Brutal Legend Review

Tim Schaefer. What do you think about when you hear this name? The creator of games like Grim Fandango and Psychonauts? That chubby dude with a beard? Nothing? Well, Tim Schaefer has a new title. The creator of Brutal Legend, one of the best games I've played this year.

The Good: The story is a big focus of this game (as is in any other Schaefer game), and it's great. A lot of reviews have been saying that the humor peters out near the end, but I think the final confrontation had some of the funniest lines in the game. It's a hilarious story and can even get pretty emotional on you, so extra points for those few moments.
The graphics in BL are great. What the character models are lacking is made up in the awesome animations for every single character (Prototype style). The world, creatures and monsters look BEAUTIFUL from a creative standpoint. Which means they look awesome. The world design will blow your fu**ing face off with it's awesomeness and pure rock styled pwnage. You can even buy effigies for "Mount Rockmore" to put characters faces on the side of the mountain.
Gameplay is extremely varied in this game, which I didn't really expect. RTS style incounters play a huge role in the game, which isn't really evidenced in the demo or gameplay videos put out before the game was released, so this was a surprise. What surprised me even more is how GOOD it is. It's one of the best RTS's on consoles. Other genres in the mix include hack n' slash, shooting, and racing. They're all pulled off well and rarely get boring. You can also use your guitar solos as weapons, including an epic face melter.
The sound. BLOWS. MY. MIND. Best sound in a game. Ever. Seriously. Hilarious voiceovers that are done well for each character. But the soundtrack. Oh my fu**ing god. Beautiful. If you're even remotely a fan of heavy metal, you will be in heaven. That's all I have to say about that.

Now, onto the Bad: The game is just too short. I beat it in 5 hours flat on my first playthrough. That's with finding maybe 15 relics, and doing seven or eight side missions. It's just too short! I WANT MORE! Well, you can always stick around in the world after you beat the game.
There's also... umm... wow. I can't think of anything else bad about this game. Seriously. I loved it. If you're a fan of heavy metal, Tim Schaefer, RTS's, Hack n' Slashes, or adventures, you NEED TO PLAY THIS GAME. Have fun.

Final Rating: 9.8
(Expect a review of Flashpoint soon. It just got sent to me from Gamefly)