Honest review by: FATED
As children, we tend to develop a passion for iconic representations of the culture in which we spend the first decade or so of our lives. Think of how many people love the Lamborghini Countach, or Bruce Lee movies, or all the music from when you grew up. Likewise, Brutal Legends appeal is directly proportional to your age. If the only time in your childhood that you heard of Metallica was the Napster lawsuit, and you only know Ozzy Osbourne from his MTV reality show, this game may not be for you.
Brutal Legend is, first and foremost, a guided tour through the history of Metal, its greatest and most influential songs. The soundtrack is in fact so comprehensive, that releasing it as an album has proved difficult because of licensing conflicts. The music, to a fan, is a wonderful collection of the various styles of metal from its roots in bands like Black Sabbath, the height of its popularity in the days of Motley Crue, to the modern sounds of Marilyn Manson. Rather than playing the game, one is tempted to simply cue up a few songs and enjoy the best radio station ever.
Tim Shafer also put the heart and soul of metal into the art and story of the game, which is incredibly beautiful. Everything is just so full of all the right details, from references to devil worship, hell, demons, Vikings, Harley’s, to a stunning landscape and native fauna borne of a crazy musical dream.
Your antagonist is perfect: Its hair “metal”, the sold out for money, soulless, talentless big money 80’s failscade version of true heavy metal. Glam rock is your antithesis and it’s the best enemy to fight against, ever.
The gameplay, by contrast to the incredible art, story, music and dialogue, is average. It stands out so much because it is not made of the pure awesome that every other part of the game is. Please understand, it’s not that the gameplay is bad, it’s just not great. It is a mix of a 1st person real time strategy and an action game, though truthfully, I didn’t enjoy the “stage battles”. It was because I’d rather get back to cruising around the beautiful game listening to great songs.
In a way, Brutal Legend is too good. It’s so good in some areas you almost wish there wasn’t a game there, just an interactive soundtrack.
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