The E3 No Shows: Why They Weren't There

The E3 party is over. We here at Kotaku are crumpling up the paper tablecloths, throwing out the empty cake boxes, and pulling your shoe out of our fish tank as we wrap up the last of our coverage of the many, many things we saw and did at the event.

But what about what we didn't do? There are a handful of key titles that we thought we could expect for this year's holiday season, so why weren't they showing alongside their seasonal bretheren? We rounded up for you a complete list of this year's no-shows and the hype that preceded them, and then tried to get to the bottom of their conspicuous absence.

Hit the jump for the full report.

We Won't Be Seeing Brütal Legend At E3 :(

Sunday night's pre-E3 Kotaku party is going to be a booze-fueled, feel-good adventure. None of that, however, will dull the pain of Brütal Legend's absence at E3, an absence confirmed by MTV Multiplayer today. Double Fine Productions frontman Tim Schafer confirmed the bad news earlier today and I'm just barely keeping it together.

Sure, we knew that Vivendi and Activision and their subsidiaries weren't doing the E3 thing proper, but Activision is at least holding a press conference. Chalk it up to denial. The good news, according to MTV, is that Mr. Schafer says we may hear more about it "soon after" E3. I'm ignoring Tim's "we hope" caveat.

We're also going to refer to the newly merged Activision Blizzard as Activision Blizzard Brütal Legend to show just how important we think the game is.

No ‘Brutal Legend’ At E3 [MTV Multiplayer]

Jack Black's Immensely Helpful Brütal Legend Update

It's been awhile since we've heard anything about Tim Schafer's Brütal Legend, which stars Jack Black as a heavy metal roadie who bleeds into his cursed belt buckle and is transported to Nordic Heavy Metal land. Lucky for us, MTV Multiplayer has the scoop directly from Black himself, who attended the recent MTV Music Awards wearing a Brütal Legend t-shirt and...well, just read.

“I just wanted to represent. I do this video game ‘Brutal Legend.’ It’s coming someday. And these pants are pantaloons. And I went with these purple people eaters [shoes].”

There you have it folks! Mark someday on your calendars and get ready to rock!

Multiplayer did at least manage to contact Sierra spokesman Tom Stratton, who for the most part told him the same thing, more or less, adding that more details would be made available soon. Someday soon. I can't wait!

Jack Black Says ‘Brutal Legend’ Will Be Released ‘Someday’ [MTV Multiplayer]

How Brutal Legend Fighting Works

We'd never question the brilliance of Tim Schafer and Double Fine's upcoming action/rockventure title Brütal Legend. But we were...curious, that's all...about how the game would actually play. PSX Extreme explains:

The battle axe is Eddie's primary attack, and it works much like Devil May Cry's sword attack does - basic, yet effective. Riggs will shred on the guitar when he needs to cast various types of magic, and performing these magic attacks will require timed combo entry on your controller.

Brutal Legend [PSX Extreme via The Adventuress]

The official site for Double Fine Productions Brütal Legend has launched, bringing with it the power of Satan and a trio of new screenshots. This is how you make a web site people—flames, hot guitar licks, bones and chrome. It's rare that we find web sites about video games this appealing—there was that Contra 4 site—but given the number of tips we've received on its launch, it's clear we're not the only ones taken by this Flash-heavy, power metal marketing tool. Want to check it out? Hit up the official site and crank those laptop speakers.

Tim Schafer Talks Shit About XBLA Development

Double Fine Production's Brütal Legend doesn't have a nailed down release date, but we can expect it some time in 2008. For those willing to let Gamestop hold onto sixty of their American dollars until it's eventually released, they'll snag themselves a snazzy black t-shirt with the game's bloody logo on the front and protagonist splashed across the back. Unfortunately, a trio of Gamestop, Sierra and Double Fine suck some of the cool right out of it.

The shirt giveaway is limited to the first 666 folks who pre-order, so don't sleep. Keep in mind that if Brütal Legend logos are your bag, shirts already decorated with such a thing are available at the Double Fine Shop. Enjoy being clothed!

Brutal Legend with Bonus! [Gamestop - thanks, Jane!]

Double Fine Studios Halloween Contest

Brütal Legend Trailer

Brütal Legend still hasn't been officially announced outside of a Game Informer magazine spread, but this trailer for Double Fine Productions' follow-up to Psychonauts or Epic Saga - Extreme Fighter is so dripping with awesome sauce that other video game developers must feel like throwing in the towel when faced with competition like this. Metal up your ass!!

Thanks, Jon!

Double Fine Readying Jack Black Attack?

International House Of Mojo, a site primarily focused on LucasArts, Double Fine and Telltale Games coverage, recently ran a rumor on Tim Schafer and Double Fine's unannounced next game. Dubbed Brutal Legend, the game allegedly stars actor and musician Jack Black as a roadie who dies, is banished to Hell and must claw his way to Rock 'N Roll Heaven.

The game is rumored to be revealed at next week's Games Convention in Leipzig, where Schafer will be keynoting on creativity. Of course, this is all rumor, as IHOM has since retracted its story, but it should be noted that Black has recently been spotted sporting the above pictured Whispering Rock Spring Summer Camp t-shirt from Double Fine's previous effort Psychonauts.

Double Fine's new game - Brutal Legend? [Google Cached IHOM via NeoGAF]