I will start by saying that I personally enjoyed Brutal Legend. The story had some merit and there was a strong middle section with, what I believe, was some incredible driving sections. There were just a few things that could have been added to it to push it from good to great.
The premise is a wonderfully entertaining idea that you are a roadie, the best roadie in the industry, and you are sent to another land whose culture and history is based around metal music. This land is being terrorized by an evil emperor and his lieutenant, who are in to BDSM and hair rock respectively. From this starting point you must help build up a resistance with the aid of three other characters and free the land from their tyranny, bringing the music back with you.
The story begins nicely and picks up some great momentum towards the middle, but after the first major boss things go a bit too fast before completely coming to a sudden halt as the end hits you out of nowhere.
The game-play is one of the more intriguing aspects as it is a cross between a RTS and an action adventure with some fun driving challenges. The RTS is played out in "Stage Battles" with the player being able to produce units to direct around the field, defend "fan geysers" (the unit used to produce other units) and take down enemies and their fortifications. The nice bonus you get from the action side of things is being able to rush in and help your fellow metal heads with the power of metal using your guitar (esentially magic attacks) and an axe for melee combat.
The mini-games and challenges generally have you driving around a lot and once you have access to the radio, the driving can become very pleasant, with tight controls and a decent set of upgrades.
The major flaws to be found within the game-play are few and far between, but the most glaring one was the lack of a HUD, or any sort of UI for that matter. Despite being a sandbox style game there is no mini-map meaning that if you want to go to a specific place you have to go to your map, mark it and then focus on the sky to follow the lights, or pause every couple of seconds to check the map again.
There is no indication of health until you are badly hurt, at which point the screen starts to go red and everything begins to sound like static. While your health does regenerate if you avoid taking damage, it takes a while for all of the red screen to fade and there is no way of telling when you are back to full health.
The indication system for your guitar abilities is also a bit hard to decipher, especially in the middle of a battle. The guitar will glow red when it is too hot to use, and be black all other times but it is sometimes difficult to see the guitar and so you will sometimes be unsure of whether or not you can use it.
Overall, if you can deal with some odd combat and getting lost every now and then, Brutal Legend is an experience I would recommend for those who enjoy both RTS's and action games, or those who would like to be able to have a bit of fun and listen to a great soundtrack.