Thanks to being a predominantly PC gamer, I have a vague idea of how it’s to live as a second-class citizen. Sure, my games are cheaper, and some of the indie games that are exclusive to the platform are quite amazing. But you can still smell the disdain from the AAA developers when they delay their ports and, in some cases, don’t even release them on the PC, as was initially the case for Brutal Legend.
The developers, Double Fine, have a legacy of creative acclaim and commercial failure — their previous game, Psychonauts, racked up quite a development cost, was roundly feted as being the most charming platformer in quite a while, and proceeded to tank upon release. The world can be cruel, you know.
Its successor, Brutal Legend, naturally had a difficult birth — initially, the developers were tied to one publisher, who were acquired by Activision midway through the project. Activision, being Activision, decided midway through the project that it didn’t sound like a profitable venture, and cut them loose. Enter EA, fierce competitors of Activision, to pick up the project and see it through to completion. Naturally, Activision lawyers got the whiff of opportunity and the inevitable lawsuit followed. Amidst such tumultuous beginnings, it’s no wonder that they elected not to tackle the complications of a PC port.
I mean, it’s impressive that the game was even released, and even more that it did so with denim and leather intact.
You see, Brutal Legend is a testament to heavy metal, which itself makes it a buy for yours truly. When you factor in that it was made by Double Fine, headed by the infectiously jolly wizard Tim Schafer, it’s practically a no-brainer. The game follows the tale of Eddie Riggs, a roadie for a terrible heavy metal band, who ends up having to save humanity from enslavement in an alternate world. On the way, he encounters many members of metal legacy, including Ozzy and Kill Master Lemmy. The voice acting is sufficiently awe-inspiring, with many of the actual artists voicing their in-game avatars, and some others like the legendary Rob Halford playing out some over-the-top characters. Jack Black lends his personality to the protagonist, though I hear he toned down the hamming for this role, which is both somewhat surprising and much appreciated. Man, if Double Fine had written the script for that Tenacious D movie, I might have been able to watch the whole thing.
The funny thing is, after all this, it might not be that good a game. Double Fine have a history of making games full of character which you experience more than you play, but not really amazing in terms of game design.
Brutal Legend is in an even more awkward position, where it is reportedly uncertain about what game it wants to be. It starts out as a God-of-War style beat-em-up but after around three hours in, starts to add a very strategic component that seems a bit half-baked. Since I am yet to play the game, I don’t want to get too judgmental without seeing the evidence myself but suffice it to say, popular opinion seems to be that if they had just stuck with the beat-em-up, it would have been a better affair.
Still, now that the PC version is finally here, there’s no way this fanboy is passing up a journey into one of my favourite cultural scenes, especially when the guides are as hilarious as Double Fine.