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Monkey Island: Special Edition team unearths lost dialogue
As designer Adam Bormann dug through old code and notes while making Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, he made a curious discovery. Along with notes from Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and crew, he also unearthed dialogue that didn't appear in the original game. Though the lines didn't make it into the special edition, Bormann, like a comedy archeologist, dusted off some of the best bits and collected them on the LucasArts Workshop blog. Though we can see why some of it was left out, we can't help but feel a little wistful about how close we came to being able to ask Meathook for a sample of stump balm. And yes, now that you mention it, Meathook's Stump Balm would make a very good name for a band.
Tim Schafer presents: Brutal Legend Multiplayer Deathmatch
Furthering his efforts to let you know there's some multiplayer beyond the single-player campaign of Brütal Legend, Double Fine's doubly fine gent, Tim Schafer, has passed along the above video. Now, it may initially seem like an episode of The Jerry Springer Show (standing against a brick wall backdrop will do that!) but, through and through, the near eight minutes of footage provides insight into the multiplayer it's-not-an-RTS mode by holding viewers' hands through an entire play session.
Brutal Legend soapbox bus rocks the Red Bull derby
Above, driver Sean Feeley gets big air; not pictured: the Hextadon he jumped over. If you've been lacking in the keeping up with awesome stuff department, then you may not know the annual Red Bull Soap Box Derby went down in LA recently. This isn't the sorta thing you'd normally find out about on a video game blog, but the winners of said event so happen to be big Brütal Legend fans -- so big, in fact, that their sopabox car is the friggin' Ironheade tour bus. Destructoid ihas posted a photoblog documenting the creation of this wonderful piece of brand synergy, complete with pictures of game creator Tim Schafer behind the wheel. Surprisingly, not a single bit of goat's blood or any incantations were used to create the thing -- the soapbox bus is mostly made of steel, fiberglass, foam, and sweat. The sweat gives it a good shine and makes the body more aerodynamic -- for those nasty curves, you know. The effort to build the bus paid off, too, as its creators, Team Ironheade, totally drove away victorious. Head past the break to see some coverage of the event from G4.
Tim Schafer dishes out Brutal Legend strategies (not in real time)
Look, if you're going to listen to anyone's advice on how to play Brütal Legend's Stage Battle mode online, it should probably be the dude who opened the Necronomicon and uttered those magical words that summoned the disc from the depths of hell, right? Designer Tim Schafer has posted a fairly comprehensive set of tips for the game's strategic battles on the Double Fine blog, hoping to alleviate the frustrations of those still getting the hang of commanding the armies of rock.It feels a little defensive -- and is keen to point out how leaping into the action with Eddie Riggs sets the game apart from a traditional real-time strategy title -- but it might just help smooth out some of the rock opus' rockier segments. And hey, isn't it nice of a developer to offer a helping hand? We asked the Demon's Souls designers for advice and they sent over a wrestler to break our spines.
Review: Brutal Legend
I have to start by being brutally honest with you: Brütal Legend is not the game I hoped it would be. As a huge fan of director, designer and writer Tim Schafer's body of work – especially Double Fine's debut effort, Psychonauts – I had prepared myself for a wonderfully written, laugh-out-loud funny, constantly surprising experience filled with compelling characters that would have me grinning in anticipation of where it was taking me next. What I came away with after beating the game in about six hours (granted, I didn't embark on many of the battle- and racing-based sub-missions, but I did do quite a lot of exploring) was the opinion that Eddie Riggs is a truly awesome character, along with a sense of wonder at the fantastic – and very metal – world Schafer and crew had created. Unfortunately, I also came away with a questioning of why so much of the game felt like a b-side to the hit single that had been its first couple of hours. %Gallery-75305%
Brutal Legend ad commercializes Eddie Riggs for television
The marketing leading up to Brütal Legend's Rocktober 13 release date (hey, that's today!) has been unlike any Tim Schafer game to date -- a steady stream of content from the game on top of the occasional live-action short. And now, Schafer's biggest project is taking the marketing machine to the boob tube (we've embedded the ad after the break, via YouTube) with a 'Hell yeah!'-laden ditty.The bad economy paired with Brütal Legend's same-day release alongside Uncharted 2 means EA needs to get the word out. Hopefully Eddie Riggs' repeated phrase will do the trick.[Via Wired]
Brutal Legend video talks about the competition
If you're like us, you're still writhing about in agony from the last round of Brütal Legend videos unleashed upon the internet. It's okay, we had little hope things would get better -- that is, until we were handed this latest video. It's actually entirely watchable and even makes a few funny comments about the various games being released around Brütal Legend, including Assassin's Creed 2's feathered protagonist Ezio and how those night-vision goggles that come with Modern Warfare 2 aren't as awesome as slamming an axe into a demon's face. Check it out above.
Don't watch this Brutal Legend video
We're going to put this up front: There's really no reason to watch these Brütal Legend videos. They were shot during a press event at the Key Club in Hollywood, during which Jack Black dressed up as -- and pretended to be -- the game's protagonist, Eddie Riggs. The videos are unequivocally groan-inducing affairs. We're sure that the idea seemed funny at the time, but it falls pretty flat in execution. It's like watching bad improv, which, we suppose, is exactly what it is. There are a few notable tidbits in here, like Tim Schafer explaining that he didn't have the nerve to approach Jack Black for the project until he found out Black was a Psychonauts fan. Still, that one nugget -- which we've heard before -- will cost you five minutes of awful. For the truly masochistic, two more videos can be found after the break, one of Tim Schafer interviewing Jack Black, and another of Black playing Brütal Legend.
Tim Schafer lends some LOLs to Fallon on Late Night
That's it, folks -- the game industry has finally made it into the bigtime! With Brütal Legend's dark overlord Tim Schafer appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon leading up to the game's October 13 release (video found after the break), it's become clear to us that we've finally made it. What more could we ask than one of the game industry's greats appearing on a late night television show? Next thing we know, editors of Joystiq sister site Engadget will be appearing on Fallon and Halo will have its own soda! Yeah, right, like that will ever happen. [Via Kotaku] [Image credit]
PSA: Tim Schafer on Jimmy Fallon tonight, Rocktober 2nd
Late Night host Jimmy Fallon continues fulfilling his pledge to be as inclusive of video games as other forms of entertainment tonight by welcoming onto his set Tim Schafer, creator of Brütal Legend (you might have heard of it). We imagine the interview will focus mostly on why Schafer decided to make a heavy metal-themed game, but we also have a sneaking suspicion the gaming legend may have some serious funny up his sleeve. (Going on past experience.) The episode with Double Fine's founder will air at 12:37 a.m. ET/PT on NBC, so set those TiVos and magic video tape boxes accordingly.
PSA: Brutal Legend demo now on Xbox Live; PSN must wait
Rocktober has come a little early to Xbox 360, as EA and Double Fine have made the Brütal Legend demo available for Xbox Live Gold members today. Weighing in at 1.57GB, the playable sneak peek is the same demo made available exclusively for pre-orders earlier this month.While a PS3 version of the demo also already hit PSN for folks who reserved the game, the same can't be said for a "public" demo. According to a source close to the game's development, a demo is definitely planned for all PSN users -- it just won't be available right away. Given that the game takes the stage at retailers on October Rocktober 13, we'd hope EA intends to get the PS3 trial on the PlayStation Store within a few weeks.
PSA: Brutal Legend demo available today for pre-orders
For those of you who dropped a few bucks reserving Brütal Legend early, now's your chance to get some face time with Eddie Riggs and co. The demo dropped today on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, giving those who pre-ordered the game roughly a month of time to enjoy ... erm ... demoing it. If you didn't pre-order it and you're following Joystiq on Twitter, we'll be giving away some download codes later on today.The rest of us plebes will have to wait until September 23, which is when the demo will arrive for everyone else. Tim Schafer would love for us all to be able to play the whole thing right now, though he concedes, "While we're waiting for Rocktober 13, a taste of Metal is better than none at all." Indeed it is, Mr. Schafer.%Gallery-41208%
This is how Brutal Legend starts
Listen, are you sure you wanna do this? You've made it so far without Brutal Legend spoilers and you're so close to the game actually coming out ... do you really want to watch the first five minutes of the game? ... Oh, sure, we watched it. We watched it and it was spectacular. But you shouldn't. Not you, dear reader. You're better than that.
Jack Black cosplays as Eddie Riggs at VMAs
Okay, sure, he may have looked ridiculous dressed up as Eddie Riggs at last night's MTV video Music Awards, what with that awful wig and foam arms that would have been laughed off the set of Popeye. And yeah, we know he's got a stake in the project's success, but you have to love Jack Black's commitment to Brütal Legend, one that we wish all big-name celebrities could share when they appear in games of their own. Seriously though, Jack, let's have a talk about that wig.
Tim Schafer to appear on Jimmy Fallon
So, gaming luminary Tim Schafer is set to appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on October Rocktober 2. Here's our guess as to how the show will play out:In short, it will be the greatest episode of the show ever produced. It will be poignant, important and, most of all, funny. It will be critically hailed as one of television's greatest moments, and something that everyone with a television should see. Unfortunately, no one will watch it. Sometimes, that's just how things go.
PAX 2009: Brutal Legend lets you decide about the F-word
Tim Schafer showed us the opening cinematic for Brutal Legend at PAX, where they revealed the band that Jack Black's Eddie Riggs roadies for: Kabbage Boy. It's a band full of hipster d-bags (one guy wears a Phantom of the Opera half-mask) and they think they're metal. The only problem is that they sound like every emo-alternaband out there, much to Eddie's chagrin. Hopefully we'll get to reveal who's in the band soon, until then just let your speculation run wild.All of that inside, the cinematic included a very novel way to select if you want to hear the super-cussin' & swearin' version of Brutal Legend, or go the sanitized and parental-safe route. Eddie notices one of the musicians crawling around on top of his behemoth-sized, Stonehenge-on-acid set (which Eddie has already been chastised for not tailoring to their "tween" audience), and is not happy. He spouts, "I don't know how many times I've told you not to crawl around up there! I don't know what the F....." And then the game freezes. A menu screen pops up and you have to choose if you want to hear naughty words or not, and when you resume he finishes the word appropriately. Much better than choosing from a menu screen, eh? There another option-setting moment like this a bit later in the scene which was cut short, but we imagine it'll have something to do with violence and blood spurts. Thanks for making even the settings fun, Double Fine.
Brutal Legend pre-orderers get in-game guitar, early demo access
It seems that those who've chained themselves to their couches in anticipation of the September-bound demo for Double Fine's upcoming rock god sim, Brütal Legend, won't be the first ones to get their hands on the game. Rather, unrestrained persons who manage to pre-order the game at their nearest GameStop will be granted early access to the demo on September 17. The pre-order deal mentions this early access beats the demo's normal release by a week -- meaning non-reservers will likely get the trial on Wednesday, September 23.Also bundled with the pre-order offer is a GameStop-exclusive in-game guitar, which possesses a "unique, sexy body inspired by the members of Tenacious D." We hope this means Jack and Kyle gave their input on what the guitar should look like, and not that the guitar actually looks like their bodies. We're doing just fine without that mental image, thanks.Update: While the demo access is new information, we actually knew about the gee-tar in May. We've even got a picture of it -- and we're happy to report it doesn't feature nude versions of K.G. and Jack. No, wait! There they are![Via Kotaku]%Gallery-41208%
Brutal Legend demo rocking XBLM and PSN in September
Listen, you really don't need to try out Tim Schafer's upcoming rock-epic-brainchild to know it's going to be phenomenal. Still, according to a recent EA press release, Double Fine is dropping a demo of Brütal Legend on XBLA and PSN sometime in September. Based on details revealed in the presser, it sounds exactly like the demo we got our hands on at E3 earlier this year. Highlights from said sneak peek include "zipper-faced nuns," "corpse mountains," and the introduction of "The Separator," Eddie Riggs' aptly named axe.In the press release, Schafer explained that "villagers have surrounded our offices with torches, demanding the game. So we're releasing a demo and hope that this taste of metal will keep the mob at bay until Brütal Legend comes out this Rocktober." We're not sure when Rocktober is, but we think it's the month between Jamuary and Shredtember.
Video: Brutal Legend soundtrack makes everything metal
You might find it hard to believe, but even one of the most non-metal objects in the world (literally and figuratively) can be made metal by the Brütal Legend soundtrack. Above, you will find a video of the Heavy Metal Rubik's Cube Challenge, in which Tim Schafer races against Brütal Legend musical producer Emily Ridgeway to see if he can solve the cube before she can read off all the songs in the soundtrack. We won't tell you who comes out on top but, honestly, with a soundtrack like this, everybody wins. Unsurprisingly, the soundtrack revealed in the video matches quite nicely with the one revealed by EA Denmark over the weekend. Curiously, one song revealed by EA Denmark is absent from the video: "Girlfriend," by Kabbage Boy. We've contacted EA to see what's up and will update this post as soon as we hear anything. In the meantime, enjoy the video and – if you have a Rubik's Cube of your own – play along at home!
Comic-Con 2009: The Tim Schafer chat
With only three short months until the October Rocktober 13 release of upcoming Double Fine game Brütal Legend, Tim Schafer and co. are out at the San Diego Comic Con in full force this week promoting their game. Lucky for us (and you!), he took time out of his busy schedule to talk with us about not just his upcoming game, but how he feels about the re-release of various LucasArts adventure titles, how much of a role he plays in the current lawsuit with Activision (spoilers: almost none), and even Gwar! Check out the whole thing after the break.
