Right from the start, you can tell this is a Tim Schafer/Double Fine game - once again, the charismatic protagonist is thrown into a strange world and with good-spirited determination steps into the unknown; there's the subtle social humour, never forced and always genuinue; the humour - one of my favorite lines in Psychonauts, Coach Oleander taunts Raz: "You're slower than molasses crawling up a hill... in January!" and in BL Eddie was taunting the worm boss: "It smells like a whale... ate a bunch of tuna... and died in your mouth... like a YEAR ago!"
The intro is delivered brilliantly, I can't imagine any rock or metal fan not immediately bonding with Eddie when those obnoxious kids play, and, well, what happens next is really one of the most bad-ass death and delivery scenes I've enjoyed in games, and sets you right down into gameplay at the end, an artful trick I've loved since I first saw it in FFVII. And the whole damn thing is fucking Metal, to the core. In that respect, it's already a success in my mind, since it completely lives up to its vision (during those first crucial moments in the demo, of course - but knowing the people behind it, this will carry through the rest of the game).
Most of the demo is really dedicated to introducing you, magnificently, to the Brütal Legend universe, it's story, characters and mood. You do get a great blast of the gameplay, so sweet but over so quickly. Firstly, I'd just like to make one thing clear: calling the battle axe THE SEPARATOR is inspired. That's metal, and it's the kind of bad-assery that puts a constant smile on your face throughout the game. So, back to gameplay: Psychonauts was naturally Tim's closest experience to this type of gameplay, since the graphic adventures felt very different. BL still retains that simplicity: you have controls for your axe and axe (battle and guitar), and by tapping, holding or pressing A and X together (X360 version), you pull off melee and magic attacks, and an amazing earth-shaking area effect power chord attack. Oh - you bring the house down with it. Yes, literally.
No jump, trigger lock-on - it's a 3rd person action adventure, and the respect for the traditions laid down by games like Zelda - the lock-on simple fighting, the amazing ride on the Deuce AKA DRUID PLOW (*making metal horns with hand*), the three-stage boss fight - and some innovations from things like Fable's slow-mo cinematic deaths with these 2 button combos, and wraps it all together with the humor we know and love, from the chatter (I won't go into how awesome Jack Black is, you should know this by now) to every detail in the setting, like flying worm beasts and comet rain in the sky.
I also wanted to point out the excellent art style and particularly the character art and animations - incredibly expressive faces and tight lip-syncing really bring them to life, and it's a merit to both the talented artists at Double Fine and also the brilliantly conceived, caricatured and painted art style.
I think it's obvious by now I'm getting this for sure - but I also think this game will be great for us. There's never enough good humor in games - and even fewer games can deliver that uncompromising, bad-ass and forward moving action experience while still retaining such a heart, and such a roaring funny time. And the fact that it's a MetroidZeldavania set-up, with a massive world that you can explore further with enhanced abilities, well, that's one of my gaming nirvanas, and one of the must intuitive and immersive high level structures possible, in my mind. Learn more, do more, go further. Feels right.
Oh, I forgot to mention the music. Well, that's because I was too busy banging my head listening to it. Go here for a reminder of how great this soundtrack is.
So I guess, bottom line: if you like this type of 3rd person action adventure games (Zelda, Fable, Ratchet, Jak, Beyond Good and Evil), Metal, funny and character driven stories in crazy worlds, I think you'll love Brütal Legend. There's also light RTS in multiplayer, so that ought to add some wider appeal for strategy fans. Maybe not for everyone - it doesn't try to be the mega-everything-genre game, for example I don't see realism lovers digging it if they don't get into the story or music.
But I think it's already becoming clear - if the demo's feeling carries through the whole game, we've got another Schafer masterpiece. I'm happy, and waiting for Rocktober 16th (yes... delayed 3 days).
Rock on!
