Brutal Legend Catch All

Honestly, if you just want to support Double Fine then I'll bet their margins are higher on the t-shirts and merchandise they sell on the website than on their games.

I plan to buy it just so I can play it in five years if I want. Plus it will probably take me a good long time to finish anyway. I play games slow.

Jayhawker wrote:
elewis17 wrote:
Trophy Husband wrote:

I just don't get this thinking. As the consumer it's not my responsibility to ensure that my method of procuring a game is the one that's most beneficial to the developer. They choose the method of distibution. If it doesn't benefit them to sell thousands of copies to gamefly then they wouldn't do it. If I buy music off of Itunes I don't worry about whether or not it is of greater benefit to the band than if I were to purchase a cd.

I also notice that some of the people in the "support the developer" camp are taking advantage of Amazon's $10 rebate. Most point of sale rebates are charged back to the vendor. By taking advantage of the rebate aren't you removing dollars from the developer's pockets. Where do we draw the line?

Shafer is a savvy and intelligent businessman. He doesn't need my donation.

Do you have an "Ann Coulter for President" bumper sticker on your car?

I don't think this is fair. There is nothing wrong with buying or renting a game. Publishers factor all of the possible ways they can generate revenue when deciding how much to invest into a game and what price to charge. Gamefly is just another revenue stream in the grand scheme of things.

To be clear, I was being sarcastic. It wasn't meant to offend. I was just pointing out his conservative viewpoint on the topic. Damn the intertubes for not conveying sarcasm properly. Maybe I should have put a at the end to be clear.
EDIT: Just to add to the point- I completely agree Trophy. I'm not sure where I draw the line either. I'll purchase the game as long as I can come up with the extra scratch, but solely because I'd prefer not to wait nine months for Gamefly to ship me the game.

MeatMan wrote:
Gravey wrote:
Tannhauser wrote:

So... apparently this is what you get when you mix EA's marketing department and metal:

That's the exact kind of music that makes Eddie Riggs cry. Really, none of the hundred songs on the soundtrack would have worked for that ad?

I think it might have to do with licensing. They obviously paid for the right to use the songs in the game, but maybe that doesn't include marketing the game. That said, the obvious better choice would have been to pay Tenacious D to write a short song for the commercial.

Yeah, I realize it's probably licensing, but the song they used suggests they didn't try very hard. How much could JB charge for a ribbit-bittip-bu-ay-ahhh-ahhh? That's one in the bank. Next ad. Next ad.

EvilDead wrote:

A podcast (I can't remember which one) had made note of the sound not being as good on the PS3 demo. They didn't have an answer as to whether or not it carried over to the full game.

Totally. I was going to grab the PSTriple version despite minor graphics differences but the sound mix is terrible on my 5.1 setup.

Gravey wrote:
MeatMan wrote:
Gravey wrote:
Tannhauser wrote:

So... apparently this is what you get when you mix EA's marketing department and metal:

That's the exact kind of music that makes Eddie Riggs cry. Really, none of the hundred songs on the soundtrack would have worked for that ad?

I think it might have to do with licensing. They obviously paid for the right to use the songs in the game, but maybe that doesn't include marketing the game. That said, the obvious better choice would have been to pay Tenacious D to write a short song for the commercial.

Yeah, I realize it's probably licensing, but the song they used suggests they didn't try very hard. How much could JB charge for a ribbit-bittip-bu-ay-ahhh-ahhh? That's one in the bank. Next ad. Next ad.

What's even better, there is a Gamestop ad for the Tenacious D guitar bonus, and not only is the song playing not Tenacious D, they have a little disclaimer that says the song playing is not The D. Lame marketing all around.

Edit: Here is the commercial with the JB sound-alike.

Just played the demo. The game has the feel of an instant classic. So many fantastic little touches. Yay!

Switchbreak wrote:

Honestly, if you just want to support Double Fine then I'll bet their margins are higher on the t-shirts and merchandise they sell on the website than on their games.

Buying shirts are great, but if games sales are low they'll have a hard time getting capital to make other games- potentially. This is a game I'd like to play, and if it was on PC I'd have pre-purchased it already. There are a lot of games I want to play and supporting Double Fine is a reason why I'd go from waiting on it to make a purchase and purchasing it out the gate. I'd never play or purchase a game just to throw money at anyone, but if I wanted to play the game anyway this could be one of many factors to push me towards the purchase.

demonbox wrote:
Switchbreak wrote:

Honestly, if you just want to support Double Fine then I'll bet their margins are higher on the t-shirts and merchandise they sell on the website than on their games.

Buying shirts are great, but if games sales are low they'll have a hard time getting capital to make other games- potentially.

I was going to say pretty much this. Buying their shirts may help them pay the bills, but selling their product is what will help ensure their next game does not get lost in publisher-less limbo for a few years like this one.

I don't really rent games so the point is moot anyways, but I validate buying it by saying Schafer is long overdue for a hit, not to mention I've bought a lot of crappy games for $60 before, and a lot of garbage for more than $60 too.

Also, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. A lot of gamers whine and complain about "evil" corporations not taking a chance on interesting and different IP, not allowing developers more creative freedom, and repackaging the same old crap as last year. But heaven forbid they change their current purchasing decisions to reflect that belief.

kuddles wrote:

I don't really rent games so the point is moot anyways, but I validate buying it by saying Schafer is long overdue for a hit, not to mention I've bought a lot of crappy games for $60 before, and a lot of garbage for more than $60 too.

Also, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. A lot of gamers whine and complain about "evil" corporations not taking a chance on interesting and different IP, not allowing developers more creative freedom, and repackaging the same old crap as last year. But heaven forbid they change their current purchasing decisions to reflect that belief.

Yes. Thank you.

MechaSlinky wrote:

Finger --> butt, and other stuff about this game being unique

I must be missing something about this game. It seems like a 3D platformer to me. Have we not seen a bajillion of these in the last decade? I realize the story and setting are a little different, but after that isn't this just another Banjo-Kazooie, Mario 64, Zelda...? I don't see this as some kind of niche title or cult classic. Looks like a game made for the masses in a similar vein to MW2. Don't get me wrong, this game looks like it will be brilliant, but what makes it so unique? I'm rather confused.

It's not a platformer at all, is it...? There was no platforming gameplay in the demo, at least.

Nope, it's an open world driving game/brawler/RTS.

Podunk wrote:

It's not a platformer at all, is it...? There was no platforming gameplay in the demo, at least.

It seemed to play like Zelda OoT to me. I guess I'd consider that a 3d platformer. Besides that I cannot jump, what differentiates this from a 3D platformer? Possibly my understanding of what makes a 3D platformer is wrong.
EDIT: What RTS elements does Brutal Legend have? Is that the Overlord minion-kind-of headbangers I've seen in some videos?

elewis17 wrote:
Podunk wrote:

It's not a platformer at all, is it...? There was no platforming gameplay in the demo, at least.

It seemed to play like Zelda OoT to me. I guess I'd consider that a 3d platformer. Besides that I cannot jump, what differentiates this from a 3D platformer? Possibly my understanding of what makes a 3D platformer is wrong.
EDIT: What RTS elements does Brutal Legend have? Is that the Overlord minion-kind-of headbangers I've seen in some videos?

Besides not being able to do the defining action of a 3d platformer?

elewis17 wrote:

EDIT: What RTS elements does Brutal Legend have? Is that the Overlord minion-kind-of headbangers I've seen in some videos?

Kind of, but more complicated than that, from what I've read. There are asymmetrical factions, support units with special abilities, resource management, that kind of thing.

Yeah, man, you're talking about a 3rd-person action adventure game, not a platformer.

Platform game, or platformer, is a video game genre characterized by jumping to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles. It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps. The most common unifying element to these games is a jump button; other jump mechanics include swinging from extendable arms, as in Ristar or Bionic Commando, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines, as in Alpha Waves. These mechanics, even in the context of other genres, are commonly called "platforming," a verbification of the term "platform." Games where jumping is automated completely, such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, fall outside of the genre.

As far as why it's not just another third-person action adventure game, well there are the RTS elements (yes, the headbangers though you get other units as well) but mostly it's about the funny for me. Psychonauts was a platformer, and not even a very good one, but it kept me going because it was funny as hell with a great, stylish universe around it. Brutal Legend looks much the same; the gameplay doesn't make me desperately want to play it, the comedic elements and badass art design make me want to play it. If the gameplay is just generically fun I'm okay with that.

I agree with Trophy Husband for the most part, except that this is Double Fine, and they deserve it. Or at the very least Tim Schafer deserves it. I would assume everyone else at Double Fine deserves it, too, but they might all be jerks. Plus, this is such a unique game that I'm really, really hoping it doesn't get lost amidst a sea of bland sequels and generic mediocre crap. I would hate to see this game do poorly, especially considering the pretty generous marketing push from EA, when a bland-ass FPS that brings nothing new to the table like Modern Warfare 2 is guaranteed to sell in the trillions.

The demo, while frigging awesome, really doesn't showcase much in the gameplay department. It does make it look like a stylish yet not terribly deep action game, but there are plenty of great games that had terrible demos. The bigger in scope a game is, the more difficult it is to demo properly. So, perhaps, if you're uncertain about the gameplay, a rental is a wise choice. I just hope that, should it be every bit as awesome as I know deep down in my 'roid-shrunk balls it will be, that those who rent it will see the brilliance and immediately purchase it, and then burn down the rental store for even allowing people to rent the game when they should have pre-ordered it from Gamestop/EB and picked it up day one (Tenacious D guitar, f*ck yeah)! And then probably regret burning the rental store down, because without it you probably wouldn't have purchased the game to begin with. But it doesn't matter, because now you have Brutal Legend, and you'll never need another thing for the rest of your life.

I sincerely hope that nobody is avoiding this game because it's too weird or different, because that's the kind of thinking that keeps you away from truly amazing things like, Psychonauts, Okami, Shadow of the Colossus and that arcade game where you shove the giant rubber finger in the plastic butt. People who do not want to shove fingers in butts are dead to me!

EDIT: I'm making a note here. Fixed a comma and changed the mention of Portal to Okami because Portal was a huge success.

Indeed. The gameplay does sound and look pretty unique from what I've seen, but, like Psychonauts, it's the setting and characters that really differentiates itself from the rest of the gaming world. It's what's pushing to buy this game, although I have a feeling I'll enjoy the gameplay as well.

I actually enjoyed the platforming in Psychonauts. The floaty bubble helped a lot with making it less frustrating. Still, I preferred when it was more like a point-and-click adventure game, like in Psycho-Suburbia.

I stand corrected and enlightened. Thank you gentlemen.

The references in this game are gonna keep me going for a long time:

Not only does said boss now proudly sport an "Employee of the Month" sticker, but his shirt has a giant image of General Lionwhyte on it; Schafer quips, "You can tell he's employee of the month because he's a huge suck-up."

Ha! White Lion sucks.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I'm not sure how the "command an army" thing is going to play out. I don't really like RTS games that much, and I hated, hated HATED Overlord (though, to be fair, that had more to do with the crummy map design lack of a decent minimap than anything else).

The difference is Brutal Legend has you building a giant concert stage to destroy huge armies of darkness with the awesomeness of your rock.

boogle wrote:

I thought PC piracy was a reason for a possible delay/not realease on the platform.

Boogle buddy, I don't think Certis is going to appreciate that link.

I actually haven't heard anything but speculation on this topic. Double Fine is keeping everything about this issue close to their chest.

I thought PC piracy was a reason for a possible delay/not realease on the platform.
*Link removed, just google it*
Hmmmmm.

If you're talking about a copy of the game on torrent sites, I wouldn't be surprised. There are tons of people with moded Xbox 360's who download games and I'd guess many of these drop prior to release. I don't think its a huge problem or even comes close to the PC problem because the difficulty is much greater for one than the other.

My copy just shipped from Amazon so I'll have it tomorrow.

Got my voice message from Gamestop telling me my copy will be in tomorrow. The kicker is they got Jack Black to do the message.

LupusUmbrus wrote:

Got my voice message from Gamestop telling me my copy will be in tomorrow. The kicker is they got Jack Black to do the message. :D

Seriously? Damn I didn't get Jack Black, just a random woman.

Luckily (for my convenience) someone actually got a recording of it. Nothing mind blowing, but it was mildly amusing.