The Jon Venture

It seems that my playful hints of frustration for some players in regards to the latest Magic: The Gathering expansion for Xbox Live Arcade were foreshadowing my own.

Magic: The Gathering- Duels of the Planeswalkers- Duel the Dragon follows the same formula as the core XBLA game that brought many Magic players out of retirement earlier this year in June. Released on October 21^st, 2009 by Wizards of the Coast and Stainless Games, Duel the Dragon is based upon the popular Magic: The Gathering trading card game that sees gamers take the role of powerful mages called Planeswalkers who are vying for control over the Multiverse. Their grandiose battles are represented through the use of playing cards, which in turn represent the various creatures, spells, and resources needed to win. The initial Duels of the Planeswalkers game was the top downloaded game in the first two weeks of its release, but was filled with a myriad of bugs and glitches that could have easily turned off all but the most hardcore Magic veterans. Apparently, Wizards of the Coast has yet to deal with its infestation.

For 400 Microsoft Points, Duel the Dragon brings quite a bit of content and replay value to a game that had become stagnant months after its release. Gamers can now unlock three more decks to use, including Tezzeret’s “Relics of Doom” artifact deck that served as the final battle of the last single player campaign. In the Duel the Dragon campaign, gamers may also unlock a blue/white mill deck and a fast-paced warrior deck over five new stages to master. The much shorter campaign also introduces gamers to Nicol Bolas, the all-powerful elder dragon planeswalker whose deck is filled with some of the most powerful Magic cards seen on XBLA to date. Experienced Magic players will definitely remember his name, as his deck can alter the playing field almost as much as his namesake card in the real game. No spoilers here, but just make sure to get your strategy up and running as quickly as possible before Nicol Bolas forces you to ragequit.

If you’d like to once again achieve 100% completion status for Duels of the Planeswalkers, the expansion will add a minimum of 70(!) wins needed to unlock all the new cards available for new and existing decks after completing the single player campaign. A minimum of 70, of course, because chances are you’re going to get mana @#$%ed a few times and throw in the towel. No worries, it still happens to the best of us.

With everything added in Duel the Dragon, WotC and Stainless Games still have many issues to resolve that were present in the core Duels of the Planeswalkers game. One of the main frustrations a multi-color deck gamer, such as myself, had in Duels of the Planeswalkers was the ability to choose which lands were being tapped in order to cast a spell. The concept is a basic one, learned from the core instructional mechanics from the earliest MtG releases to the Portal sets introduced to draw in novice players, but this modern version of a favorite 90’s pastime can’t seem to get it right. An entire game could be lost on a single turn if that one mana you needed for an Overrun or Plague Wind was tapped by the game for the stupid little creature you didn’t even really need in the first place. Even more basic, and still unaddressed in Duel the Dragon, is a way to track your lands beyond counting the card borders after they’ve been stacked upon one another. A simple little counter in a box will do, so I know I have enough forests and swamps to play my Violent Ultimatum and make my opponent panic as his best defenses are wiped clean off the field.

Besides the basic mana issues left to fix in Duel the Dragon, the freezing issues that were present in the first Duels game persist. When beginning a game of either Two- Headed Giant or any of the multiplayer variants, it is still a common occurrence for me or many of the Magic players among my friends to experience a complete game shutdown resulting in an everlasting load screen. That’s frustrating, to say the least, when you’ve finally got all your friends in one spot to determine who rules this digital playground. If your game freezes when playing against unfamiliar competitors online and you choose to turn off your console, it could also be seen as a sign of cowardice. I don’t know about your Magic circles growing up, but I would much rather be seen as a rookie taking on all comers and getting my tail handed to me than a coward who gives up when the game doesn’t go his way. Those guys never lasted longer than a few weeks before their reputations garnered them no mercy from competitors and scraps to trade for in their card folders. You don’t want to be that kid.

Duel the Dragon is an acceptable expansion for the existing Magic metagame on Xbox Live for only 400 Microsoft Points. While it does add plenty of new cards for gamers to use, there are still core issues that need to be addressed in order to streamline the Magic experience. All I’d like to do is count my lands and choose which ones to tap in order to thwomp my enemies. Give gamers those options, fix the bugs, and there will be a new renaissance for Magic on Xbox Live.

Oh, and fix the existing issues preventing gamers from getting achievement points for Duel the Dragon. You don’t want an angry mob of Magic nerds on your hands.

Not quite.

You can put away those pitchforks and flaming torches for the Brutal Legend fanboys as I’m not going to gush about the game as you’d expect, not entirely anyways. There are some key features that bring the game into the forefront of the year’s releases, and a few that make me question whether or not the game will have as large a mass appeal as I had anticipated. That seems to be the overall theme in Brutal Legend; a dichotomy of the good and the bad. Not “stuck in an elevator with John Mayer music” bad, just not what I was expecting.

The main appeal of Brutal Legend is definitely its strength in storytelling. After his untimely demise on stage, roadie Eddie Riggs is transported to a heavy metal fantasy world by the fire demon Ormagoden. Tim Schafer, the game’s creative director and the mind behind Psychonauts, does a great job of immersing players in a land that resembles something between a Viking wonderland and an S&M outlet store. Riggs arrives in this strange land and is touted as the legendary warrior that will free humanity from enslavement… or possibly destroy it. With such epic implications, it definitely helps that Brutal Legend does not take itself too seriously. Had we been expected to receive the game as a serious tale, it would not have the same humor and charm we get from the great voice work and comedic timing. No spoilers here, but there are a few characters that you encounter who play their smarmy roles to near perfection.

Being a heavy metal video game, there is a soundtrack worthy of any fan’s playlist. You’ll race through the world slaughtering demons listening to the likes of Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and Dragonforce in your upgradable hot rod. If you want to hear something different while cruising in your rocket-launching Druid Plow, you can instantly change to one of the over 100 unlocked tracks chosen by Schafer himself. Even some of the game’s basic mechanics, such as playing solos on your magical guitar for attacks and buffs, employ cool guitar riffs you’ll not grow tired of too soon.

Strangely enough, there is a huge element of Brutal Legend that was not included in the demo and barely mentioned in much of the pre-release press. Yes, the game includes fun racing sequences and a few fetch quests I’d rather forget, but the real-time strategy aspect of Brutal Legend implemented in the single player campaign and online multiplayer mode was strangely not announced in the concert line-up. The whole “battle of the bands” aspect of Brutal Legend, where Eddie Riggs fights opposing factions in this heavy metal fantasy land, is set up as an RTS battle akin to playing Code Masters’ Overlord games. I did not mind these RTS sequences, as they did add variety to the chain of optional secondary quests, but they were not mentioned in detail before I reserved the game and paid it in full before its release. If you’ve got an RTS, call it an RTS, but don’t coax gamers into thinking that the game is an outright action adventure spree when there are specific needs for strategic elements to be employed. When first playing the RTS levels of Brutal Legend, it felt as if I was listening to an experimental track off of your favorite rock band’s newest album; you cringe at first, but soon begin to embrace the track’s totality as the culmination of elements that have been discovered thus far in the album. That’s basically what it comes down to: the guitar solos and special attacks learned by Riggs in the preliminary levels are but a piece of what you can use to overthrow General Lionwhyte or the Drowning Doom. You get used to the RTS elements of Brutal Legend, but it bothers me as a gamer that it was not mentioned when I first picked the game up. Still an absolute blast to play, and I now find myself replaying those sequences to achieve the best possible strategy, but I don’t appreciate having something snuck in backstage and thrust towards the fans.

Ultimately, Brutal Legend is the incredible game it has been touted to be for nearly a year, despite a few repetitive side quests and RTS elements snuck in that might turn some gamers off. Brutal Legend still remains one of the best gaming investments I have made this year outside of Arkham Asylum and the upcoming Modern Warfare 2. Not seen as a game of the year candidate for some gamers in the community, no one can argue that Brutal Legend is one of the most fun and inspired experiences you can have on a current generation platform.

Go forth and rock, gamers. Save mankind through the power of heavy metal and become a Brutal Legend.

After defeating Tezzeret in the Magic: The Gathering- Duels of the Planeswalkers strategy card game this past June on XBLA, gamers and card sharks have been eagerly looking for a new challenge. With a successful launch of Duels backing them up, Wizards of the Coast announced they will be releasing the first expansion Duel the Dragon, on XBLA next week on October 21^st, 2009. New decks, a new single-player campaign, and the arrival of Nicol Bolas in Duel the Dragon will bring even more depth to the landscape forged by Duels.

The new downloadable content includes:

• Three new playable decks, including Tezzeret’s “Relics of Doom” Planeswalker deck
• Three new unlockable cards for each of the eight original decks
• New Two-Headed Giant co-op levels
• Three new puzzling challenge levels

Also announced for the Duel the Dragon expansion are new unlockable decks for dragon master Sarkhan Vol and blue spellslinger Jace Beleren. For a mere 400 Microsoft Points, Magic fans will have plenty of reasons to throw their controllers in defeat on October 21^st.

We’ve practiced our most metal battle cries in anticipation to the release of Tim Schafer’s heavy metal action adventure game Brutal Legend, which will be available to purchase today, Rocktober 13^th, 2009 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. That is, of course, unless you were one of the gamers throwing up the horns and shouting last night at one of the many midnight launch events across the U.S. for Brutal Legend, surrounded by metalheads and scantily clad voluptuous women in schoolgirl outfits.

No?

Me either.

My GameStop apparently wasn’t metal enough to be on the guest list for the event.

Attendees can send pictures of their Brutal Legend midnight launch event to jon@sfx-360.com, and be sure to include “Brutal Legend Giveaway Contest” in the subject line. Those scantily clad, voluptuous women in schoolgirl outfits that were mentioned earlier… you lovely ladies can send in your shots as well. Let’s open up the floodgates; any gamer can send in their most metal picture ever taken. Even if you were passed out last night after a rough gig and did not attend a midnight launch, send in your heavy metal pictures. Mosh pits, trashed concert grounds, the backseat of your mom’s Focus… every original picture sent will be considered and judged for their heavy metal awesomeness.

We will post the best images for the community to behold in all your metal glory, and the winner as chosen by the SFX-360 staff will receive a brand new copy of Brutal Legend from the SFX-360 Vault of Awesomeness. That’s what we call the broom closet at SFX-360 Headquarters.

The contest ends at 12:00pm EST on Friday, October 16, 2009. Rock on, gamers, and be sure to check back for the winners of the Brutal Legend Giveaway Contest!

The release of Tim Schafer’s action adventure game Brutal Legend has become nothing less than a monumental event for both metalheads and gamers alike. Transported to a fantasy land inspired by the works of such heavy metal music acts as Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, and Motorhead, roadie Eddie Riggs must fight demons, free humanity, and attempt to score with hot metal groupies. We could all only be so lucky.

To celebrate the release of Brutal Legend today, Rocktober 13^th for the Xbox 360 and PS3, we present the final metal music video to prepare us for a world we have only explored in our minds and alternate states of consciousness thus far. For those nonbelievers, I say unto you, turn your speakers up to eleven and prepare for:

“Stricken” by Disturbed

NOTE: As the final video to be featured on Countdown to the Metal, I have featured a band that was surprisingly not chosen by Tim Schafer on his hand-picked soundtrack, but my personal favorite heavy metal band. With killer live performances and an album releasing next year, Disturbed is the only band on Countdown to the Metal without an actual in-game credit.

After the Fall of Man, plenty of gamers and SFX staff members have been clamoring for a follow-up to Insomniac Games’ sequel Resistance 2 on Sony’s PS3. The hope of a new entry in the series was apparently not in vain, as a billboard on the set of the upcoming 2011 action/sci-fi flick Battle: Los Angeles prominently displayed advertising for a possible Resistance 3 title that has yet to be formally announced by either Sony or Insomniac Games themselves. Worth noting are the silhouettes in the logo for Resistance 3, which shows what looks to be a tattered New York City skyline. The NYC setting could be confirmed with the instantly recognizable shapes of the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building among the letters in the Resistance 3 logo.

Are the Chimera really making their way to Times Square? Will Nathan Hale return after a vicious head shot at the end of Resistance 2, or is it up to SFX 360’s own JVB to stop the menacing aliens in NYC? Further details will be posted as they are discovered, or Sony “inadvertently” lets another one slip.

Source

Rocktober 13^th is only a few days away, which means that after a few more sound checks Tim Schafer’s heavy metal action adventure game Brutal Legend will make its way to the stage on both Xbox 360 and PS3. Part of the reason that the game has remained so brutal is that its release date has not cowered despite legal issues and some stiff competition that drove some games into next year and left fans in shock. That’s not to say that the competition is not acknowledged, though, which was addressed in a recent video starring Tim Schafer and the voice (and apparent embodiment) of the game’s protagonist Eddie Riggs, Mr. Jack Black. Take a listen to some choice words for this holiday season’s heavy hitters, including Assassin’s Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2, and “Uncharted Poo”.

“Who the @#%* cares about that game? Dude, what about our game, when you whip out your battle axe and you don’t tuck it, you @#%*ing stuck it right inside of a demon’s brainstem?”

That’s @#%*ing metal.