Brutal Legend is going to be the most metal game ever, without a doubt. However in the past few weeks a lot of news has been coming out about Double Fine’s next super awesome game intended to be released this October. Some of it good, some bad, and the rest of it can just make ya cry.
The Good? Black Sabbath original singer and media darling Ozzy Osbourne is going to be joining Brutal Legend’s already Metal Heavy crew. He will be playing what appears to be a caricature of himself in the Brutal Legend world. We might not be able to understand a word he says in the game, but if you want to make a game as deep in heavy metal influence as Brutal Legend you can’t go without the Oz.
Ozzy’s addition in the game might have caused some issues though. Following the announcement of the addition of Ozzy Osbourne in the game Ronnie James Dio, Black Sabbath’s second singer, dropped out of staring in the game. Dio had previously worked with Jack Black in his Tenacious D movie, so it would be safe to assume the issue’s not there. The safer bet would likely lie in Dio and Ozzy’s rivalry, however Dio’s management didn’t reference any reason in particular.
A trickle of good news comes out of this piece of information. Dio will be replaced with English comedy star Tim Curry. The choice for bringing in Tim Curry obviously influenced by Tim Curry’s earliest, and possibly most memorable role as Dr. Frank N. Furter in the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
All of this news might be moot with the news released during the E3 of game publisher Activision suing Double Fine over Brutal Legend’s release. Back when Activision acquired Brutal Legend’s old publish, Vivendi Universal, Activision did not choose Brutal Legend as one of the titles it would be publishing from it’s acquisitions.
The lawsuit is an aim to slow, if not stop the game’s release, much like the lawsuit Fox brought up against Warner Brothers before the release of Watchmen earlier this year. The lawsuit claims that Activision had spent 15 million on the game’s development, with Double Fine missing the key deadline and requiring another nine months and seven million dollars more to complete the game.
The negotiations fell through, and Double Fine took the game to EA. Activision says Double Fine never released the rights to the game, and that Double Fine had no right to bring it to EA. Tim Schafer, in the way he does, responsed saying, “Hey, if Activision liked it, then they should have put a ring on it. Oh great, now Beyonce is going to sue me too.”
This could either be a case of negligence on Double Fine’s part, or Activision just being plain petty. If the lawsuit succeeds then I have a feeling another lawsuit will follow. EA would likely sue Double Fine in return over the amount they spent on advertisement and development that EA lost under Double Fine’s false pretenses, which could mean really big trouble for the developer.
Only time will tell what happens, but I can only hope come October I’ll be hearing Jack Black’s voice in a world filled with Heavy Metal influence.
Activision’s Lawsuit
Tim Curry replacing Dio
Ozzy in Brutal Legend