BRUTAL LEGEND

I have been an avid video gamer since I was about 3 years old. I have previously waxed poetic about the fact that my childhood doctor prescribed a Nintendo to develop my fine motor skills, which were sub par in my youth. 23 years of solid video gaming under my belt I feel I have some chops to speak my mind about games.

Recently a man widely regarded as a Genuis of Video game writing name Tim Schaffer released a product called Brutal Legend. With Umlats over the U to show that the game does not mess around. The story revolves around a Rhoadie for a Punk/Metal/Pop fusion band who wishes to be part of a world where the metal was much more pure.

“You mean like the Seventies?”

“No man. Even earlier, like the early Seventies”

Anyway a stage accident occurs and stuff happens where he is transported to a mystical land that seems to be made off nothing but Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Megatdeath Albums. Plot commences and it is good.

The game was met with a lot of anticipation, and the sales are through the roof. Voice acting provided by Jack Black, Tim Curry, Kyle Glass and Jennifer Hale are supplemented with the likes of such legends as Lemmy Kilmeister, Rob Halford, Lita Ford, and Ozzy mother fuckin Osborne. The script is excellent, even if the writing is suitable for a cheesy fantasy animated film.

What has gotten the game the most flak, after drowning out the religious nut-jobs who object to profanity and music in any form, is the game play. While nominally a third person adventure and exploration game, in order to advance the storyline you have to commit to these Real Time Strategy “Stage Battles” a portion of the game that was very well hidden from the press until review copies were sent out. Even I will admit that it is a tedious and overwhelmingly dull aspect of the entire game, BUT I am also a gamer who can ignore crappy game play if the story is good.

And this is the first game since Full Throttle that Tim Schaffer has done with a well thought out and excellent story (yes, I know about Psychonaughts, It did not do anything for me.) it is like the criticisms of the Halo series, who all have generic and mediocre game play, but make up for it in writing and music.

And I thin that is what is not connecting to gamers. The medium of video games has matured, and as a result we can now have complex and compelling stories that reach beyond “Thank you Mario, but our princess is in another castle.”

There are games out there where you can be good or evil, anti heros are praised , and in one series case (overlord) you ARE the bad guy. Some of the worst games of all time, like Bullet Witch, have had stories that compelled me to complete them, and some of the most repetive games ever, like Assassin’s Creed, milk those with certain educations and hobbies for all they are worth.

To often the gamer community is willing to label the title of “bad game” to something that plays poorly, or deviates from its predisesscors. Mario Brothers 2, Zelda 2, and Castlevania 2 all deviated from their predecessors, and had poor gameplay, but the so affected the mythos by their storylines that they provide certain Staples to their series.

Mario 2 brought the Shyguys, Birdo, and Mini games to their series. Casltevania 2 allowed for open world play, RPG elements, and Equipment menus that Dracula X and Rondo of Blood would not have existed without. Zelda 2 complete altered the mythology of the Zelda Series by introducing the idea of the Triforce as a Triple Entity, as well as permitting a completely bizarre timeline.

Critics need to back off the game play element and look at video games as a media experience. While once in a while we will get the next gen equivalent of Dr Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, I think more and more often we will have hidden treasures like the Duck Tales on the NES, B.O.B or Zombies Ate My Neighbors on the SNES, or just about every Capcom made fighter on the Dreamcast.