Brütal Legend Review

Those who have tried the demo may well be asking themselves how Brütal Legend’s hack and slash gameplay stands up against such heavy-hitters as Devil May Cry and God of War. An hour into the game, however, it reveals its greatest secret – It’s actually a real-time strategy game. This may shock those gamers who expected to be swept up in a marauding medieval adventure, with a simple place-holder button-mashing interface to get them from one comical cut-scene to the next, but it will fill the more demanding audience with glee to know there is substantially more depth to Brütal Legend than first meets the eye.

In addition to the regular stage battles, some intimidating bosses make an appearance.

Having learned a fairly rudimentary system of attacking, defending, and cranking out Guitar Hero-style face-melting solos, Brütal Legend settles into a flow that’s more Command and Conquer than Devil May Cry. Resource management is key and summoning forth a variety of uniquely enabled units, securing territory and managing multiple skirmishes becomes the order of the day. The game doesn’t abandon the hack and slash mechanic entirely, though, allowing you to freely move around the maps and get your axe dirty in the thick of battle. This being Tim Schafer however, faceless expendable units were never on the cards, with every creature at your command being a living breathing part of the game’s central theme – metal.

In the land of Ormagöden, the conflicts between humanity and the twisted armies of Doviculus (voiced by the brilliant Tim Curry) are metal-themed musical wars of attrition, with fans as the currency. Keep your fans happy with merchandising booths and you’ll attract more followers, allowing you to throw more troops into battle to claim your opponents’ stage. Eddie’s forces of heavy metal clash with big-haired glam rockers, doom-stricken goths and demonic S&M fetishists in a battle for the musical integrity of the land.

The facial animations never fail to bring personality home as the enthusiastic Eddie Riggs demonstrates.

As is typical with most Schafer games, gameplay attributes are inextricably tied to character traits and storylines. Mindless head-bangers act as grunts who can form a protective mosh pit, while roadies work effectively behind the scenes to grant invisibility to Eddie. Team attacks are the key to success in Brütal Legend, meaning you will need to spend a lot of time grounded with your troops.