Yes, that’s a Warthog RC car with a couple of Spartan action figures. Hoo-rah! I think I’ve now found a better way than e-mail* to deliver messages in the office. Last night I played the first couple of levels of Brütal Legend. This type of game isn’t my usual fodder, but I just couldn’t say no.

It’s a fantastic thrill ride through a magical land where demons roam and you can kill them with sweet riffs from your electric guitar. And a really really big battle axe. So far there are no assault rifles, fragmentation grenades or an obvious method of targeting. I’m totally disoriented from the third person perspective and keep whining in vain that there’s no HUD, but I’m hoping I’ll get over it because I’m loving how silly fun this game is.

Our hero is a metalhead roadie featuring the likeness and voice of Jack Black. However, this is video game hero Jack Black. He’s taller, buffer, and in possession of a long luscious rippling mane of wavy black man-locks of the likes that would make Fabio jealous. My first impression is that you will like this game if:

• You are a fan of Metalocalypse
• You do not take anything, including your obsessive passion for death metal, too seriously
• You are a fan of Tenacious D
• You are not a mom concerned about F-bombs and people getting their heads ripped off by giant metal skeleton monsters (although there are high-larious opt-outs for naughty language and gore at the beginning of the game)

So far there’s more animatics than gameplay. Or I need to put the game on a harder level because the red-robed baddies are stupid easy to kill. This game seems unlikely to generate the sort of deeply disturbing personal relationship I’ve built with the Master Chief, but it also seems very likely to continue to deliver on big laughs, gorgeous graphics, and a kickass metal soundtrack. A nice bonus was the three-song Rock Band pack you get for free just for buying the game.

Bring on the Brütal.

*I said better, not more reliable, efficient, or practical.