Tim Schafer talks Brutal Legend, critical response, and DLC

I've really enjoyed Brütal Legend, even though I sadly haven't been able to finish it yet (I got to the dry ice mines stage battle) and frankly I don't think the stage battles detract from the game at all. They're a lot of fun, even though I grew up on RTS games (Dune II, C&C, Red Alert, Starcraft) and it requires a bit of re-thinking to win (don't turtle! DO NOT TURTLE!) they're still awesome and challenging.

What Tim has said before is true: If you think of it like an RTS game, you won't do as well. When I tried the dry ice mines battle, I tried to play it like I do in an RTS, where I set up defenders around my perimeter before building up a large army to decimate the enemy. I got OWNED. So hard. I didn't use my solos enough, and the enemy would just bust up my defenders like sitting ducks. I wasn't aggressive enough and it took me an hour before I finally won.

There are tons of ways to make the stage battles easier - solos are the main one, but also in the overworld you get very nice bonuses for collecting fire serpents (like more health and regen for Eddie, and an aura that heals allies), not to mention tricking out the Deuce.

The game is FUN, and I definitely recommend it. I will grant you that yes, the whole game was not explicitly shown in the demo or in the advertising. There were, however, tons of videos and interviews about the stage battles all over the internet. It's like buying Saint's Row 2 and being surprised there's minigames in it. (Septic Avenger, AWAY!)

Brutal Legend has some really cool ideas, and I thought the world of metal they created was amazing. It's definitely something I would love to revisit as soon as it decides what kind of game is wants to be.

Great world, great characters, fairly decent storyline (fell apart at the end in my opinion), but that pseudo RTS element just killed it for me. I'd love to see a sequel that focuses on an open-world hack n' slash, maybe throw in swappable sidekicks (max limit 3, limit controls to menu settings for "attack", "defend", "heal", that sort of thing), more natural movement controls... yeah, I'd give it a second chance without a hesitation. But I don't see any value in BL DLC as it stands, because I don't have any desire to ever participate in another stage battle, ever.

I'd even like to see something of a "do-over" re-imagining of the first game. You could even include the stage battles but have them operating outside of Eddie's control, use scripted series of events to help the player figure out where they need to be on the battlefield to help their side win.

Ah well. Woulda coulda shoulda.

Looks like it'd be a fun game if I liked the metal stuff, but it's just not for me. Sorry, Tim.

Tim, PLEASE take this as a sign to go back and do adventure games. The genre is coming back and you were such a boon to it. I liked Psychonauts, Brutal Legend was okay, but it pales in comparison to Full Throttle and Grim Fandango.

The RTS genre can stand up on its own but PLEASE, Timmy, adventure games NEED you!

Tim, take all the money you made with BL and make a better sequel. I loved the concept but hated the RTS part of it. Anyway, this game made me laugh for the first 2 hours and does a good job at what it does, just not for me.

I liked this game--and I'm not an RTS fan at all. The RTS elements blend in with the game just fine. If you fail, you get to try again--so it's not as though there's a lot of pressure. There are more RPG elements than RTS elements--and that's something that appeals to me. Plus, the game world is creative and interesting--and driving around an open world in a hot rod while listening to heavy metal is a blast.

I agree with what others have said... the RTS elements, while creative and enjoyable to a degree, were the central focus for far too much of the adventure. I wanted to run, JUMP, hack and slash my way through legions of demons, then have some huge stage battles here and there.

And, from the looks of the game early on, I thought it was going to be a straight up action/adventure title with units that aided you in combat on occasion... didn't know it was going to turn into a pseudo-RTS.

All in all, it was still a great game. I enjoyed the imaginative world, the detail put throughout and the background leading up to the story, as well as the story, itself, along with its characters.

I just wish Eddie could jump.

WHY DON'T YOU FIX THE ONLINE FIRST?

New DLC would always be welcome, but I'm really hoping they patch the PS3 mutliplayer...specifically, the issues connecting with other players and the real bug - randomly erasing wins from your profile. Only need 2 more trophies, can you guess which ones? :\ mind you, DF are aware of it, so they're probably on it.

I love Tim Schafer's work, but I'll be honest here: the dreaded "RTS elements" killed any interest in this game for me.

On a brighter note, hopefully it will bring "RTS fans" into Schafer's universe-there seem to be a lot of them out there.

schafer and the gang should worry about fixing the completely horrid online experience before they worry about more DLC. there is no way he is happy with how that turned out and is just doing damage control.

Let's pretend Brutal Legend had a huge first month. Best selling game of the month. The games a huge hit, would Tim Schafer be saying the same thing? -Oh the game is selling well? I didn't know. I'm gonna wait till after Christmas, world of mouth of you know.- Bullshit! This is just another case of a game developer down playing a games marketing failure.

Not really a big fan of this game.

It was well known that the single player was focused on RTS-style battles since 2007. Don't believe me? Look up the 2007 cover story Game Informer did on Brutal Legend.

I don't know why people expected this game to be something it wasn't.

It was a good and fun game that turned out the way it was supposed to.

I agree that the demo was a poor indication of what to expect out of the game, but there was also enough information since 2007 to inform gamers on the RTS-style stage battles in the single player.

"the developers are still watching multiplayer online"

Cut to a man watching a monitor of a desert as a tumbleweed rolls by.

Well let's just hope Brutal Legend does well... that way we can live to see another Tim Schafer game in the future :)

You want Brutal Legend without the RTS elements? The solution is simple!

1. If you remove the RTS elements and focus on Avatar power, you have Nintey Nine Nights.

2. Play Nintey Nine Nights. You will be bored within one hour.

3. Go back to Brutal Legend.

I am very, very dissapointed in some of these gamers. They basically went "lol this game has RTS elements and therefore is a bad game RUN AWAY!"

They spent two years just working on the multiplayer, and it's the best multiplayer I played all year. I play it more than Modern Warfare 2, and despite what people believe, I see new players appearing all the time online. Word of mouth is spreading about how Mutliplayer rocks.

This game's mutliplayer has all the intensity of an action game with all the strategy of an RTS, and it's so simple you don't even have a HUD. It's not Tim Schafer's fault you're too stupid to learn the controls.

Again, play Nintey Nine Nights. Do you really wish Brutal Legend was like that???

I think this thread proves that the intersection of gamers who are both ardent Metal fans AND RTS fans represents a small/rare demographic.