Brütal Legend, by Double Fine Productions and EA, came out for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on Oct. 13.

This past Rocktober 13th, the twisted minds of Tim Schafer and his cohorts at Double Fine Productions unleashed “Brütal Legend” upon the world thus fulfilling every metal head’s wet dream.

The story goes like this: Eddie Riggs is the best Roadie in the business. He can build anything, fix anything and do anything. After an extraneous circumstance during pseudo-metal band Kabbage Boy’s concert, Eddie drips some blood onto his fierce-looking belt buckle, which sends him back in time to when the music was “real.” In this ancient time of metal and rock, Eddie meets resistance fighters who are trying to defeat oppression. The story evolves from there as Eddie builds an army, who call themselves Ironheade “with an E on the end so people know that they are not messing around,” to fight the likes of General Lionwhyte and eventually Emperor Doviculus.

First and foremost, “Brütal Legend” is a funny game. Humor permeates every aspect of it. Among the mock seriousness, the absurd characters and the silly dialogue, players are bound to laugh several times during the course of the campaign. Some of the time, though, the humor falls flat or takes a backseat when the story actually tries to be serious.

The surreal landscape of “Brütal Legend” is one of the most appealing aspects of the game. Every symbol of metal possible oozes forth from the landscape. In one area rests a giant stone electric guitar sticking partially out of the ground, reaching toward the sky. In another area, a massive seawall is made out of larger-than-life amplifiers. A lot of the enjoyment comes simply from exploring this fantastical universe of metal and music that has been brought to life.

These awe-inspiring sights aren’t comparable to top-of-the-line graphics of a game like “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.” What this game lacks in graphic quality, it makes up for in style. Copious amounts of blood spew from decapitated heads and severed limps during combat. The characters are cartoonish and outlandish - such as the Headbangers, with their oversized necks and thick skulls, or the Roadies, with their backs hunched over, loaded with amps. In all actuality, photo-realistic graphics would not work for a game like “Brütal Legend,” especially because this is a game that pokes fun at itself and its reference material quite often.

The characters presented in the game, but not necessarily the story, are another source of quality entertainment. General Lionwhyte is only concerned with glam and glitter, and he flies through the air by the sheer power of his hair alone. The Kill Master brings back the dead by playing his bass with strings made from spiders. Incredible amounts of time were spent on crafting such characters, and each character visibly stands out from one another.

“Brütal Legend” has an impressive who’s-who of metal legends that lend their voices for the game’s various antagonists and protagonists, including Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath and Rob Halford of Judas Priest. The star voice of this game, however, is hands down Jack Black. “Brütal Legend” would not be the game it is today without Jack Black voicing the lead character. He fits into the role of Eddie Riggs so perfectly that it’s hard to distinguish if the main character of this game is Eddie Riggs or Jack Black.

The single-player campaign can be completed easily in well under seven hours, which is in the end probably the right length for a game of this nature. A little more length can be squeezed out of this game with its plethora of side quests and collectibles. For instance, scattered around the world are partially buried relics that, when released, unlock a new song for Eddie’s car. As for side missions, they vary from sneak-attacking opposing forces on foot to calling down mortar shells from Eddie’s car. Unfortunately, the variety is a little thin, and some of the missions can become repetitive.

The game is mostly paced well, except near the end when it feels as if the developers were trying to wrap things up quickly. The plot is almost entirely cohesive, save for a few minor plot holes. Overall, though, it was an original idea, which is welcome in the current world of sequels and remakes.

For those expecting a pure action adventure, be warned. “Brütal Legend” is a unique beast of a game that combines two unlikely genres: the action-adventure and the real-time strategy, or RTS. The game treats this mash-up in a new and refreshing way.

“Brütal Legend” has a one-of-a-kind battle system. Battles between forces play out like a rock concert would. Each force has a stage that is their main base of operations. When these concert stages are built, Fan Geysers, which are the game’s main resources, appear. Once a force has built a Merch Booth on these Geysers, they can begin producing units from a wheel menu. The concert stage can be upgraded several times to gain access to new units. The fight is over once the opposing team’s stage is destroyed.

Most RTS games lack character development for the units in the army that players control. An interesting thing that “Brütal Legend” does is give attention to each individual unit. The first part of the game is centered on building an army, and several missions focus on individually recruiting each member. This adds character depth to the units that players command and adds further understanding of how each unit works. When players want a basic melee unit, for instance, they instantly know that they need a Headbanger instead of fumbling around in a production menu.

One downfall of the RTS type element is control. The interaction between units is controlled by various commands that Eddie can call out with the use of his guitar. This unusual style of control is fun, but it can be frustrating at times. Instead of being able to see a majority of the battlefield with ease as in most RTS games, players are restricted to Eddie’s limited sight and movements. Later in the single-player story, Eddie gains an ability that addresses this issue somewhat, but it doesn’t fully relieve the problem. The single-player story is usually good about directing the action to certain places at certain times, but some of the later battles can become annoying when too many things start happening at once.

Now, any game about Metal wouldn’t be complete without an awesome soundtrack. The game has over 100 metal tracks from all types of metal and various artists including Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Judas Priest, Rob Zombie and many others. Many of the songs are not unlocked at the beginning of the game, but they become unlocked as the players complete missions and raise hidden relics. Each mission usually has a song or two that thematically ties it to the action. All of the songs that the player has unlocked can be listen to via Eddie’s car, The Deuce.

“Brütal Legend” tries something new with this game, and it is mostly successful in trying to achieve what it sets out to do. It does have its various shortcomings, but it’s better to have new ideas entering the market instead of the old ones that flood the market, causing it to drown.

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“Brütal Legend”

Speakeasy rating: B

Publisher: EA

Genre: Action Adventure, RTS

Rating: Mature for blood and gore, intense violence, partial nudity, strong language and suggestive themes.