Here is a Steam game code for... Brutal Legend: 7EXJ0-DL6XA-NN6BL
I might have road rage if I go for a drive after playing this. Then again, I might just be happy I'm not playing it anymore... so scratch the road rage part.
This review will be a bit different from others because this game just doesn't come off as... complete. Until the time comes (if the time comes) that they actually... fix this game's bugs and even add more to it, a revision will be considered. As of this date and time, this is a fitting review.
What can I say about Road Rage? Hmmm... you can still play the game, but I don't know... it's a frustrating lackluster experience. Please don't approach this game thinking you're about to embark on the remake of Road Rash... or you'll regret it. I tried to get into Road Rage, but the messy layout, the gloomy/visually challenging environment, and bugs... had me (literally) going back and forth to play this game in segments. It reminds of how some people are so difficult to deal with you can only handle them for a short while. It may be the complete opposite for someone else, and if someone is thoroughly enjoying this game... I'm happy for them (because I'm not).
Gameplay by Luis D. Lucha
What initially threw me off about this game... is the lack of a title screen. All it shows is a video loop of a police car flipped over on the side of the road. That wasn't even jazzed up to show you how the cop car got there, which honestly gave off a... demo vibe. Some of you may not be as familiar with demo's at game conventions, but since some games are still being developed... the experience is presented sometimes with the lack of a title screen (with a member of the team standing close by just in case it crashes). That's what this felt like. FYI: You get access to the menu once you're in-game.
What it also felt like was GTA after initially starting a new game and you have your auto-save to start automatically where you left off. Which made me wonder if the game was meant to be a mod for GTA and they just took it a step further and made a stand-alone game. If that's so, I totally applaud them for having the ambition, because some mods or fan remakes waste man hours on projects that get shut down by the IP holders. Then again, man hours also go to waste when games are not completed like they should be.
After that initial race (where an NPC got stuck on the side of the road)... I decided to check out the open world, all the while ignoring that annoying phone pop-up that continues to appear again and again until you get tired of it and accept the call. I rode into an area where I guess I wasn't supposed to be... and the police sirens began to go off, so I thought I was going to be in for a police chase... but that wasn't exactly the case. Don't get me wrong... I saw Swat trucks and cop cars, but I was able to drive by the swat vehicles which seemed to be positioned on every corner to block the way as the cop cars drove around like they were chasing someone else. I was eventually hit and the bike exploded... multiple times, and then I would drop back into the scene and it would happen again until the car moved enough. I was busted after hitting one of those detour street blockers... but it wasn't like an actual pursuit.
The blame could go either way or both ways with certain outcomes... because some publishers rush the development, while others let certain things slide. At the end of the day, thinking of the development cycle, I'm not a total stranger. If you only have so much time to get the game done... sacrifice the unnecessaries to ensure that the focus can go towards a stable product. That's important because the game isn't free.
The music's okay, but the in-game sounds are pretty generic to me... so I didn't really notice anything to appreciate (audio quality-wise). I didn't even use the headphones because the explosion sound isn't something I wanted to hear up close. If you are stuck in an area where your bike continues to go... KA-BOOM (shout out to RkRk)... you will know what I'm talking about. It's not pretty.
Although the open world really isn't something that I really care about in this game... I'm glad they put it in there to a degree to break things up, but something else came to mind. If they did a mission-driven game that took you from one scenario to the next, it may have been better... because then they could've focused on the adventure. There is plenty of dialogue, so that would've been a nice, in theory.
There are upgrades you can make to your bike so that it handles somewhat better, a variety of characters, weapons, and motorcycles to choose from also. You can even customize your bike which is a nice touch also. This doesn't make the game, but I didn't mind spending some time on this menu.
The price point is easily... $10 to $15 off the mark. It's not even me trying to argue a sweet spot. I'm saying for what its worth, that would decrease buyers remorse. This game still has the potential to be patched and given some other appealing updates... but it's up to the decision makers. Especially if they want maximum sales because right now... it's just a frustrating experience to me. There is plenty of that to experience... as you take on 42 missions and 56 side missions ranging from escorting, time trials, delivery jobs, etc.
Fun factor: 1
Visually: 1
Replay value: 5
Price: 2
"2.25 / 5 Cool Points"
Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co.!
