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Brütal Legend... reviewed! 22 Oct, 2009, 23:45 / 12 comments

By Gabez


Tim Schafer, of Full Throttle and Grim Fandango fame, recently released Brütal Legend, in an attempt to appease the rock gods of old.

In my experience, "rock and roll" is something one does in a quarry, and "heavy metal" is work for the blacksmith.

But who the dickens am I? Read what our "metalhead" rock expert elTee thought in his insightful review.
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12 Comments

  • SurplusGamer on 23 Oct, 2009, 09:11…
    I'm not sure I'd agree it's the Tim Schafer game with the broadest appeal so far. It had huge marketing, comparatively speaking, but it's very niche in my view.

    Also pretty awesome though :)
  • elTee on 24 Oct, 2009, 12:21…
    I was thinking along the lines of, adventure games are a niche market, and Psychonauts seemed like a standard platformer (with exceptional writing/story to it, although superficially that's not so apparent.) Brutal Legend is a big open world game, and they are popular games - but you're probably correct.
  • The Tingler on 23 Oct, 2009, 09:48…
    Agree with both points there!
  • koosjebig on 23 Oct, 2009, 02:58…
    I was just looking at Amazon.com and tried to deduct how the sales are doing (it's a flawed method, but it gives an indication).
    Unfortunately, compared to Uncharted 2, it doesn't look as good.
    Both PS3 games were released october 13nd, U2 is currently #5 in Video Games, whereas BL is #148. U2 has 159 reviews, BL only 10.....

    The Xbox version is #67 in Video Games and has 24 reviews, hence a bit better.

    Any thoughts?
  • Thrik on 23 Oct, 2009, 08:15…
    It looks like it's selling reasonably well from what I've been able to discern. Here's a report based on similar research to what you did:

    http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25676

    There's also this UK chart which I think comes from data provided by shops:

    http://www.elspa.com/?c=/charts/uk.jsp

    This probably means nothing, but I also noticed Tesco (UK's Walmart) has it on their in-store popularity chart at #2.

    Considering Tim Schafer's games also tend to have a long shelf life due to their critical acclaim, I reckon it'll do all right.
  • Sp0tted on 23 Oct, 2009, 00:28…
    Still mad this didn't come out on PC or Wii. BOOOOOooooooooooo!

    Ps, I am not buying a console just for Tim Schaffer, but his next project damn well better come out on the PC, lest I worship him less.
  • MarioColbert on 23 Oct, 2009, 05:24…
    >> Schaffer <<

    Get out before the rest will spot this! Run! Save yourself.
  • Icebox on 23 Oct, 2009, 15:05…
    Guys, we all know that it's really spelled Shafer. I mean, duh.
  • Udvarnoky on 23 Oct, 2009, 02:20…
    The fact that you call him "Tim Schaffer" is highly indicative of your status as a worshipful fan in the first place.
  • Sp0tted on 23 Oct, 2009, 23:26…
    I'll spell his name right when he remembers Computers still exist.
  • koosjebig on 23 Oct, 2009, 00:25…
    I actually bought a ps3 for this game, the game is fun sofar, though not my all time favorite. Controlling issues remind me of Psychonauts, apparently it's hard to make it perfect :P
    Metal music fits perfectly (I'm not a connaisseur, if i hadn't known better I thought everything was composed for the game :p )

    Do you have any impression of the multiplayer component? Didn't have a chance to check that out.

  • elTee on 24 Oct, 2009, 12:23…
    Yes, sorry I didn't mention multiplayer. This is because I don't have a gold account at the moment and can't play it :(

    But I would imagine it's very good, as the stage battles are basically superb once you figure them out - against a real opponent they can only be more fun.