PixlBit

We played the demo for Brutal Legend that went up on Xbox Live and PSN, and it's awesome.

There was a demo for Brutal Legend at E3 2009, but since I was on the staff of Nintendo World Report at the time, I begrudgingly missed out on it.

Thankfully, that same demo came out on Xbox Live and PSN recently, and I got a chance to play it.

First off, the story is absurd and awesome. It starts off with roadie Eddie Riggs, voiced by Jack Black, lamenting about the fall of music while working for a new tween-oriented "heavy metal" band, Kabbage Boy. When one of the bastards from the band falls off of a precipice, Eddie saves the day, but is crushed in the process. Then, some ridiculous stuff happens and Eddie winds up in the land of heavy metal.

That's when the gameplay takes over. It's simple, with a button controller your axe, and another button controlling your guitar, which is used as a ranged attack. There's also a bunch of combos that the game introduces you to. Each new move is presented to you in a flashy single screen, which is both humorous and helpful.

After killing some demons, you meet up with another character who fights alongside you. You can do team attacks with her with the press of a button, but in this case, it was simple Fastball Special-like throw.

Eventually, you get to ride in Eddie's car, the Deuce, which , like the rest of the game, is easy to control. You plow over some demons and then wind up in a boss fight. You drive the car around the demon, pressing the nitrous when he slams down onto the ground, and then running through one of his tentacles.

The presentation of Brutal Legend is fantastic, and that's the main reason why I'm very excited for it. It also helps that the controls are very well presented and easy to use. I can't wait to see what ridiculous metal-inspired imagery shows up in the full game when it hits on October 13.