Brutal Legend: First Impressions

I've seen Brutal Legend on the gaming horizon for many months now. I know the game's developer has a great reputation for witty and intelligent games in the past. I also knew it was a heavy metal themed game and that it was a vehicle for Jack Black's talent. You would have thought all of those factors would have meant the game would have been hot on my "to play" list. But it wasn't, not at all.

It was only seeing my son play the demo level on Saturday morning (he subsequently purchased the game) that has changed my mind at all. The game looks hot! Visually the graphics are luscious, with a nice 'cartoony' feel to them. The game world looks like it was zapped straight out of a seventies prog rock album cover or an Iron Maiden landscape (I'm surprised 'Eddie' doesn't make a cameo!)

Several rock legends do though. So far I've seen Lemmy from Motorhead (who was also the arms dealer in the seminal Scarface). I've also seen Ozzy, who sounds brilliant and fits right in with the game. Apparently Judas Priest's Rob Halford makes an appearance at some point too.

Of course Jack Black is excellent, he always is. I wouldn't have given this game a second look unless it had jumped right into my living room, which luckily it has! I'll definitely give it a playthrough some time soon, as I understand it's a short game, which suits me fine! Check out the videos and see what you think!