Brütal Legend

When one would think the world of metal could not expand its reach out any further, it infiltrates the land of games. A game for any metal head to add fuel to the glam hate wagon, I present to you Brütal Legend. A Double Fine masterpiece, this game brings about a completely outrageous, yet somehow, oddly believable history of the Rock and Metal genres. Featuring an array of Rock and Metal heavyweights including, but not limited to, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead vocalist/bassist Lemmy Kilmister, Tenacious D lead guitarist Kyle Gass, and to top it all off, the main character is voiced by, and partly modelled after, none other than comedian/professional rocker, and the other half of Tenacious D, Jack Black. The game begins in the current era, known in the game as the 'Age of Modern Man', where a dedicated roadie named Eddie Riggs(Black), is assisting a band known as Kabbage Boy, who are the WORST BAND EVER!!!!. While fulfilling his role as a roadie, the guitarist for Kabbage Boy attempts to show off by climbing a not-so-stable part of the stage. The guitarist then falls, prompting Eddie to run out and catch the guitarist before he hits the floor. After saving his life, Eddie is then crushed by the part of the stage the guitarist was standing on. Eddie's blood makes its way into his belt buckle(later revealed to be a token to the Fire Beast Ormagöden), which summons Ormagöden, who after plenty of violence and bloodshed, sends Eddie back to the 'Age of Metal'. Eddie then wakes up in a large open room, lying on an alter, while not too far away three followers of the main antagonist, Emperor Doviculus(voiced by Tim Curry), are praying to who Eddie mistakes as him. When the three realise Eddie is now awake, they proceed to kill him.


Eddie holding the Separator

At this point the player now has control and must move Eddie towards a double bladed broad axe known as "The Separator", so that the player has a means to protect themself.After the first wave of enemies is dispatched, the player then picks up a flying V guitar named Clementine, which, when played, brings down lightening through riffs, raises fire through chords, and shakes the earth through power chords, because in this world, the guitar is amplified by the world itself.


Eddie playing Clementine

The player continues to slaughter all the enemies before them, while getting use to the attack system, until the player comes across the soon-to-be love interest for Eddie, Ophelia. When the two realise they are locked inside the chamber where they met, Eddie finds a guitar tab where he learns a riff that can raise relics, named the "Relic Raiser". When he plays the riff, car parts rise out of the ground, allowing Eddie to build his new main mode of transportation: a hot rod known as "The Deuce" or "The Druid Plow".

Druid Plow with no customisation

Eddie and Ophelia ride the Druid Plow to safety(after killing a giant three-tongued worm-like creature, and the main story then begins. The objective of the game is to free the humans from the grip of the Tainted Coil, a race of demons who created the humans, while spreading the word of metal. The player achieves this through starting an army of humans he rescued which he calls "Ironheade". The 'e' on the end is so that people know they aren't messing around. As the game goes on, Eddie makes friends with various heroes(the main one of which ends up dying halfway through the game), and continues his job as a roadie, but for the army he is now leading, as he takes the group "on tour" to fight against all those who would stand against metal, which in this game just happen to be the bad guys.

Giant stone sword monuments
 occupy the Age of Metal

Attempting to catch a Razor Fire Boar,
 a boar motorcycle hybrid.

What was harmless(for the most part) in the Age of Modern Man, is all powerful in the Age of Metal. Electric guitars, when played correctly, become one of the most powerful weapons available in game. The correct riffs can literally melt faces, change the sky, and even summon a Zeppelin to come crashing into the ground. The healing power of bass is shown in this game, when the bass players use their guitars to heal the wounded. Rivers flow with liquid metal, spiders weave guitar strings, car parts grow on trees, rock monuments of swords, iron crosses, and the sign of the horns, exist left right and centre. The beasts range from laser-eyed panthers and fire breathing cat/ape hybrids, to steel quilled ground urchins and a boar that is half motorcycle, which also has a steel skeleton that makes a powerful long range weapon when removed.

Ironheade Merch Booth

The main mode of battle when the player is not roaming or on missions, is to hold a rock show. When two 'bands' go to war against one another, each side will set up a stage, where their members will gather to begin the fight. In order for any show to be successful, there must be fans, and in this game, fans come out of a geyser in the ground whenever a show is about to start. In order to get the fans loyalty, the band must set up a 'Merch Booth', because all fans want t-shirts, hats, and other band memorabilia. The more fans a band has, the more powerful they are against the enemy. A war is won when one band has destroyed the stage(s) of their enemies.

The creativity behind making this game deserves recognition, for it brings so many things that are just pure metal, and smashes them into each other to create life in the form of this virtual world. This game is a fight against the evils of black metal, death metal, and glam metal, and it is up to the player to help the followers of true metal reign supreme. Being an immense Metal Head, this game was incredibly fun for me, and will provide the same thrills for anyone else who appreciates the genre, as well as all those who love a game were mediocrity and repetitiveness take a back seat, and you control sheer epicness in the form of a hotrod one can attach guns to.

For these reasons, I give this game an 11/10, because I can, and I did, and you can suck it.

Hail and Kill,
REAP3R