounced 'Brutal Legend' since there is no word like brütal in any language I know of.
As I was playing* Brutal Legend, I fully expected that Raz was going to pop out from around any corner and tell the protagonist that the entire thing was a coma fantasy brought about from the intro scene.
I was almost disappointed at realizing that this was not the case.
*read: watching the online walkthrough of
I was almost disappointed at realizing that this was not the case.
*read: watching the online walkthrough of
This is more a rant about Yahtzee-fanboyism then the man's condemnation of today's game:
I'm sorry he didn't like the game, but frankly, I don't give a toss what Yahtzee has to say when it comes to buying a game. I loved Mirror's Edge, Halo 3, Call of Juarez, Mass Effect, Oblivion, and Brutal Legend. I may take a grain of salt from Game Informer or the like, but really I only go to Yahtzee for the entertainment value. Yahtzee ripped into pretty much all these games, but I still had tons of fun with them, some of which are my favorite games of all time (Brutal Legend featured prominently as one of the frontrunners).
I'm a bit disappointed seeing all the comments with people deciding not to try the game at all because Yahtzee said so, thats the exact kind of thing the man talked about in past reviews before: silly cultish little people who wait for their Oracle's guiding word in any of their gaming preferences. In a seemingly incredible, but not so predictable turn of events for anyone with a basic knowledge of Religious History and/or Human Sociological tendencies,
Yahtzee has convinced a population of console fanboys to throw off the chains of their oppresive dogmatic religion, only for them to convert and worship his word in some sort of bastard microcosm of the Protestant Reformation.
I of course don't speak ill of those who tried the game, didn't like it, and then causually posted about it. I merely refer to the unpleasent growing trend I've started to see of people blindly following Yahtzee's word, not just in forums, but talking to some in person. So much so that I was relieved after Yahtzee admitted he didn't really have a taste for the RTS genre (a favorite of mine) and refer to someone else's respected opinion, rather then the somewhat expected over-the-top condemnation several like-minded fellows concerned themselves with a few weeks ago when they sent an email to Yahtzee, asking for the official dogma of the "Church of Ramblomatic" concerning RTSs', which I begged my RTS faithful not to do, since I refused to have my beloved Total War franchise burned at the stake by ignorant Yahtzee faithful who, on forums and in direct contact in the real world, wholely denounce Mass Effect, Mirror's Edge, and [now] Brutal Legend without ever having played any of them.
I'm sorry he didn't like the game, but frankly, I don't give a toss what Yahtzee has to say when it comes to buying a game. I loved Mirror's Edge, Halo 3, Call of Juarez, Mass Effect, Oblivion, and Brutal Legend. I may take a grain of salt from Game Informer or the like, but really I only go to Yahtzee for the entertainment value. Yahtzee ripped into pretty much all these games, but I still had tons of fun with them, some of which are my favorite games of all time (Brutal Legend featured prominently as one of the frontrunners).
I'm a bit disappointed seeing all the comments with people deciding not to try the game at all because Yahtzee said so, thats the exact kind of thing the man talked about in past reviews before: silly cultish little people who wait for their Oracle's guiding word in any of their gaming preferences. In a seemingly incredible, but not so predictable turn of events for anyone with a basic knowledge of Religious History and/or Human Sociological tendencies,
Yahtzee has convinced a population of console fanboys to throw off the chains of their oppresive dogmatic religion, only for them to convert and worship his word in some sort of bastard microcosm of the Protestant Reformation.
I of course don't speak ill of those who tried the game, didn't like it, and then causually posted about it. I merely refer to the unpleasent growing trend I've started to see of people blindly following Yahtzee's word, not just in forums, but talking to some in person. So much so that I was relieved after Yahtzee admitted he didn't really have a taste for the RTS genre (a favorite of mine) and refer to someone else's respected opinion, rather then the somewhat expected over-the-top condemnation several like-minded fellows concerned themselves with a few weeks ago when they sent an email to Yahtzee, asking for the official dogma of the "Church of Ramblomatic" concerning RTSs', which I begged my RTS faithful not to do, since I refused to have my beloved Total War franchise burned at the stake by ignorant Yahtzee faithful who, on forums and in direct contact in the real world, wholely denounce Mass Effect, Mirror's Edge, and [now] Brutal Legend without ever having played any of them.
Or gamers could, you know, figure it out.miracleofsound said:
I'm not going to argue the point of the game not being intuitive, but as far as actual game-play goes, I'm struggling to comprehend how people are not figuring things out on their own. It seems a lot like complaining Earthbound only very vaguely tipping you off to Pray on the last fight. . .
Whatever happened to learning through exhausting option?
It seems I'm the only person that kinda liked the action/RTS segments. I do know it's not the greatest game ever and I have no issues with the review, but I do find it tremendously hypocritical of people when they complain both that they don't like the RTS elements in the same breath that it's not a very complex RTS.
It's not an RTS, it's an ACTION/RTS. And that's not just some semantical nitpicking. You win, NOT through intricate strategy or troop selection, but through being aggressive and getting down there yourself to melt some faces.
Oh, and I'm not really a fan of Jack Black either, but he did do a pretty good job in this one. Or at least I think so.
It's not an RTS, it's an ACTION/RTS. And that's not just some semantical nitpicking. You win, NOT through intricate strategy or troop selection, but through being aggressive and getting down there yourself to melt some faces.
Oh, and I'm not really a fan of Jack Black either, but he did do a pretty good job in this one. Or at least I think so.
I can very much understand Tim Schafer's refusal to call the game an RTS, because as soon as that comes up people start expecting micro-management and another clone of StarCraft. These sorts of thoughts result in utter suckage where Brutal Legend is involved. Just as was stated in the review, the strategy game lover never even considered summoning the car.
I am absolutely terrible at strategy games and tend to have limited joy in them, but Brutal Legend was very different. Yes, the basic strategy is build units and toss them at your enemy, but the key to winning is your personal involvement. If you just tell your troops where to go and what to do, you will ultimately fail. This makes non-strategy folks like me happy and even gives a fighting chance.
I still feel that Brutal Legend is one of the better games released because of the simple fact that it started as a multiplayer concept. It's interesting to read comments from people saying it should have "stayed a hack and slash" since it was a multiplayer strategy title to begin with. It should have been marketed a bit better, but oh well. The thing is, while a good chunk of the single player story is a mere tutorial for the multiplayer, it still has personality and an interesting universe worth exploring. In addition, there are plenty of missions and side quests that provide a completely different experience.
Will everyone want to play that experience? No, but it is still a fully packed game with loads of content as opposed a multiplayer game with a half-assed campaign or a single-player story with a tacked-on multiplayer. THAT is the sort of thing games ought to be doing these days, and considering the surprising amount of polish in comparison with most sandbox games Brutal Legend does a magnificent job.
Though not telling you how to fully play the game IS a problem. I thought a solo was required for the legends or sealed dragons, and it turns out you just required the Earth Shaker and to lock on and shock, respectively.
I am absolutely terrible at strategy games and tend to have limited joy in them, but Brutal Legend was very different. Yes, the basic strategy is build units and toss them at your enemy, but the key to winning is your personal involvement. If you just tell your troops where to go and what to do, you will ultimately fail. This makes non-strategy folks like me happy and even gives a fighting chance.
I still feel that Brutal Legend is one of the better games released because of the simple fact that it started as a multiplayer concept. It's interesting to read comments from people saying it should have "stayed a hack and slash" since it was a multiplayer strategy title to begin with. It should have been marketed a bit better, but oh well. The thing is, while a good chunk of the single player story is a mere tutorial for the multiplayer, it still has personality and an interesting universe worth exploring. In addition, there are plenty of missions and side quests that provide a completely different experience.
Will everyone want to play that experience? No, but it is still a fully packed game with loads of content as opposed a multiplayer game with a half-assed campaign or a single-player story with a tacked-on multiplayer. THAT is the sort of thing games ought to be doing these days, and considering the surprising amount of polish in comparison with most sandbox games Brutal Legend does a magnificent job.
Though not telling you how to fully play the game IS a problem. I thought a solo was required for the legends or sealed dragons, and it turns out you just required the Earth Shaker and to lock on and shock, respectively.
The way the RTS seems to function in this title reminds me a lot of Sacrifice, or maybe the mashup RTS elements in Giants: Citizen Kabuto. Since those were both bloody wonderful games, I would love to play this one, but I can't since I don't own consoles and I'm not about to buy one for one bloody game.
No PC release = unhappy Gildan.
No PC release = unhappy Gildan.