'Brutal Legend' odd but awesome

• By JOSHUA WASCOM
• Special to 2theadvocate.com
• Published: Nov 6, 2009

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Alright, look at this list: open-world games, heavy metal, real-time strategy, Jack Black, and games that put more of an emphasis on story than gameplay. If you hate more than two of those, you probably won’t care for “Brutal Legend.” Otherwise, you probably won’t be able to stop yourself from enjoying the unique story of Eddie Riggs.

Riggs is the greatest roadie who ever lived, but is stuck tending stage for a small-time emo band called Kabbage Boy. After an accident on-stage, he finds himself transported to the world of metal, where he must lead an uprising against absurd, demonic forces and teach the people that the power to rock was inside them, all along.

The idea of creating an entire game around a genre of music sounds crazy, and “Brutal Legend” is every bit as crazy as it sounds.

Happily, it backs up the absurdity with great writing and a distinctive, beautiful world lovingly crafted from the surreal album covers of metal bands from the ’70s and ’80s. Which isn’t to say that any knowledge of the musical genre’s history is necessary: I didn’t even really know what the genre consisted of when I started the game, but I left with something of an appreciation for much of it.

There are also near-perfect performances from the voice actors, including Jack Black, who, to my surprise, manages some more complex acting than simply playing himself at various levels of excitement. Several well-known musicians also make appearances, including a repeated cameo by Ozzy Osborne, who is, thanks to the magic of video games, almost entirely comprehensible.

While the game’s story is well constructed, the quality of “Brutal Legend’s” gameplay is more uneven and oddly layered. At first, it’s a fairly simple, hack-and-slash affair. You soon acquire a vehicle, and it appears to settle into a “Grand Theft Auto”-lite sort of groove. About an hour or two into the game, things suddenly get weird, as you find yourself in the middle of a full-blown real-time strategy game (RTS).

This isn’t bad, exactly. The game manages to make the battles feel very much in context, and the control scheme is good even if it isn’t perfect. The main problem sets in after all the facets of gameplay have been revealed, and you realize that none of them are terribly deep.

The basic combat is just a matter of brute force or finding the particular attack to which an enemy is vulnerable. The driving is just a way to get from one place to another, perhaps with a bit of exploring. The RTS is slightly too unwieldy, but you tend to win anyway, making it feel too simple.

It’s always at least a little fun, but given how much “Brutal Legend’s” story and visuals stand out from the average game, it’s a shame to see clichéd game mechanics that have each been done slightly better in other games.

Still, that shouldn’t be enough to stop you from playing it. From its absolutely brilliant start menu to its entirely appropriate finale, “Brutal Legend” is a unique and worthwhile experience.