I Came, I Rocked, I Brütally Conquered!

I beat Brütal Legend on Saturday.  While the experience was great, it was over too quickly.  I wish there was more to the story.  I'm not going to give any spoilers ('cause I think everyone should experience the story themselves), but I'll just say that they drop a huge plot twist, one that I felt needed some further exploration and development afterward.  Instead, you are immediately swept into the final battle.  No time to discover your true destiny, just go in there and kill the main bad guy.  That part did feel a bit rushed, because I would like to know more about the history of that event.  If you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, finish the game.  You'll know what I'm referring to when you get there.

So, what do you do when you beat Brütal Legend?  Well, you can still roam around the world, finishing missions and finding all the hidden crap.  There actually seems to be a good reason for this, and not just for the Achievement you get for getting 100%.  If you look at the map, you'll see a final mission marker.  When you get there, you can't do anything with it, yet.  My theory is that something will happen once you reveal all the hidden goodies, maybe even the real ending (the cinematic after defeating Doviculus does feel quite open ended).  So, I guess I'm not done with the game, after all, which is fine.  I can definitely see myself cruising around, listening to heavy metal, while searching for the secrets of this savage land.  Add on the fact that I haven't even touched multiplayer yet, and I've still got lots of quality time with this game.

Now, after playing Brütal Legend, one question will hang in everyone's mind: will there be a sequel?  If you know anything about Tim Schafer, you're probably thinking that a sequel is highly unlikely.  Tim Schafer makes a game, then moves on.  That's his style.  However, there are a few factors that could increase chances of a sequel.  First off, Brütal Legend may just be a more commercially successful game than Psychonauts, considering that EA gave the game a good deal of marketing (Not that it really needed it.  Plenty of people knew about the game long ago).  The numbers aren't out, yet, but, if they're good, EA may try to convince Tim Schafer to revisit the world of metal.  Another thing is that Tim Schafer loves to put a lot of history in his games, and Brütal Legend is no exception.  There is a lot of background details lying around to use in a sequel.  Even if Tim Schafer turns down the prospect, they could go ahead with another sequel, just like Sony did with God of War (Though, in my opinion, they should have stopped with God of War II, so I hope Schafer would be gung-ho for a sequel).  At this point, only time will tell.

Starting tomorrow, I'm going to start a Halloween special, where I'll write about horror games, movies, and other things.  There's going to be plenty of posts, as I have a lot of ideas for topics.  On November 1st, I'll try to post pictures of the party I'm having on Halloween night.

Kaiser out