Yeah so whose in?
My history with this is that I played Full Throttle, from Tim Schaffer and at teh time my mind was blown. I pre-ordered Psychonauts, and never really played it.
So when this one came around I was not too excited by it. And when I found out it was an RTS I was even less into it. The only RTS I've ever played was Halo Wars (which I loved, but found too intense).
So I held off until this was, like $9, and then I had to get it.
I'm happy we are doing this one together, as I am not sure how much I'd be into it otherwise.
The theme is heavy metal? In my youth (and to this day) I like bands like Black Sabbath, ACDC, Poison and such, but I think those would be considered pop bands by true metal fans.
I once was drinking buddies with a man named Istvan who was a Transylvanian, he was in a death metal band, and I loved his work. So that's all I have for street cred. 
I don't think it's an RTS in the same sense as Halo Wars or say Starcraft. Think it's more action/strategy hybrid sort of like Pikmin or perhaps that game Overlord GG played on the Wii. I'm not sure though.
Black Sabbath I think is well respected because they were very influential on the scene, many consider them the first heavy metal band. AC/DC are considered more hard rock but still very well respected. Poison I think are sort of glam, or a bit of a hair-band so maybe their credibility hasn't stood the test of time so well. Wow though, you met a ... Transylvanian? I'm not sure exactly what that means though. I think Transylvania is considered to be in modern day Romania, Slovakia or Ukraine ie somewhere on the Carpathian mountains.
Now about Tim Schafer games. Full Throttle had a similar effect on me. I just had never seen anything as cool as that. Was completely blown away. Grim Fandango was even better. Simply unbelievable. I lent the game to a really good friend of mine who is a very talented artist, and he was completely blown away by it - still reminisces about it often with great awe. Like you I bought Psychonauts on launch but still haven't played it (but I love it nonetheless 
). I think I will play it if it's compatible with the 360
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
aspro said:Yeah so whose in?
My history with this is that I played Full Throttle, from Tim Schaffer and at teh time my mind was blown. I pre-ordered Psychonauts, and never really played it.
So when this one came around I was not too excited by it. And when I found out it was an RTS I was even less into it. The only RTS I've ever played was Halo Wars (which I loved, but found too intense).
So I held off until this was, like $9, and then I had to get it.
I'm happy we are doing this one together, as I am not sure how much I'd be into it otherwise.
The theme is heavy metal? In my youth (and to this day) I like bands like Black Sabbath, ACDC, Poison and such, but I think those would be considered pop bands by true metal fans.
I once was drinking buddies with a man named Istvan who was a Transylvanian, he was in a death metal band, and I loved his work. So that's all I have for street cred.
Count me out. Got to the very end of that game, and was not in the mood of putting up with its bullshit.
That being said, I'd love to see some multiplayer reports.
Oh, I'm in. I thought the RTS parts were just a small part of the game.
What bullshit, Homer?
I played Full Throttle relatively recently and it didn't blow me away. Actually it was a tad disappointing. It's no Grim Fandango, or Monkey Island for that matter. It is however still a fantastic game.
He was Romanian, but from the Transylvanian region. He was very insistent about identifying with the region over the country. I don't think it was schtick for the band, as I hung out with him over several months in all sorts of contexts, and it would come up from time to time.
travo said:Oh, I'm in. I thought the RTS parts were just a small part of the game.
What bullshit, Homer?
I just got sick of the RTS stuff towards the end, or that second half in particular, which felt way too rushed.
That, and it seemed like every other faction was way more powerful than you were.
I would probably quit if it becoimes too much. That doesn't sound like what I was expecting at all.
Start playing already. *shakes fist*
Nope, 2 more days. Though I think I'll scoop you all again given the time zones.
I have to download how big of an update??? Fucking hell.
There's an update?
aspro said:There's an update?
Yes like 500mb.
Good thing I read this. I will try to do the update today. Who else is playing on PS3?
I have Vader in my friends list but aspro I don't think I have you, nor travo. My username is bugsonglass please add me.
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
Well I am a few hours in and enjoying it. For the most part if you give me an action/adventure game with a large world to explore with tons of secrets to unlock I will be pleased and that is exactly what this game does. The world is interesting, its soaked in Heavy Metal themes and the soundtrack kicks ass (even though its not my favorite kind of music, it fits pefectly and there is no better music to kick ass too). Besides the main story missions you have side missions around the map to complete, so far its been very basic stuff like fight guys and it repeats all the time. The combat is very basic brawler kind of stuff, the twist is the squads you command which so far I only have one. To this point its been very basic, a game like Overlord seems to focus more on the squad aspect and does it much better.
I love the story, the characters and so far its been a pretty funny game. There have been some good boss fights so far, the usual pattern based ones. Theme, story, and game world get a big thumbs up. The gameplay is ok, nothing special so far.
I'm starting this morning on the PS3.
I'm playing on the 360, mainly for the stupid reason of trying to get a 20k gamerscore before the end of the year. I'll add you on my PS3, bugs, even if we're playing two different versions.. Aren't you on LIVE as well?
Wow. Where do I even start with this one. I think I'll do bullet points to make it easier to read:
- Prior best menus went to the DIRT series. Now Brutal Legend is the winner of best menus ever. The main one and the in-game ones. I also like the live-action start. Very refreshing, fast and entertaining to use.
- If this game was just a brawler set in a heavy metal themed world I'd probably be happy. But it's so much more. I'd say, almost too much. Every 7 minutes they are giving you a new form of gameplay and controls to go with it. So far I am keeping up with it (about 3+ hours in), but if they keep up the pace like this I'll have to start treading.
- The genre-busting nature of the game reminds me of Act Raiser on the SNES (the side-scroller/ god game).
- The squad based stuff starts out easy and does get deeper as the game goes on. But it is still accessible.
- Game overflows with quality and attention to detail. Games with this much attention to detail don't come along very often. Small things like, on a drawbridge instead of just a counter weight there are chrome coated V8 engines instead. I know this game was in production for a long time, and they had a lot of dedicated people on it, but, again wow. Everywhere you look everything you see just fits perfectly into the world.
- Music is great. Reminds me of all the bands I used to listen to Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Poison...
- Writing is funny. Lots of chuckles, nothing really laugh-out-loud, but still very good writing. The more you know about metal the funnier it will be.
- Problem: I'm not quite sure how to switch to direct combat from giving squadron commands. Also, I'm never quite sure how much I'm actually controlling. As with Halo Wars, I always havea sick feeling in my stomach that I'm about to fuck up.
- The 500 MB update is not needed. I skipped it at least, and have had no problems.
I started it today but I didn't get to play that much. Think I just got to where I can move about in the hub with the car.
Wasn't sure what difficulty to choose. After what Homer and Leo said about it being frustrating later on I was tempted to choose easy, but I went with medium. Hope one has the chance to change if necessary.
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu
As I'm sure you all remember, a handful of us agreed to do a collective "game club" playthrough of Tim Schafer's Brütal Legend. I'm hoping between now and the start of June when we agreed to start a few more members will decide to join us. In fact the only ones excused are those who have played and finished the game before (which I think means just Archie and Homer - Leo you didn't finish it so you have to do it all again
).
I'm borrowing the summary from Metacritic to tell you all a bit about what the game is about:
Summary: From the mind of Tim Schafer (Psychonauts, Grim Fandango) comes Brutal Legend, the ultimate heavy metal action game starring Jack Black (School of Rock, Tenacious D). You are heavy metal roadie Eddie Riggs, hurled back in time to the mythical Age of Metal when the world was formed and ruled by the power of Rock! Armed with a broadaxe, a guitar, and a big block V8 you set off on an epic quest to assemble an army of headbangers, hotrods, barbarians, demonic dominatrix and the undead. With the wings of a demon and the power of a Rock God, you must lead humanity in an epic war against its barbaric overlords, and carve your name forever into the Brutal Legend. In Brutal Legend, you'll roam through a massive open-world born from the hell fires of heavy metal. In this world you can rev up any vehicle, rock its weapons, and crush the enemies of metal. You'll also learn to devastate with your guitar, playing face-melting solos that actually melt the faces of your enemies, command savage armies, bang skulls in hand-to-hand combat, and rise like a bat out of hell to command blood-drenched action from above. As if that wasn't enough, you can slay your friends and foes online, then play guitar licks on their graves! Of course, Brutal Legend is only complete with the most ultimate heavy metal soundtrack ever assembled in a game
The average score on Metacritic for the game was 83, which means that most reviewers thought it was pretty good. I will paste snippets from a few of the reviews:
IGN AU: Charming and clever in equal portions, Brütal Legend is a classic example of cohesive game design...In an age of ever-increasing monotony and creative stagnation, a game like Brütal Legend is brash, proud, subversive and triumphant - and it deserves to succeed. Get on board, crank it up and make it so. Two horns up. (Score: 93)
Games Radar: Brutal Legend won us over with its complete package: the aspects that are decidedly outside "gaminess" are its strongest and most lovable. The dialogue made us laugh, and not just a little. We cared about the characters enough to feel sad to say goodbye to them. We never got bored of exploring its world and continued to do so after completing the main story. (Score: 90)
IGN US: Brutal Legend is a tour de force that wraps up humor, music, and clever gameplay into one highly polished package. You haven't played a game quite like this before and won't want to miss it. (Score: 90)
Playstation Official Magazine: You don't have to be a Metalhead to love Brutal Legend, but if you are, you'll love it even more. (Score: 90)
Gamespot: This amazing tribute to metal delivers a hugely entertaining gaming experience despite missing a few chords. (Score: 85)
1UP: The main problem is that it doesn't feel like it was poorly designed, but that simple things were simply forgotten. But really, those things don't make the story any less entertaining, the rock god theme less enjoyable, nor the characters' well-animated faces less expressive. And with long practice and good friends, the multiplayer can be incredibly rewarding. (Score: 83)
Eurogamer Italy: Double Fine manages to create an enthralling and entertaining product, whose unbelievable originality clouds every imperfection related to a gameplay less complex than expected. Brutal Legend holds the real essence of metal, depicting it in its purest form, in the way that each of us has dreamed of at least once in his own life. Whether you love heavy metal or not, this title will offer you an experience you will not forget… and, who knows, you could discover a hidden passion! (Score: 80)
games(TM): It may have its flaws, but at least those mistakes were made in the course of trying to do something new. (Score: 70)
Giant Bomb: The gameplay, as singular a combination of gameplay styles as it is, suffers from being a jack of all trades and master of none. Like most teenage metalheads, this game has got issues, but if you're willing to look past some very uneven gameplay, Brutal Legend will rock you. Hard. (Score: 60)
And just a few screenshots to set the tone:
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Listen to Wu-Tang and watch Kung-Fu