Brutal Legend is the criminally underrated game created by Tim Schafer and his development team, Double Fine, and published by Satan...or their preferred name; "EA". What makes Brutal Legend different from every other hack and slash game is it's Heavy Metal inspired themes and it's use of RTS in typical hack and slash gameplay.

Eddie Riggs is voiced and modeled after Jack Black. Eddie is such a damn good roadie that he is able to create just about anything out of thin air to help him and/or his allies. As well as being the greatest roadie of all time, Eddie, is also an extremely skilled guitarist that can play certain guitar riffs to kill enemies in different ways. He also acquires an axe early on in the game that serves mainly as a primary weapon. It also cuts stuff like an axe. Which is pretty neat.

As soon as Eddie is resurrected by Ormag√ɬ∂den he meets his love interest, Ophelia. Ophelia is just as metal as Eddie so, of course, he falls for her. She is voiced by veteran voice actresses, Jennifer Hale. Ophelia's role in the game seems so unimportant, like a forced love interest. That is until about 3/4 of the way through the game when things start to get even crazier, but all starts to make sense...kinda. 

            "Too much metal!"

                                                                                  "I claim this land for Ironheade!"

On top of Brutal Legend's hack and slash gameplay and RTS elements it is also and open world game. And a damn good one at that. While roaming around the world your main mode of transportation is " The Deuce". The Deuce is a hot rod Eddie builds at the beginning of the game to escape from The Temple of Ormag√ɬ∂den with Ophelia. Enemies clutter the land trying to turn the beautiful Heavy Metal inspired landscape into something more akin to Glam Rock. Glam Rock is the main enemy of the game with it being led by General Lionwhyte. A play on words of the band White Lion, a Glam Rock band. To defeat lower tier enemies, Eddie, must use a combination of The Separator, his axe, and his flying V guitar, Clementine. For more important battles and usually boss battles, Eddie must use his powers of RTS. Now the RTS elements in the game are something very strange for a hack and slash game and that's one of the reasons why some people passed on the game, but surprising they work pretty well. At first I hated the RTS parts of the game because I don't much care for RTS games in general , but like I said, they work.

Eddie is able to summon two types of allies to assist him on the battlefield during Stage Battles. Melee fighters and Ranged fighters. Stage Battles are pretty unique. You are tasked with taking back parts of the Heavy Metal land via a "Battle of the Bands" type showdown. Heavy Metal vs. Glam Rock. Eddie has to set up and defend "Merch" booths in the name of Ironheade whilst destroying the Glam Rock's Merch booths. Overall, the RTS elements work and have their place, but some people may be turned off by them.

Tim Schafer did his homework on the icons of Heavy Metal. I can not stress it enough that this game as a whole is just a huge love letter to the fans of the genre, but it also isn't afraid to joke around about some of the stereotypes of Heavy Metal without blatantly insulting it. Unfortunately, that's one of the reasons why the game flew under the radar is because fans of this genre of music were either not gamers or that the genre has been declining since the early 2000's. Some even regarded this game as a "Relic of another time". Sadly, there is truth to that statement. 

  Rob Halford as "General Lionwhite"

Lemmy Kilmister as "The Killmaster"   

In the end, it's sad to see just how under appreciated this glorious game was. Taking a tired old genre of hack and slash, incorporating some good RTS elements, and wrapping it all in a beautiful Heavy Metal world inhabited by the men and women who actually help define Heavy Metal as a genre. One good thing to come out of this though is that if you were to pick up this game now (on consoles at least) you can get it for dirt cheap. I picked up my copy for the PS3 about a year ago for $5! It's almost criminal to pay ONLY $5 for it. On Steam, Brutal Legend, is only $15 and even then that's a steal. There's enough content in the game to hold you over for about 9 hours at the minimum without doing really any of the side quests. So if you a fan of hack and slash games, RTS games, Heavy Metal music, or Tim Schafer and Double Fine games then do your self a favor and pick this one up.   9/10 

(Please keep in mind that my opinions may or may not reflect your own, this list is entirely biased. It should also be noted that many of these entries spoil story elements from the games they are from. You have been warned.)
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The Ride Armor from the Mega Man X Series\r

Let's start with something simple first shall we? The Ride Armor is a series of small multi-purpose mechs that are are deployed to areas of interest to help the Reploids and/or Mavericks in their war against each other. While there are many different varieties that are designed for specific battle scenarios, my personal favorite from these games is Vile Mk. II's Goliath Armor from Mega Man X3. It is heavily armored, fast, and is equipped with spiked fists and a chest mounted buster cannon. It's only real flaw is that it can only be ridden by Vile, which I personally find to be a bit unfair, but I guess it's alright since X gets four of his own to ride in that game.

The Platinum Robo from The Wonderful 101

The greatest weapon devised by Mother Platinum in order to repel the invading alien force known as GEATHJERK; the Platinum Robo is a massive mech aligned with the CENTINELS and created to aid the Wonderful Ones. It is roughly one hundred meters high, has the combined abilities of all of the Wonderful Ones, and it can also utilize the weaponry of both the CENTINELS' Virgin Victory and the enemy Cough-Foon ships. It is also theorized that it may be the reincarnated spirit of its creator (and Luka's mother), Professor Margarita Redgrave, but that has yet to be proven.

The Drill Dozer from Drill Dozer

I bet you're thinking "How can this tiny thing possibly be considered a mech?" Well, it has legs, and that's one of the primary prerequisites for it to be classified as one. The Drill Dozer is a compact, one-ton mech that can drill through hard earth and stone like it's nobody's business. It can also use its drill like a screwdriver and use it to turn screws, bolts and gears to help its pilot Jill get to her intended goal, which is usually a treasure or jewel of great value. Not a bad vehicle to get the job done if you ask me.

The Tinker Tank from Shovel Knight

This mech in particular is probably MUCH more advanced than the technology of its time would allow, but it's freaking awesome so I'll allow it. The Tinker Tank is a massive wood and iron medieval themed mech made by the rather diminutive Tinker Knight in order to compensate for his stature and overall poor strength against Shovel Knight. It is equipped with a colossal drill lance, rocket launchers and a massive cannon that can fire both missiles and bouncing grenades. Plus if that isn't cool enough, at the end of the game it is revealed that Tinker Knight started to make little toy versions of that mech for the village kids to play with. Please make these real Yacht Club Games!

The Magitek Armor from Final Fantasy VI

This magic-powered piece of machinery is the primary mode of transportation of Emperor Gestahl's army, and Terra for the first area of the game. It is surprisingly durable considering that its coloring suggests that it is made out of bronze or copper, and it is equipped with many pieces of magic-based weaponry like beams of lightning, ice and fire, and more advanced tech like missile launchers and a fogger that sprays dangerous microorganisms. This excursion is short-lived though as they are can only be piloted in two small segments in the game, but I hear that they made a comeback in the new expansion for Final Fantasy XIV. That makes me a very happy camper indeed.

The Anthropomorphized Battle Engine from Codename S.T.E.A.M.

This is a bizarre entry for sure, but it is very cool nonetheless. The Anthropomorphized Battle Engine (AKA The A.B.E.) is a giant steam-powered combat mech built for the sole purpose of fighting off the invading alien menace known as the Shoggoth, but if that isn't weird enough, its appearance is modeled after President Abraham Lincoln and it's piloted by him as well. When engaged in combat, it has the ability to use its internal steam to propel its fists forward at rocket speed, or to power the mech's wrist-mounted Gatling gun. This is probably the most absurd entry on this list, but I can't help but smile when I play as it in the game.

The Glastonbury from No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Commissioned by Travis Touchdown and built by Dr. Naomi, the Glastonbury is a gigantic mech modeled after the mech from Travis's favorite anime series, Pure White Lover Bizarre Jelly. In classic anime fashion, this mech is armed with a giant energy katana (in the shape of a guitar no less), laser cannons, and a devastating attack called "Anarchy in the Galaxy" which completely vaporizes everything in the surrounding area. However, Travis doesn't get to use it for very long as it confiscated shortly after the battle ends because it is described as a "public nuisance." Imagine how much money was lost on the construction of that thing only for it to be impounded ten minutes after its first test run.

The Umbran Armor from Bayonetta 2

Built over five-hundred years ago by the Umbran Witches to help them in the great war against the Lumen Sages; the Umbran Armor is a large and powerful magic-fueled suit of armor that greatly improves the abilities of its pilot. While it is similar in design to Final Fantasy VI's Magitek Armor, its abilities are vastly different. Instead of magic-based attacks and abilities, the Umbran Armor's weapons are much more technology-based with machine gun mounted arms, shotgun mounted legs, and a powerful jet propulsion system allowing it to skate along the ground or even take flight. Even though the chapter you play it on is short lived, you can get a trinket afterwards to allow you to use it as a modification to Bayonetta's Umbran Climax ability. This is very cool and helpful power-up to be had.

The Great Sacred Treasure from Kid Icarus: Uprising

Built by Dyntos, the great God of the Forge, and given to Pit after he completes his "three" trials to see if he is worthy enough to us it, the Great Sacred Treasure is a fantastically powerful mech made from the most durable and magical metal known to man: Orichalcum. This mech is capable of changing into several different forms to better fit the situation at hand and is equipped with a gatling turret, arrows of light, ring lasers, an energy sword, and a massive divine cannon that can devastate even the vindictive god Hades. It doesn't last very long though as it is only used in the final chapter and is slowly destroyed by Hades as you fight him. It's too bad though, Pit had so much fun using it before the fight.

The Mechonis from Xenoblade Chronicles

This is by far the most massive of any mech I have ever seen. One would initially assume that the Mechonis, the colossal titan that killed (and was killed by) the Bionis would just be a simple relic of times long past, but about half way through the game you find your way from the Bionis to the behemoth corpse on the other side only to find an entire country within its body and a control deck inside its head. It started to move again after Egil in the Yaldabaoth took control of it in the absence of its goddess Meyneth and nearly destroyed all life on Bionis in the process. He would have succeeded too if Shulk and his friends hadn't intervened.

Well, that's my list folks, if you disagree with my choices, tell me why in the comments and what you would have chosen instead. Until then, I'll be seeing you.