Brutal Legend

 Xbox 360
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 88 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 74 out of 88
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 88
  3. Negative: 0 out of 88
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Cheat Code Central
    74
    Brutal Legend didn't live up to my expectations. While I absolutely loved the immersive world, despite the graphical shortcomings, and the amazing voice work and soundtrack, despite the inclusion of Whitesnake and Skid Row, I was left miffed by the lack of main story content and the uninspired gameplay.
  2. DailyGame
    73
    Unless you're absolutely die-hard about hard rock and heavy metal, Brutal Legend is one game you can relegate to a rental.
  3. Absolute Games
    71
    If only Brutal Legend's gameplay was as imaginative as its cool look! Try not to fall into a rut of side-missions spread over 64 square kilometers, and you’ll enjoy the short single-player campaign. And yet, Shafer & Co. can do much better than this. Just ask Ben, Manny, or Raz.
  5. Wired
    70
    Brütal Legend does a lot of things wonderfully: It’s a technically adept, graphically beautiful game with a surprisingly good story and a great soundtrack. The hybrid gameplay just doesn’t meet these high standards.
  6. Metro GameCentral
    70
    It may not be a great game but even card-carrying metal haters will get drawn into this gutsy homage.
  7. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    70
    If you're a metal fan, you'll love it. But if you didn't have to prise your fingers out of the devil-horn pose to play, you'll finish it in a day and feel underwhelmed.
  8. Edge Magazine
    70
    Brutal Legend has the looks and the attitude, and a hefty chunk of original and engaging content to go with it. Whenever it goes near a stage, though, it begins to fall apart. [Dec 2009, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews
  9. RealGamer
    70
    Brutal Legend serves up a strange mix of action adventure gameplay and heavy metal that even more bizarrely works quite well.
  10. AceGamez
    70
    Brutal Legend is a conundrum, a game I wanted to love with all of my heart, that starts off on one path at an exhilarating pace, but then jumps off, and gets bogged down in ideas and concepts that it didn't need to trouble itself with.
    All this publication's reviews
  11. Gamestyle
    70
    Brutal Legend is a great game to visit and experience but the gameplay doesn’t make us want to stay.
  12. Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
    70
    Not quite the number of the beast - but from Schafer it's a minor disappointment. [Christmas 2009, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. Destructoid
    60
    It's with a heavy heart that after almost 15 hours of play (including multiplayer and single-player sidequests), we have to report that it simply doesn't deliver the way we had wanted it to. For fans of metal, there are enough inside jokes and nods here to make you smile, and even casual observers of the culture will find enough to hold their attention. But ultimately, the game disappoints, with some "been there, done that" gameplay mixed with some potentially interesting concepts that either fall flat, or sometimes feel like like a chore.
  14. Giant Bomb
    60
    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.
  15. GameCritics
    60
    Given the length of the game—around 12 hours or so at Normal difficulty—Brütal Legend gets more tiresome the further in you go. Stage Battles (the official name for the RTS sections) kill the pace, and the side missions are repetitive and boring. Somehow, all these negatives don't counterbalance an amazing artistic style. R

Awards & Rankings

39
#39 Best Xbox 360 Game of 2009
12
#12 Most Discussed Xbox 360 Game of 2009
49
#49 Most Shared Xbox 360 Game of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 309 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 221 out of 309
  2. Mixed: 56 out of 309
  3. Negative: 32 out of 309
  1. Zdendislav
    Feb 10, 2013
    10
    I'd say there is only one flaw about this game...that nearly nobody knows this...Superb mix of action and real-time strategy, top notchI'd say there is only one flaw about this game...that nearly nobody knows this...Superb mix of action and real-time strategy, top notch soundtrack, exceptional screenplay, lots of fun and Jack Black as a main protagonist. For me it's definitely 10/10.… Full Review »
  2. gamer
    Oct 16, 2009
    0
    For me, any game under 7 is a zero since i won't play it for long so why should it matter? anyways, the game is an utter disappointment. For me, any game under 7 is a zero since i won't play it for long so why should it matter? anyways, the game is an utter disappointment. i've played 4 hrs of it. i can't say there is anything great about this. the soundtrack is good but who cares? it is basically real songs that you can find anywhere. the humor while being great at first, gets old REALLY fast. the quests are utterly simple, i can't help but feel that this game was made for casual gamers. the combat is idiotic, the entire time i wasn't even sure that i could die at all. the world is almost empty, it feels like theres nothing to explore(it seems full but they're just fillers). raising the garages are stupid too. this game lets you find metal ruins and raise them, it lets you go inside and buy upgrades. at first i thought there would be many ruins, but it turns out it's basically the same thing everywhere. i was shocked the first time i entered my second garage and realized its the same thing. i did not advance far enough to see real rts but from what i've seen, it looks like they were trying to create Overlord but failed miserably. Overlord wasn't great to begin with. last but not least, this is a small bit but it bugged me to no end; the car automatically brakes when you get go of the gas. no game i've ever played does that, the car always drifts when you let go. it was just such a weird feeling i couldn't shake it. tl;dr boring as hell hack and slash game. difficulty and depth was made for casual gamers ie those who play web games in their free time. hack and slash is a very difficult genre to make a good game out of, one of the only few good ones was god of war. brutal legends is recommended for those who don't play games often but enjoy metal music and themes.… Full Review »
  3. Lance
    Oct 18, 2009
    6
    The game starts out lively and fresh. The dialogue and characters are both interesting and witty. Combat is introduced as simple button The game starts out lively and fresh. The dialogue and characters are both interesting and witty. Combat is introduced as simple button smashing. At times mixing an x after a series of a. It doesn't go anywhere though. In addition there are combat mechanics such as blocking, which really do nothing other then hinder the player. During large fights the player will be juggle resource management, strategy, build cues, army orders, music riffs (rythm game), personal combat and well most players just have too much on their mind to time blocks. Moving on the game's story progresses nicely with additional side missions available for those wishing to earn extra fire tribute, the game's currency. These side missions just like combat, they start out simply enough and never progress. And because of the ratcheting difficulty they sort of turn into a must if the player is on a harder level. Because of their repetitive nature it in essence turns into grinding/farming. The RTS elements of the game are great but with the added demands of Eddie's presence on the battle field to ensure victory, it's just another burdensome mechanic. In the end the player is left juggling grinding side missions, tracking down ball gagged dragons to earn boosts need to stay competitive, and a host of other items. Adding in the god awful, unbalanced races and it's enough for some players to walk away. On a side note, I suspect if neither Jack Black, or Time Schaffer were attached to this game, we… Full Review »
See all user reviews »