Sunday, October 18, 2009

Brütal Legend (Xbox 360)

This is truly one of the greatest games that I've had the pleasure of playing. The story, as one would expect from Tim Schafer and Double Fine, is top notch. The gameplay was an interesting mix of action/adventure and real time strategy (RTS), though a very simplified RTS. I've heard others complain about the controls, but truly, I had no real problems with them.

The story revolves around Eddie Riggs, the world's greatest roadie for the world's worst metal band. When blood gets on his belt buckle, he's transported to a world straight off of the cover of a heavy metal album. He acquires an axe and quickly cuts down the demons attacking him. He also discovers that his guitar, Clementine, is quite powerful in this world.

Eddie eventually meets with Ophelia, who introduces him to Lars, leader of the human rebellion. They inform him that Doviculus, leader of the Tainted Coil, keeps humans subjugated and has all but destroyed the last of them. With Eddie's help, Lars builds an army to go after the demon.

There is quite a bit of BDSM in this game that is quite obvious. The Tainted Coil dress in leathers and there's a unit named the "Punishing Party," which consists of a large gimp in a ball gag and mask, spears thrust in his body while the four Dommes around him pull them out and throw them at their enemies.

Of course, the BDSM is portrayed as being a strange fetish, and only the demons participate in it, so it's painted in quite a negative light. But overall, the game was quite enjoyable and it was quite a bit fun to see my kink so prolific in a game that is marketed at a mainstream audience. The only unenjoyable part was the fact that many of the secondary missions are very repetitive. Other than that, Brutal Legend provides an enjoyable experience that can be completed in a relative short time.

My rating: A