Support NeoGAF

[Flynn]

Something about this game has been bugging me for months and I have to get it off my chest. This rant may be ban-worthy material, but I need to make this point.

I am concerned about where this game is coming from. Is it coming from a place of love and respect for heavy metal? Or is it going to be a low-brow, simplistic parody of the music that has scored my entire life? I love metal. I have loved metal since the golden age of the 80s, and I still love metal in 2009. To ignore the continued evolution of the genre is an insult to the very concepts Brutal Legend pretends to revere.

The fact that classic metal of the 80s has enjoyed some mainstream exposure and respect in recent years is mind-boggling to me. Metal is NOT mainstream!!! When it tries to be, you get the dreaded posuer hair-bands of the 80s, or the Hot Topic Mall-Metal of the 00s. Metal is the music of the loner, the outcast, the misfit who does not fit into the rigid cliques of society. It speaks to disinfranchised kids who have been forgotten or ignored by the world. It unities the dirbags and losers, and informs them they they are NOT alone in feeling the way they do.

Fans of other genres may make similar arguments. The best music is music that has an emotional connection to the listener. I would argue that metal, as a musical genre, is one of the most diverse, and one of very few genres that is still evolving. The Great Old Ones of the 80s laid down a solid foundation 20-30 years ago!!! But metal did not die in 1989!!! It has morphed into dozens of sub-genres. It has challenged the very concepts of melody and musical structure. The metal scene of 2009 is more diverse and exciting than ever. And it remains under the mainstream rader, exactly where it should be!!!

Brutal Legend reveres Priest and Motorhead, yet the first trailer is scored by the very definition of hair-metal, Motley Crue. The scenery in these screenshots emulate only the most cliche imagery of classic 80s metal. And Jack Black is the epitome of dirtbag. This is not a celebration of the diversity of the genre. It is derisive parody. Metal is about so much more than badly replicated Tolkienesque fantasy. But Brutal Legend does not seem interested in delving any deeper.

Who is this game for? If you are truly metal, then this game is an insult to everything you cherish. Everyone else may certainly be interested in the game, given Tim Schaffer's reputation, but the subject matter will only serve to reinforce the same stupid stereotypes that have defined metal in the mainstream for 30 years. I would rather this game just be another generic God of War ripoff than have it ridicule the music that help define the man I have become!

There is much more to learn about Brutal Legend. I may be way off in this assessment. But right now, I have seen nothing that makes me think this game is going to be anything more than a Spinal Tap-esque parody of a subject I venerate. I love Maiden and Priest and Motorhead and Sabbath and old Metallica and all the classic metal of my youth. But I also love Opeth and Mastadon and Darkest Hour and HORSE the Band and Black Dahlia Murder and Swallow the Sun and Between the Buried and Me and the Abscence and Down and Gojira and Lamb of God and Gama Bomb and a thousand other bands that are out there right now still making the music and walking the path blazed 30 years ago. Brutal Legend claims to be a tribute to all things metal, but it seems to me nothing more than a thinly-veiled mockery of a subject it knows very little about.

I don't think you need to worry.

Also: This.

 

[MirageDwarf]

 

[Cdammen]

:O

 

[Gomu Gomu]

The art is simply magnificent :lol :lol
I hate the fact this this is a rock n roll themed game, but goddam it looks so good

 

[Kaako]

F YEAH.

 

[Haunted]

Fucking excellent.

 

[Danielsan]

Something tells me this game will be the most fun I've had playing a video game in a long ass time. Those screenshots just scream fun. Love the art direction.

 

[Dougald]

Now I'm EVEN MORE excited for this!!

 

[Router]

YEAH!

 

[soldat7]

:lol

 

[Dever]

Potential GOTY

 

[Des0lar]

The art is simply magnificent :lol :lol
I hate the fact this this is a rock n roll themed game, but goddam it looks so good

Why would you say something like this?

 

[Das-J]

Potential GOTY

Seriously... I can't wait to play this game! (Please be at E3! )

 

[I_D]

This game better release on PC. It would be a crime to not show that art style off in super high res.

 

[Dougald]

This game better release on PC. It would be a crime to not show that art style off in super high res.

I have my hopes up that it will release on PC slightly later.. of course that means I'll end up getting two copies, but I don't mind!

 

[Wiggum2007]

:lol I love it!

 

[comedy bomb]

:lol I love it!

I knew the Wii version would be hideous.

 

[Dever]

Seriously... I can't wait to play this game! (Please be at E3! )

Should be, we still haven't seen actual gameplay goddam. Same goes for that other mega-awesome game, Bayonetta.

Btw it's great to see that Eddie gets all covered in blood in combat, I wish more games did that.

 

[Wiggum2007]

I knew the Wii version would be hideous.

Comedy bomb!!!!

 

[Haunted]

This game better release on PC. It would be a crime to not show that art style off in super high res.

Rocktober!

Spoiler

2010.

 

[TurboLibre]

I see you contradicted yourself by posting a list of mainstream mallcore.

What's your definition of mainstream? I could ask 20 people on the street if they've even heard the names of those bands, and I'd probably get 19 blank stares.

 

[adg1034]

:lol I love it!

Fake Bowie NEEDS to be a boss in this.

 

[RadAndrew502]

What's your definition of mainstream? I could ask 20 people on the street if they've even heard the names of those bands, and I'd probably get 19 blank stares.

Everything anyone listen's to is mainstream unless it meets the following two criteria:
1) It must be produced in the band's drummer's mom's basement.
2) It has to sound like it was recorded on an answering machine which is inside of an oil drum.
3) Only 10 people listen to it.

 

[Beaulieu]

Something about this game has been bugging me for months and I have to get it off my chest. This rant may be ban-worthy material, but I need to make this point.

I am concerned about where this game is coming from. Is it coming from a place of love and respect for heavy metal? Or is it going to be a low-brow, simplistic parody of the music that has scored my entire life? I love metal. I have loved metal since the golden age of the 80s, and I still love metal in 2009. To ignore the continued evolution of the genre is an insult to the very concepts Brutal Legend pretends to revere.

The fact that classic metal of the 80s has enjoyed some mainstream exposure and respect in recent years is mind-boggling to me. Metal is NOT mainstream!!! When it tries to be, you get the dreaded posuer hair-bands of the 80s, or the Hot Topic Mall-Metal of the 00s. Metal is the music of the loner, the outcast, the misfit who does not fit into the rigid cliques of society. It speaks to disinfranchised kids who have been forgotten or ignored by the world. It unities the dirbags and losers, and informs them they they are NOT alone in feeling the way they do.

Fans of other genres may make similar arguments. The best music is music that has an emotional connection to the listener. I would argue that metal, as a musical genre, is one of the most diverse, and one of very few genres that is still evolving. The Great Old Ones of the 80s laid down a solid foundation 20-30 years ago!!! But metal did not die in 1989!!! It has morphed into dozens of sub-genres. It has challenged the very concepts of melody and musical structure. The metal scene of 2009 is more diverse and exciting than ever. And it remains under the mainstream rader, exactly where it should be!!!

Brutal Legend reveres Priest and Motorhead, yet the first trailer is scored by the very definition of hair-metal, Motley Crue. The scenery in these screenshots emulate only the most cliche imagery of classic 80s metal. And Jack Black is the epitome of dirtbag. This is not a celebration of the diversity of the genre. It is derisive parody. Metal is about so much more than badly replicated Tolkienesque fantasy. But Brutal Legend does not seem interested in delving any deeper.

Who is this game for? If you are truly metal, then this game is an insult to everything you cherish. Everyone else may certainly be interested in the game, given Tim Schaffer's reputation, but the subject matter will only serve to reinforce the same stupid stereotypes that have defined metal in the mainstream for 30 years. I would rather this game just be another generic God of War ripoff than have it ridicule the music that help define the man I have become!

There is much more to learn about Brutal Legend. I may be way off in this assessment. But right now, I have seen nothing that makes me think this game is going to be anything more than a Spinal Tap-esque parody of a subject I venerate. I love Maiden and Priest and Motorhead and Sabbath and old Metallica and all the classic metal of my youth. But I also love Opeth and Mastadon and Darkest Hour and HORSE the Band and Black Dahlia Murder and Swallow the Sun and Between the Buried and Me and the Abscence and Down and Gojira and Lamb of God and Gama Bomb and a thousand other bands that are out there right now still making the music and walking the path blazed 30 years ago. Brutal Legend claims to be a tribute to all things metal, but it seems to me nothing more than a thinly-veiled mockery of a subject it knows very little about.

 

[wRATH2x]

FUCKING AWESOME!!!

The villain:lol ,to think hes voiced by Rob Halford.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Gamespot impressions

Eddie discovers his ability to lead troops after deciding to stage the world's greatest rock show. He and his pal Mangus build a giant stage complete with all sorts of neon lights and smoke, only to discover a sudden crack in the ground spilling out what appear to be human spirits. As it so happens, these are fans who have come to be won over by glorious rock and roll. These fans then become a sort of currency for your battles. You build a merch booth around them to siphon their energy and allow you to build troops of headbangers (melee troops) and teenage runaways (ranged troops equipped with bow and arrows). Battles themselves resemble a light, fairly tongue-in-cheek take on the strategy game genre where the stage is your base and these merch booths are your resource-harvesting units.

You'll take your army of headbangers and runaways and guide them around the battlefield using basic squad commands, such as go, follow, and stay. As they fight opposing troops (characters who happen to look and behave just like yours, only with glam metal outfits), you can run along and fight on your own using the trusty battle-axe for melee combat and your magical guitar, Clementine, for ranged warfare. If you want to get fancy, you can also perform double-team attacks where you interact with your troops for added effectiveness. There's one attack where headbangers put you in the middle of their mosh circle to keep you protected and another where a runaway will sit on your shoulder and fire flaming arrows lit by a lighter you hold above your head in true metal fashion.

The end goal is to destroy the opposing base. On the path to victory you'll run into a few more obstacles besides enemy troops. One we were shown was the fan leech, which is a giant monster who drains all the fans in your area to keep you from spawning new troops. With a proper mix of troop management and good old-fashioned brawling mayhem, you should be able to power your way to victory.

The second battle we were shown introduced a new wrinkle to the way you command your army. It seems that at this point in the story Eddie has fallen victim to what he refers to as "some sort of poison demon juice." As a result, he's turned a deep red and, more importantly, sprouted giant demon wings. He's still the same guy on the inside, but this temporary affliction has given him the ability to fly. Sure, Eddie's become a little more testy--like when he says to a companion "Silence, groundwalker!" after learning to fly only 10 seconds ago--but he's still got an army to command. That means you'll be doing the same sort of strategic management, but this time from up high in the air. We didn't see any air attacks, but it did look like Eddie could travel around the battlefield much more quickly.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/brutallegend/news.html?sid=6209595

 

[rdaneel72]

What's your definition of mainstream? I could ask 20 people at DoubleFine if they've even heard the names of those bands, and I'd probably get 19 blank stares.

Exactly!!!

There's also this:

"where thick-necked, denim-clad rockers toil, slamming their dense, bandana-clad noggins against the rocks."

"Villain General Lionwhyte, who has enslaved these knuckleheads..."

Not a very flattering portrayal of metalheads. Granted, those are the preview writer's words, not the game designer's. But that is stil the impression the writer is getting.




I used to wonder why metal was not more popular. Metal was way better than anything else in the 80s. I would hear Master or Powerslave rip through me and wonder why so few people appreciated it...

...until Metallica released the hated "black' album. Suddenly, Enter Sandman was all over the radio and MTV, and hordes of stupid baseball-cap-wearing frat boys where showing up at Metallica shows. And I realized that I didn't want metal to be popular. I didn't want to share it with dipshit frat boys who didn't even know who Cliff Burton was.

And I guess I still feel that way.

 

[Phobophile]

Everything anyone listen's to is mainstream unless it meets the following two criteria:
1) It must be produced in the band's drummer's mom's basement.
2) It has to sound like it was recorded on an answering machine which is inside of an oil drum.
3) Only 10 people listen to it.

Oh, you're one of those. And you're one criterion over two.

 

[wRATH2x]

:lol :lol :lol

Yeah he sure embodies hair metal. :lol I still can't believe its Judas Priest's bald front man behind all that hair.:lol :lol :lol

 

[wRATH2x]

I didn't want to share it with dipshit frat boys who didn't even know who Cliff Burton was.

I hate when that happens, hes the greatest bassist of all time IMO and I hate when some fucktards don't know him and claim to be fans.

 

[Phobophile]

What's your definition of mainstream? I could ask 20 people on the street if they've even heard the names of those bands, and I'd probably get 19 blank stares.

Don't gotta be top 40 to be mainstream. Hell, you could ask 20 GAFers about top 40 artists and still get blank stares.

 

[Ramenman]

That still doesn't explain all the OMG SO AWESOME GRAPHICS!!!!!11!!

Who said the graphics are awesome?

The art is amazing, the graphics are on par for an open world game, nothing special.

Sorry but if you're interested in a game you have to JUSTIFY yourself ! Don't think you can get away with baseless appreciation ! NOT ON NEOGAF DUDE !!1!1

(btw hating for no reason is fine though)

 

[Ranger X]

I'm sure this will be a great game but it seems I'm not interested. I wish I was but Metal music and the "culture" around it doesn't click with me at all + more fighting than anything else gameplay wise right?

Oh well, enjoy it guys. I'll wait for Psychonauts 2 or something (even if it will never happen)

.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Exactly!!!

There's also this:



Not a very flattering portrayal of metalheads. Granted, those are the preview writer's words, not the game designer's. But that is stil the impression the writer is getting.




I used to wonder why metal was not more popular. Metal was way better than anything else in the 80s. I would hear Master or Powerslave rip through me and wonder why so few people appreciated it...

...until Metallica released the hated "black' album. Suddenly, Enter Sandman was all over the radio and MTV, and hordes of stupid baseball-cap-wearing frat boys where showing up at Metallica shows. And I realized that I didn't want metal to be popular. I didn't want to share it with dipshit frat boys who didn't even know who Cliff Burton was.

And I guess I still feel that way.

Yes, you have way too many personal issues to enjoy this game.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Exactly!!!

There's also this:



Not a very flattering portrayal of metalheads. Granted, those are the preview writer's words, not the game designer's. But that is stil the impression the writer is getting.




I used to wonder why metal was not more popular. Metal was way better than anything else in the 80s. I would hear Master or Powerslave rip through me and wonder why so few people appreciated it...

...until Metallica released the hated "black' album. Suddenly, Enter Sandman was all over the radio and MTV, and hordes of stupid baseball-cap-wearing frat boys where showing up at Metallica shows. And I realized that I didn't want metal to be popular. I didn't want to share it with dipshit frat boys who didn't even know who Cliff Burton was.

And I guess I still feel that way.

I hate everything about this post. Listen to music because it makes you feel something, not because it'll make you part of some special exclusive group.

Musical elitism. Urgh.

 

[Haunted]

nvm

 

[Ramenman]

Something about this game has been bugging me for months and I have to get it off my chest. This rant may be ban-worthy material, but I need to make this point.

I am concerned about where this game is coming from. Is it coming from a place of love and respect for heavy metal? Or is it going to be a low-brow, simplistic parody of the music that has scored my entire life? I love metal. I have loved metal since the golden age of the 80s, and I still love metal in 2009. To ignore the continued evolution of the genre is an insult to the very concepts Brutal Legend pretends to revere.

The fact that classic metal of the 80s has enjoyed some mainstream exposure and respect in recent years is mind-boggling to me. Metal is NOT mainstream!!! When it tries to be, you get the dreaded posuer hair-bands of the 80s, or the Hot Topic Mall-Metal of the 00s. Metal is the music of the loner, the outcast, the misfit who does not fit into the rigid cliques of society. It speaks to disinfranchised kids who have been forgotten or ignored by the world. It unities the dirbags and losers, and informs them they they are NOT alone in feeling the way they do.

Fans of other genres may make similar arguments. The best music is music that has an emotional connection to the listener. I would argue that metal, as a musical genre, is one of the most diverse, and one of very few genres that is still evolving. The Great Old Ones of the 80s laid down a solid foundation 20-30 years ago!!! But metal did not die in 1989!!! It has morphed into dozens of sub-genres. It has challenged the very concepts of melody and musical structure. The metal scene of 2009 is more diverse and exciting than ever. And it remains under the mainstream rader, exactly where it should be!!!

Brutal Legend reveres Priest and Motorhead, yet the first trailer is scored by the very definition of hair-metal, Motley Crue. The scenery in these screenshots emulate only the most cliche imagery of classic 80s metal. And Jack Black is the epitome of dirtbag. This is not a celebration of the diversity of the genre. It is derisive parody. Metal is about so much more than badly replicated Tolkienesque fantasy. But Brutal Legend does not seem interested in delving any deeper.

Who is this game for? If you are truly metal, then this game is an insult to everything you cherish. Everyone else may certainly be interested in the game, given Tim Schaffer's reputation, but the subject matter will only serve to reinforce the same stupid stereotypes that have defined metal in the mainstream for 30 years. I would rather this game just be another generic God of War ripoff than have it ridicule the music that help define the man I have become!

There is much more to learn about Brutal Legend. I may be way off in this assessment. But right now, I have seen nothing that makes me think this game is going to be anything more than a Spinal Tap-esque parody of a subject I venerate. I love Maiden and Priest and Motorhead and Sabbath and old Metallica and all the classic metal of my youth. But I also love Opeth and Mastadon and Darkest Hour and HORSE the Band and Black Dahlia Murder and Swallow the Sun and Between the Buried and Me and the Abscence and Down and Gojira and Lamb of God and Gama Bomb and a thousand other bands that are out there right now still making the music and walking the path blazed 30 years ago. Brutal Legend claims to be a tribute to all things metal, but it seems to me nothing more than a thinly-veiled mockery of a subject it knows very little about.

wtf I don't even

Edit : I was wondering why I was all alone, but I missed this

...

what the fuuuuuuck

So someone actually had the same reaction as me. It's good to know that I'm not alone in feeling that way.

Spoiler

JUST LIKE WHEN I LESTEN TO METALL AMIRITE !!

 

[Flynn]

Exactly!!!

There's also this:
Not a very flattering portrayal of metalheads. Granted, those are the preview writer's words, not the game designer's. But that is stil the impression the writer is getting.

Have you seen the characters I'm talking about in the trailer. They have giant thick skulls which they use to bang against rocks!

C'mon, people. Let's not be totally humorless about metal.

 

[Lebron]

And I realized that I didn't want metal to be popular. I didn't want to share it with dipshit frat boys who didn't even know who Cliff Burton was.

And I guess I still feel that way.

Anywhoo, I need this game like yesterday.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Oh yeah, and those screenshots look freaking amazing. I really hope the combat holds up over the long haul.

 

[Ramenman]

Damn, Devil Jack Black is fucking cool.

 

[JDSN]

Looks great, it will be interesting to play a game based around knuckleheads.

 

[brain_stew]

I know this game gets a free pass on GAF but those screens really look fugly. Some terrible tech. choices and I fail to see what's so great about the art. No where near as nice looking as Psychonauts is on my PC for instance.

 

[tahrikmili]

Something about this game has been bugging me for months and I have to get it off my chest. This rant may be ban-worthy material, but I need to make this point.

I am concerned about where this game is coming from. Is it coming from a place of love and respect for heavy metal? Or is it going to be a low-brow, simplistic parody of the music that has scored my entire life? I love metal. I have loved metal since the golden age of the 80s, and I still love metal in 2009. To ignore the continued evolution of the genre is an insult to the very concepts Brutal Legend pretends to revere.

The fact that classic metal of the 80s has enjoyed some mainstream exposure and respect in recent years is mind-boggling to me. Metal is NOT mainstream!!! When it tries to be, you get the dreaded posuer hair-bands of the 80s, or the Hot Topic Mall-Metal of the 00s. Metal is the music of the loner, the outcast, the misfit who does not fit into the rigid cliques of society. It speaks to disinfranchised kids who have been forgotten or ignored by the world. It unities the dirbags and losers, and informs them they they are NOT alone in feeling the way they do.

Fans of other genres may make similar arguments. The best music is music that has an emotional connection to the listener. I would argue that metal, as a musical genre, is one of the most diverse, and one of very few genres that is still evolving. The Great Old Ones of the 80s laid down a solid foundation 20-30 years ago!!! But metal did not die in 1989!!! It has morphed into dozens of sub-genres. It has challenged the very concepts of melody and musical structure. The metal scene of 2009 is more diverse and exciting than ever. And it remains under the mainstream rader, exactly where it should be!!!

Brutal Legend reveres Priest and Motorhead, yet the first trailer is scored by the very definition of hair-metal, Motley Crue. The scenery in these screenshots emulate only the most cliche imagery of classic 80s metal. And Jack Black is the epitome of dirtbag. This is not a celebration of the diversity of the genre. It is derisive parody. Metal is about so much more than badly replicated Tolkienesque fantasy. But Brutal Legend does not seem interested in delving any deeper.

Who is this game for? If you are truly metal, then this game is an insult to everything you cherish. Everyone else may certainly be interested in the game, given Tim Schaffer's reputation, but the subject matter will only serve to reinforce the same stupid stereotypes that have defined metal in the mainstream for 30 years. I would rather this game just be another generic God of War ripoff than have it ridicule the music that help define the man I have become!

There is much more to learn about Brutal Legend. I may be way off in this assessment. But right now, I have seen nothing that makes me think this game is going to be anything more than a Spinal Tap-esque parody of a subject I venerate. I love Maiden and Priest and Motorhead and Sabbath and old Metallica and all the classic metal of my youth. But I also love Opeth and Mastadon and Darkest Hour and HORSE the Band and Black Dahlia Murder and Swallow the Sun and Between the Buried and Me and the Abscence and Down and Gojira and Lamb of God and Gama Bomb and a thousand other bands that are out there right now still making the music and walking the path blazed 30 years ago. Brutal Legend claims to be a tribute to all things metal, but it seems to me nothing more than a thinly-veiled mockery of a subject it knows very little about.

Get the fuck over yourself.

EDIT: Shit I forgot I replied to this crap before. LOL. Oh well.

 

[rdaneel72]

Get the fuck over yourself.

What do you mean?

When someone makes a lousy game/movie based on a beloved franchise, the internet has a stroke.

When videogamers are portrayed in a negative light by the mainstream media, the intenet gets all fired up.

Just expressing my opinion. The entire gamersphere is orgasming all over Tim Schaffer and Brutal Legend, but I don't undersand why. Because he is making a derivative action game that takes visual inspiration from a small section of cliche 80s metal album covers? Because he is talking about how cool 20-year-old metal is? No shit!

Where was all this attention when Judas Priest was relevant? Where is the attention for the metal bands that are relevant today?

 

[brain_stew]

I think I've found my new favourite GAF joke character. Keep it coming.

 

[TurboLibre]

Don't gotta be top 40 to be mainstream. Hell, you could ask 20 GAFers about top 40 artists and still get blank stares.

Would you even put them in the top 40? I listen to rock all the time (and dabble in metal) and I've only heard of a couple of those bands.

 

[TurboLibre]

Exactly!!!

Wait, wait. I don't remember saying that. I don't remember saying that at all.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

What do you mean?

When someone makes a lousy game/movie based on a beloved franchise, the internet has a stroke.

When videogamers are portrayed in a negative light by the mainstream media, the intenet gets all fired up.

Just expressing my opinion. The entire gamersphere is orgasming all over Tim Schaffer and Brutal Legend, but I don't undersand why. Because he is making a derivative action game that takes visual inspiration from a small section of cliche 80s metal album covers? Because he is talking about how cool 20-year-old metal is? No shit!

Where was all this attention when Judas Priest was relevant? Where is the attention for the metal bands that are relevant today?

Tim Schafer is making a game inspired by the music he loved. It's a loving homage to metal in the 80s, not what metal has slowly evolved in to these days. That's all there is to it. I don't see what you're not understanding. This isn't some delicately written piece of social commentary, setting out to rape your childhood, it's a bit of light hearted entertainment.

 

[Flynn]

Tim Schafer is making a game inspired by the music he loved. It's a loving homage to metal in the 80s, not what metal has slowly evolved in to these days. That's all there is to it. I don't see what you're not understanding.

And there's going the be new (not nu) metal in the game. The soundtrack is going to run the gamut. And, as I mentioned before, there's black metal stuff in the game. I'd say the pantie bunching is a little premature.