It’s funny, the Meat Circus is one of those levels I beat but didn’t find out until much later how hard it was. Same with the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time. Better not to know what you aren’t capable of sometimes.
I loved Stacking. One of the more original games in recent memory.
Out of all their games, my favorite gameplay is definitely in Psychonauts. I just thought they nailed the feel of the jump and how the double jump has you jumping off a levitation ball you generate in the air automatically. It just feels so right. As opposed to LittleBigPlanet, where I absolutely hate the basic gameplay because that most fundamental aspect of a platformer, the jump, feels floaty and weird and wrong. I just love Psychonauts’ gameplay because I love their basic gameplay at its core.
By the end of Brutal Legend, I was actually getting into the groove of the RTS battles, and learning to manage them and notice some of the details of the units and how they interact, but then the game suddenly ended. The main campaign is not even an adequate tutorial for the full breadth of Brutal Legend’s core gameplay.
I only learned from listening to Tom on the 3 Moves Ahead podcast just how much more there is to the RTS gameplay in Brutal Legend, and how the different factions work (the ones you don’t get to play in the campaign), and how the different units work in all those other factions and how much more detail and care there is in the rest of the game that most people (including myself) never got to see because we only played the adventure mode (the campaign). The real gameplay is in the skirmish, apparently. I always meant to go back to the game one day after listening to those 3 Moves Ahead episodes where Tom lays all that out, but I never did get around to it. Until then, I’ve always put a big question mark on what I think of Brutal Legend’s gameplay. It’s not really fair for me to judge it based on the campaign when I haven’t really tried the mode where the core gameplay actually shines.
OTOH, one game that used its campaign brilliantly to bring out the hybrid action/RTS gameplay was Sacrifice. Even though I played a lot of Skirmish Sacrifice by myself and with friends, I was gobsmacked when I finally tried the campaign. It’s actually really, really good, and it uses the RTS gameplay brilliantly. I would say it’s the best campaign done in an RTS game, period.
That’s actually a good point about the multiplayer. I played MP Brutal Legend once, and it seemed interesting, and certainly has more depth than the single player version of the game, but I just never bothered to get into it. I guess it never really caught on with other people either…which is a shame, because they seem to have put a decent amount of effort into it making it good. If the PC version comes out with improved controls over the Xbox version, I may give it another shot just for the multiplayer.
“The food is terrible and the portions are too small!”
Kidding aside, I don’t think I’ve ever finished a Double Fine game, for the reasons mentioned in this thread: tons of personality & humor, but gameplay ranges from pedestrian to half-baked to hella frustrating.
That said, I’m fond enough of Brutal Legend that I’ll probably double-dip on the PC version someday, just to see if anything got fixed / improved in the port. Not “day of release” fare, certainly - “wishlist for Steam sale,” perhaps?
The 360 version was just about the best $6 I ever spent on a game.
I got into the multiplayer quite a bit back at the console release. It helps that there’s a good AI so you can skirmish without having to go online. Here’s my stage battle reference guide. I wrote back in the day.
Brutal Legend Stage Battle Guide
Bullet-point guide to managing stage battles in singleplayer, skirmish, co-op, or multiplayer.
Avatar
Unlike most all other RTS games in Brutal Legend you directly control a character on the battlefield. Your avatar is your camera control, army control, spell creator and fighting unit all rolled into one.
Avatar Action Priorities
Brutal Legend games are fast. Always be doing something! Start performing the highest priority task on the list and only move down the list if you can’t or it doesn’t make sense to do a higher priority task.
Build Units / Upgrade Your Stage - Unused fans are wasted fans.
Order / Direct Units - Keep pushing and reacting to enemy actions. Map control and knowing when to attack the stage is the key to winning!
Play a Solo - These are gamechangers and wildcards for every match
Scout / Intelligence - Fly around and see what your opponent is doing and building (there’s no minimap)
Double Team - Almost as game changing in a battle as a solo (Don’t forget to DT your stage when defending!)
Fight Alone - Use your combos. Use your car. Don’t be afraid to hit and run.
Combat
Your avatar is very capable in combat.
All the combos and moves from the single player game are available with the same attacks and controls for all three avatars.
Although avatars are powerful they can be damaged and even killed especially by large numbers of units.
If your avatar dies some fans will crowd surf your body back to the stage.
Although you’re only out of the fight for a short time your opponent will gain 50 fans.
Don’t forget to use lock-on, block, and dodge.
Flight
Avatars can get an overview of the battlefield and move quickly by flying.
Avatars can move over normally impassible terrain by flying over it including bridges and other overlapping terrain.
Flying avatars cannot attack or perform solos but they can recruit and command units.
Scout using your avatar, there’s no minimap in the game.
Guitar Solos
Solos are similar to the world abilities or spells used in other RTS games.
They can provide localized damage, buffs, or debuffs, affect your opponent’s avatar or recruiting ability, and other helpful things.
Some solos will require stage upgrades (increased tiers) before they can be used.
Powerful solos will also have a cooldown time before they can be used again.
Solos can only be interrupted any anti-avatar spell (Silence, Anvil, Chains) or by killing the avatar.
All factions have a set of common solos to rally the army, build merch booths, and summon your car and rally flag. The other solos are unique to your faction.
Only one weather solo can be in effect at any time.
Double Team
Almost every unit can be directly controlled by your avatar and gains a powerful special ability by double teaming.
Not only can the special ability change the tide of the battle but the double teamed unit protects your avatar, taking most damage first.
In the very early game an avatar can kill a starting squad, but an avatar double-teamed with the starting ranged weapon squad (Punishing Party, Bride, Razorgirls) can quickly kill an avatar.
Battlefield
Brutal Legend has seven battlefields with an extra two released as DLC. Each battlefield is symmetrical with stages on either end and fan geysers in between.
Stage
The objective of every battle is to destroy your opponent’s stage while protecting your own.
Stages are the source of your recruits and where your fans collect.
Upgrade your stage to move up a tier and unlock more powerful units and solos.
Stage health is represented by orange spotlights. Each spotlight is 10% health.
Ironheade’s spotlights are on Ormegoden’s tusks pointing down
Drowning Doom’s spotlights are along the front edge pointing down
Tainted Coil’s spotlights are in the center of the stage pointing up
You can double team with your stage for defensive abilities
Fog will heal and buff your units close to the stage
Heal will heal the stage 10% for 200 fans
Speakers will knockback nearby units on either side
White spotlights are aimed turrets at the top of the stage. Spotlights blasts can be charged by holding down the attack button.
Fan Geysers
At the start of the map fan geysers near the stage are claimed.
Geysers further out are protected by fan leeches.
Avatars cannot remove fan leeches, only army units.
Double Team attacks are effective at removing fan leeches.
Claim green neutral fan geysers by playing the fan tribute solo nearby.
Contested fan geysers are red.
Any enemy unit (except for the avatar) near a fan geyser will contest it.
The merch booth structure on a claimed geyser must be destroyed before it can be reclaimed.
Merch booths send pulses of fans to the stage on a regular basis with the rate depending on the map.
Always spend fans. There are no benefits to hoarding fans.
Recruit more units
Upgrade your stage (increase tier)
Upgrade your Tier 1 units (IH, DD only)
Army
Unit Recruiting
Each unit has a fan cost and a stage load cost. All costs are paid at the start of construction.
Stage load limit is 40 and cannot be changed.
Increase the rate of fans by claiming more fan geysers.
Multiple units can be queued for build.
Ironheade and Drowning Doom can only recruit one unit at a time from the stage.
Tainted Coil can recruit units at every Battle Nun, Warfather, and Overblesser.
Unit Types
In general units are defined as infantry or vehicle
Some units do more damage against a particular type: infantry, vehicle, or structure
Units also attack via ranged weapons or melee.
Melee units must be next to an enemy unit to do damage
Ranged units must be in range and line of sight to do damage
All tier 1 Ironheade and Drowning Doom units can be upgraded for increased health and damage.
Tainted Coil can recruit divine and superior units.
A Warfather can recruit a superior Battle Nun.
An Overblesser can recruit a superior Warfather or Battle Nun.
A superior Warfather can recruit a divine Battle Nun.
Superior Warfathers and Battle Nuns recruit superior units.
Divine Battle Nuns recruit divine units.
Command and Control
Without a cursor or minimap commanding your units in Brtual Legend is a little different from the usual RTS.
Army Commands
In general commands are given to all nearby units
Far away units are spotlighted by the color of the command they are executing
Charge (D-pad Up)
Orange spotlights
Short range attack
Ignore other targets until dead
Follow (D-pad Right)
Purple spotlights
Move towards the avatar (even while flying)
Engage units along the way
Defend (D-pad Down)
Blue spotlights
Stay at location
Engage nearby units but do not pursue
Move (D-pad Left)
Green spotlights
Move towards beacon
If beacon is on a structure ignore nearby units
If beacon is on ground attack nearby units
Selecting Units
Hold down “Y” to select individual units
On the ground direct the camera at each unit
In flight touch the pentagram to each unit
Selected units will glow light blue
The next D-pad command will be given only to the selected units
Move Beacon
Hold down “LB” and direct the camera to place a white spotlight anywhere on the battlefield
Use the move command (D-pad Left) to send units to the beacon
If the beacon is on a merch booth or stage units will ignore enemies until the structure is destroyed
Good for stealth attacks on structures
If the beacon is on the ground units will attack nearby enemies.
Rallying
The Rally Army solo orders all units to your current location
The Summon Flag solo creates a really flag at your current location
All recruited units will move to the rally flag unless given other orders
The rally flag can be picked up by your avatar and carried
Alerts
Your recruit queue is shown in the upper right part of the screen
Each bubble is a new unit or upgrade
Current unit fills in as the recruit or upgrade is completed
Unit alerts are shown in the lower right part of the screen
Red alerts are units or structures under attack
White alerts are newly recruited units
Direction to the unit is shown, distance from avatar is not indicated
Any word when this is being released?
2/26/13
$15? Hmm.
I’m actually playing Psychonauts for the first time right now and came into this thread to make the creative/brilliant/sometimes-really-quite-lacking-in-the-gameplay-department comment, but I see everyone beat me to it :)
I’l just say that you can add Grim Fandango to the list - fantastically imaginative design, kinda painful puzzles.
Grim Fandango is the worst game I’ve ever loved. The problem with Schafer’s adventure games is that he thinks that “thinking outside the box” makes for a good puzzle. The problem is that you find that nothing logical works, and of course the game won’t reward true outside-the-box thinking. Rather, it wants you to think of the weird solution that he thought of. Like most adventure games, the game only accepts one solution, which is about as inside-the-box as possible, it’s just that he’s moved the box into a dark corner.
It’s a great game if you play with a walkthrough open in another window. Otherwise it’s a matter of doing things at random to solve far too many of the puzzles.
that “leaked” steam list looks more and more accurate… I still hope for halo 3.
I hope there’s a mod that replaces him with Jack White.
Also, I preordered it just for the TF2 items.
Jack White the NPR guy?
I would buy the game just for that mod.
I wanted to get this but apparently its not working with the wireless 360 controllers, plus some more work to do with gfx (frame rate, resolution etc).
I guess I’ll wait until they sort these first.
Holy crap you have got to be kidding!? It’s a port! What were they thinking. That’s as bad as bioware with DA2.
I assume they are thinking to fix all that (actually that’s what they say on their website). Software projects don’t always pan out the way you plan them to. Hopefully it’ll all be sorted in a few weeks. I like DF’s games.
I’ve been playing with my wireless xbox controller without any problems. Tainted Coil FTW!!!