Demo release schedule, also early access codes

The whole demo release matter has been quite confusing due to different vendors and sites giving out conflicting dates, but Ars Technica has gotten information off Electronic Arts clarifying things somewhat. The official release dates of the demo are:

1. September 17th: People who pre-ordered from participating vendors
2. September 24th: Xbox LIVE Gold members
3. October 1st: Xbox LIVE Silver and PlayStation Network members (ie: everyone)

To ease the pain for those who haven’t pre-ordered — or those who’re pre-ordering from Best Buy because they want the LP sleeve — a few sites have been given early access codes by EA and are putting them up for grabs today:

1. Ars Technica
2. Gaming Nexus
3. Holy Fragger
4. The Flickcast

None of them require you to do anything special, ranging from sending them an email to posting to their Twitter account. People will then be randomly selected and given a code. All of them need you to get your entries sent literally within hours, so get to it!

If you have no intention of pre-ordering or purchasing an Xbox LIVE account, I guess the opening cinematic that appeared in the Community Tracker yesterday will have to tide you over. (Thanks to Mykal for dropping that one in the comments.)

Update

[September 17th, 2009 at 9:13 GMT+1] Looks like we’re go, at least in the UK. I just put my own pre-order code that I got from GAME into the Xbox LIVE code redemption area, and it said I’m entitled to the Brutal Legend demo and proceeded to begin downloading. Oh man.

Update #2

[September 17th, 2009 at 11:44pm GMT+1] The latest word on the official Twitter feed is that some Xbox LIVE codes aren’t yet activated, and all PSN codes are inactive until 11pm PST.

Update #3

[September 24th, 2009 at 10:34pm GMT+1] I’ve just had a buzz from EA saying that the demo should now be available to all Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers. Unfortunately, the official Twitter feed implies that European Xbox LIVE members aren’t included — oh man. Can anyone confirm this?

Alternative pre-order bonus from Best Buy

While one or two retailers in each country are offering early demo access and an exclusive in-game Tenacious D guitar, it looks like Best Buy is going to stir things up a bit by offering its own exclusive offer: a Brutal Legend-themed LP case just like you — or at least your dad — remember from the classic days of metal.

There’s no word on whether or not the LP case will make its way to retailers outside the US, but I think it’s fair to speculate that at least one vendor in each region will be offering these. If I were to put my money on which European shop will get it, I’d say Play.com.

Currently Best Buy’s Brutal Legend section says nothing about this bonus, so it may be that you have to go into Best Buy and order from the shop itself to get the bonus. If anyone has further information on this please leave a comment.

Jack Black gashes up the MTV Video Music Awards

Love him or hate him, it’s impossible to criticise Jack Black for the effort he puts into getting into the heads of the characters he portrays. There’s no better example than these photos snapped of him at the MTV Video Music Awards: Continue Reading »

Achievements and trophies revealed

If you’re one of those obsessive-compulsive types who can’t rest until every last achievement has been unlocked in every game you play, you’re probably dying to know how you’ll be spending the next eight months of your life.

Electronic Arts has provided me with a list of the Xbox 360 achievements and PlayStation 3 trophies along with the criteria required to attain them, so prepare for some heavy revision! Also comes with bonus revealing of the names of Brutal Legend’s chapters. Continue Reading »

Binder art competition brings statue-winning opportunity

With IGN’s sweepstakes passively continuing and Destructoid’s Twitter spam-a-thon over, the official Brutal Legend Facebook page has decided to initiate a competition with five truly superb Eddie Riggs figures up for grabs.

This one requires a bit more skill and effort than the other competitions, though. The five statues will be awarded to the five best pieces of fan art, which must be submitted to the team using their instructions — quite a lot of specifics about size and whatnot, so be sure to read them!

Unfortunately for those of us in Europe and beyond, the competition is only open to those in the US and Canada. And if you’re wondering what criteria exactly your art will be judged by:

• 30% Originality of Layout and Design
• 40% Creativity
• 30% Appropriateness to Topic

So there you go! Make sure you get that 40% of creativity in there.