What happens when you mix Jack Black and Tim Schafer?  A great adventure game with an excellent story and rich characters, Brutal Legend is a sure hit and a must have for fans of great adventures.  In a sea of sequels it’s nice to see new and original titles stand out like this one and sets the bar for character interaction in video games. 

The story begins with Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) working as a Roadie when suddenly he is teleported into an alternate world that tells the tale of the beginning of Metal music.  During the story the characters really come to life and the dialogue flows smoothl enhancing the immersion within the game.  Eddie Riggs is a very believable character that could connect with a lot of people making him a great original hero.  The story also boasts other excellent voice actors such as Jennifer Hale (Ophelia), Tim Curry (Doviculus, Emperor of the Tainted Coil) and even Ozzy Osbourne as the “Guardian of Metal.”

The game has an open world feel letting you play the main storyline or participate in side missions which usually involve helping your fellow army with some enemies running around the map.  The side missions can get a little tiresome because they are essentially all the same but as the main storyline progresses you will have other units of your army with you in the side missions to help take down the enemies but that’s the only real difference.  These side missions are helpful for players to learn about newly found units and their capabilities out on the battlefield.  During these small battles you learn that this game is not only just an adventure game but it’s in fact a real time strategy game.  Yes, you can order units around to move, defend, attack or follow.  It’s easy to direct everyone at once but when you try to issue moves one at a time to specific units it takes a lot of time and it’s usually not worth it.

The enemies you'll encounter throughout the game are very unique ranging from a giant spider that weaves bass strings to small Porcupine creatures with metal spikes.  The art direction in Brutal Legend is definitely something worthwhile and much different from other games.   

The Deuce is an excellent way to travel and very fitting for a character like Eddie Riggs

Aside from the storyline you can also explore the vast world in your car named “The Deuce,” searching for many of collectibles ranging from hidden serpents to unlockable music to viewpoints that show off the excellent artistic view of the landscape (a guitar made of stone emerging from the ground or a whole mountain cliff side made of amps).  Another such hidden location to be found are the Motor Forges which is home for the Guardian of Metal who upgrades your gear from your guitar effects (adding fire or electricity) or axe effects to simple things like a paint job for your vehicle.  To get these upgrades means doing sidequests and finding hidden objects adding a lot of replay value to the game.  One small annoying fact in the game is when searching high and low for these hidden areas some places can be difficult to maneuver around and get stuck for a short amount of time but although it is a rare possibility it still may occur.

Singleplayer mode can be summed up looking like a Legend of Zelda game with amazing adventure, epic boss battles and with a hint of Metal mixed in.  It would be a crime to not mention the excellent soundtrack in the game, from Ozzy Osbourne to Motorhead to Rob Zombie just to name a few.  The music blends well with the game and the environment and may turn non-Metal music listeners to Metal enthusiasts.

Laying down some solos is a good way to help your allies in battle

Multiplayer mode focuses more on the real time strategy aspect in the game.  There are only three factions to choose from but the difference between the three bring excellent balance.  Each faction has many units to choose from and must capture geysers (fans for your rock show) that allow more units to be produced and your stage (main base) to be upgraded to allow bigger and better units.  Your faction leaders, Eddie Riggs for Ironheade, Ophilia for Drowning Doom and Doviculus for The Tainted Coil can all fly in multiplayer skirmishes allowing easier navigation for your units and commanding.  You can also double team with each unit for a special attack, for instance,  Eddie Riggs can double team with his Headbangers (basic infantry unit) and form a circle creating a mosh-pit to encircle and beat up enemies.  It’s a basic strategy of building up your forces and destroying the enemies’ stage before they destroy yours but with so many units and the ability to go fight along side your units makes it a unique and fun experience.  Each faction leader can play solos with their instrument to bring buffs for their nearby units or doom to their nearby foes.  The same problem of trying to navigate individual troops remains as it was in singleplayer.  It’s best to split up your units as they are produced other than try to sort them out later which results in a headache but if played right this small problem can be avoided. 

Brutal Legend is a great original title by Tim Schafer who is known for his unique games and a setting such as in this alternate metal world making it worthwhile to anybodies time looking for a great action, adventure, strategy game.  I can praise the soundtrack and the character interaction all day but it should really be witnessed by everyone.