Oct 23, 6:28 pm
Developed by: Double Fine Productions
Published by: EA
Genre: Action (Adventure and RTS elements)
ESRB Content Descriptors: Rated M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes (there are settings to turn off bad language and bloody gore)
Also Available On: PlayStation 3
IGN rating: 9.0 Outstanding
GameInformer rating: 8 - 8.25
Best Features: The characters, the environments and the Heavy Metal Music!!!
Playing through Brutal Legend and exploring this amazing world, fighting glam rockers and emo kids in this hilarious and beautifully awesome tribute to Heavy Metal, has been a unique experience. I remember seeing this game at E3 and was mildly interested in it. It wasn’t until I played through the first level did I really decide this game is BADASS!! The first level is epic, it’s funny and wildly entertaining. Ultimately it was the deciding factor in me relentlessly devoting an entire week to playing this game in the hopes of completing it on Brutal difficulty. I wish I could say I’ve finished it but according to my game stats I am only 83% complete.
What does 83% mean? It means that in 30 hours of game play I have:
22 of 50 achievements
freed 119 of 120 Bound Serpents
earned over 3,000 fire tributes
viewed 32 of 32 landmarks
found 12 of 13 Legends
unlocked 78 of 107 songs
completed 23 of 24 jumps
learned 12 of 12 Solos
purchased 43 of 47 upgrades
unlocked the entire map
completed all of my side missions up to Mission 18
and only quit the game forever twice.
If you’ve been following me on twitter you would know that I have had a love hate relationship with this game. I have been totally amused yet extremely challenged. One minute I’m laughing my ass off and the next I’ve thrown in the towel. I thought I would share some of the things I’ve learned, the sites I’ve used and my “Brutal Defeats” with you in hopes that they will lead to your “Brutal Victory”.
Note * for achievement hunters looking for a quick score this isn’t the game for you. But for people who are willing to invest the time the 1000 base score does seem attainable…eventually. This game for me, feels a lot like GTA (with the exception of the RTS missions) it’s has a massive open world with lots of hidden items and side quests. This is a hobby game, work on completing it over time – that way it’s always fun. 
1st priority: Find all the hidden items
I completed the first couple of missions quickly. Once I had access to enough of the map and the option to free roam I made viewing vistas, finding all the bound serpents, relics, legends, songs, solos and jumps my priority. Finding all of these gives you “fire tributes” – something you will need to upgrade your car, weapons and they give Eddie (voiced by Jack Black) physical upgrades as well. Having as many of these upgrades as possible becomes valuable in the later stage battles. I found almost all of this stuff on my own. Before I advanced the story I used this map - http://www.achievementhunter.com/games/guides/brutallegend/ to clean up the stuff I had missed.
2nd priority: Complete all side quests available
As soon as these side missions were available I went around and completed them all, because this also gives me “fire tributes”. Once I finished all my side quests and went to advance the story, more side quests became available after completing the level.
* You spend your “fire tributes” like money in the Motorforges you raise up by playing the relic raising solo. These Motorforges are like your garage. They are also handy for quick saves.
* By finding everything I could and completing all my side missions I was maxed out on “fire tributes” and upgrades before advancing to the next part of the story. I am playing on Brutal so I needed all of the extra help I could get.
3rd priority: Completing the Stage Battles successfully
At one point most of your primary missions turn into Real Time Strategy style game play. So far I’ve I have found them extremely difficult because I have never played an RTS and wasn’t quite sure what I needed to do. Stage battles start at Story Mission 6 with The Battle for Bladehenge. This is the only tutorial you are going to get so pay attention.
After this it seems like never ending stage battles with a few vehicle escort missions in between. After Mission 13: Doom’s Dawn the stage battles get a lot harder. The glam rockers are gone having been replaced by a never-ending sea of emo punks that just won’t die. Slowly I am figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Here is what has worked for me:
• The key is to hold at least 2 – 3 fan / merchandise towers, forget about any other towers.
• Don’t spend your fans too quickly – save them to upgrade your stage ASAP (an upgraded stage allows for more powerful units)
• Make it a priority to get out your more powerful units quickly (Roadies, head splitters and Bouncers)
• I found the “Call of the Wild” solo helpful when tearing down enemy towers.
• Double team with your units for more effective attacks
• The “Battle Cry” solo pumps your troops up and they deal extra damage – I play it a lot.
• The “Facemelter” solo is also helpful but you need to be in close proximity to your enemies.
• driving your Deuce around smashing guys is very effective - the heat seeking missiles & land mines are essential upgrades
• Find out what your primary objective is and concentrate on destroying it instead of holding towers.
On Mission 11: Sanctuary of Sin I got fed up with trying to take and hold towers that as soon as I could call out Roadies I jumped on top of one and we b-lined it straight to the enemy gate and destroyed it. I completed that level on Brutal, barely holding one tower, and with only 1 roadie. It was kind of awesome.
I am no expert by any means but I hope this helps some of you in your quest to bring this awesome game to completion. I still have a lot of ground to cover and I think the truly hard stuff lies ahead. I will keep you posted on my success, if you keep me posted on yours. Rock on!
I would like to thank the following sites for keeping me sane: <3
Mahalo offers some great walkthroughs.
RoosterTeeth has a few Achievement Help Videos.
Bukisa gives awesome Stage Battle advice.
