Don't let the looks fool you, cause deep down inside is an undeniably fun adventure game with the greatest concept ever
Brutal Legend tackles things like no other, it is silly, funny and most of all, it is innovative. Taking metal music into a medieval world is absolutely hillarious, it really suits each other -- metal, bones, axes, demons and all the basic things of metal and the dark ages. The design is absolutely outstanding and cool to say the least, I mean, what better monument is there than a huge hand holding a guitar or a giant iron cross? erhm, back to the topic; the game rids of all buildings, houses etc. and instead places the player in a huge and wide (and empty?) terrain, leaving you to travel all around the region. Of course, the sole purpose of this is to allow you to explore and discover all the wacky things, monuments, animals etc. The empty canvas actually helps in bringing out the beauty of the world (yes, beauty.) -- the sky and the green grasses or desert with huge iconic monuments decorating the hills...imagine taking your car out driving through and seeing all this. It's plain beauty. But of course, there's a mine filled with lava, a spider's creepy nest and a cool, very uber cool cathedral/tower in a red cave with black waters.
The characters, well, I can't even describe them, they're some of the best characters I've ever seen in a game. Eddie Riggs (Jack Black) is just utterly lovable, you'll love all the characters since they're different and each has their own personality and story to tell, and all of them got great dialogues (which is funny and emotional), but more importantly, you could feel for the characters and take pity, happiness or anger with them. Those wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the story; the story, it binds up everything and is complete -- it has a backstory, a beginning, a middle, and a great ending, and of course, it has a plot. And it's epic. Not as epic as Kratos, but epic in its own metal way. And who couldn't resist to laugh or swear when they see Ozzy Osbourne posing as the Guardian of Metal as Eddie's car maintainance man?! The voice acting are all top-notch, contending even to Uncharted. heck, the face expression adds to the depth of character and all, and their design is just perfect.
But again, none of this will be perfectly executed without metal, yes, metal music served this game very well, it's the very core and the beating heart that pumps out awesomeness into this game. Love this game, love metal (not the other way around.). Guitar striking lightning bolts, facemelting solos, huge choppers made out of carcass, bass strings from spider webs, amplified coffins and huge concert stages and fan booths. Well, everything is metal. The environment is metal (yet it remains green and nature friendly), the highways, the animals, and the characters (headbangers? Come on! how could you not like this game?!) are all metal. That's what makes this game so successful and unique; it's metal that makes the story so creative, it's what makes the world unlike any other, and it's what makes the game go round. You don't need to be a metal freak to play the game, the game's open to all, and for the metal guys, well, they're gonna have much more fun and laughs with all the familiar things in game. Like the cameos and metal references, not to mention mocking the alternative metal genres and saying that metal is dead in today's world. It's all cool.
Gameplay. People say it's no good. Don't listen to people. Listen to the game. So what if you can't jump? So what if it's not a satisfying RTS? You don't want to be hopping about like a fool or grinding your brains through a serious RTS! The game's meant for fun for life's glorious sake! In fact, most find the RTS stage fine, it's operable and not frustating or annoying enough to make you scream swear words to the screen. Well, here it goes; Eddie wields an axe, a guitar and can summon a car through a guitar solo. You can upgrade all those things, give your car a paint job or a machine gun, and through all the upgrades, you get more abilties etc. It's basically hack n' slash, but most of the time you command your units and travel through the world in your car. The gameplay is more than simple, but you won't care! It's not what the gameplay is, it's not how plain the concept is, but it's the style. Yes, the style of the weapons, moves, cars, abilities etc. The concept of Brutal Legend is so good that it holds up even the simplest gameplay and delivers us a great game to be enjoyed.
Brutal Legend is just plain fun. It rocks yeah, but in heavy metal style. It's not hardcore nor is it like the other games in the market, but it keeps you on your seat laughing and enjoying every step of the way. It equals in all stages -- story, characters, settings, upgrades and even the simple gameplay. And all because of the metal concept and Tim Schafer's crazy (and creative) brain. Buy Brutal Legend, or at least play it somewhere. You won't regret it.