While there are many individual songs on it that I enjoy, the reason games tend to have their own music made is to create something that fits the scene perfectly. Oddly enough I was never enamored with the soundtrack of the game. I'd love to see another collaboration between these two as I think they'd mesh very well. Sadly such things are extremely subjective and if you don't like Jack Black or Tim Schafer then ultimately this is the sort of game you play for a couple of hours and then take back to the shop. Schafer provides it for the game, and Black's lead (Eddie Riggs) provides it for the performance, along with the rest of the cameos. I think it's the creative chemistry between these two that underpins the game and just gives it a 'feel' that keeps you entertained throughout what is objectively a pretty drab title. But there's an underlying passion and intensity to it you tend to get with any Tim Schafer game, and more importantly anything that Jack Black is involved in. On any technical measure you can apply to it, it's at best mediocre and often far worse than that. But still, their presence alone lends the game a certain ambiance that probably helps make the title so unique and save it from the pretty dull gameplay.Īnd really that's the interesting thing about Brutal Legend. Ozzy as the guardian of metal always makes me chuckle with one line: "You're got some demon flesh on your bumper." The rest though fall into that unpleasant middle ground- too bad to be good, not bad enough to be funny. It's impossible not to laugh at Lemmy's drab, monotone 'I just woke up and I am Lemmy to boot' delivery. The cameos by various famous metal singers are fantastic in that they are so awful. Most likely Schafer knows his own 'classic heavy metal' tropes and symbols, and enjoys taking the piss out of the opulence and cleanliness of hair metal, but he didn't do much in the way of poking fun or making references at the expense of goth metal (the last world stage) and as I said I have no clue what's going on with the jungle. It is quite cool to see each location obviously draws heavily from a different sub genre of metal (though I'm fucked if I know what genre of metal is best represented by a jungle), but the in jokes and references quickly wear out. The exploration of the heavy metal inspired world is fun at first, but each new location you unlock becomes less impressive. Half the time you feel like you're fighting the controls and the game itself instead of the challenge presented by the scenario. The main 'set piece' gameplay- the stage battles- are not exactly broken, but certainly far from functional or fluid. The gameplay is drab and poorly derivative at best, relying on repetitive side missions to pad out a somewhat uninspired campaign. I still don't know what to make of Tim Schafer's heavy metal wet dream.
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