For those about to rock

by ERIK LEIJON

Do you like Tenacious D? The answer to that question pretty much sums up how you’ll feel about Brütal Legend (PS3, X360/EA, Double Fine), an action-strategy game set in a fictitious world based on heavy metal mythos.

Imagine if every mystical realm devised by Ronnie James Dio and Bruce Dickinson sprang to life, and a hero portrayed by rock aficionado Jack Black rules the roost, fighting Bret Michaels lookalikes. Brütal Legend has the right amount of passion for the source material: the worlds are named after the greats of the music genre (for instance, your original home base is located on the Halford settlement), the Jack Black character (Eddie Riggs) can use his guitar to incinerate and electrocute foes, and famous faces such as Lemmy and Ozzy make interesting cameos. If anything, Brutal Legend feels like it was an aesthetic concept before there was even a video game attached to it.

The best part about the gameplay is the recognizable heavy metal soundtrack playing in the background. The battle scenes between Riggs’s freedom fighters and the glam rock loving General Lionwhyte (voiced by Rob Halford, oddly enough) take the form of a bastardized real-time strategy game with rock ’n’ roll terms.

Riggs and his army/road crew set up a stage and then fight for the souls of the undead against Lionwhyte’s minions. Riggs’s crew is pretty varied, from the brute headbangers to feathered haired Cherie Curries sporting sniper rifles. Accessing and ordering your troops is done using the directional pad, although the enemies come in such predictable waves, there isn’t too much troop management needed beyond calling up reinforcements whenever possible.

Riggs’s himself has both a guitar and axe he can use to defeat enemies, but his move list is limited (even after Ozzy’s upgrades) and his movements are slow. He can perform some special functions by doing quick guitar solos, in a similar style to Link’s ocarina solos in Ocarina of Time.

If heavy metal jokes, unexpected rock star guest appearances and beating up hair metal fans sounds appealing, you’ll easily bypass the obvious gameplay deficiencies and enjoy the inside jokes. Gamers looking for action or deep strategy will probably find themselves running to the hills.

Passing the audition

On a recent trip to Las Vegas, I had the opportunity to catch Cirque du Soleil’s Beatles-inspired Love show at the Mirage. As one might imagine, it was a wacky visual assault clearly conjured up by a bunch of stoner Québécois with an affinity for the ’60’s and a loopy impression of British culture. It was a terrific show, although that could largely be attributed to the soundtrack, which remains as timeless as ever.

The Beatles: Rock Band (Multi/EA, Harmonix) is a fine addition to the Rock Band/rhythm game family, but it’s because the music is great. The animations are fun, especially the trippy Abbey Road sessions, and there are plenty of pictures and other fan-friendly goodies available, but this Rock Band isn’t all that much different than previous versions. The track listing features 45 songs, and the entire Abbey Road album is now available as a pay download, so while there are a sufficient number of hits, you’ll also have to dip into your change purse when the rest of the catalogue comes out. The story mode follows the band chronologically from the Cavern Club to the Abbey Road rooftop, and other than some short cinematics, there isn’t much to progress the story (possibly because it’s assumed you know the story by heart). It’s a modest and classy tribute to a larger-than-life band.