Guitar Hero Metallica has arrived and allows aspiring rockers to jam along to their favorite music and live out their rock fantasies. Following up the successful Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero Metallica offers 28 Metallica classics as well as 21 other songs from artists such as Diamondhead, Samhain and Mercyful Fate who are credited as major influences to the band.
For those expecting the game to be what they have seen before with new tracks, they will be delighted to know that the game has an updated graphic engine that allows for a more realistic depiction of the band and venues and includes many real venues such as the Hammersmith Odeon which is crafted in amazing detail as are the band themselves, right down to the mannerisms.
The game casts you as a band looking to open for Metallica and as in previous games in the series, players must prove their worth by playing a series of songs that increase in challenge as you go up in status.
Players can chose to play simply the guitar mode or can bring in the full band for the complete effect. For those who think they are the masters of the skins, the game offers a dual base option that utilizes a second drum pedal (not included), to allow players to emulate Lars as they attempt to recreate classic Metallica songs. Be warned, this mode is not for the faint of heart and I have seen expert drummers humbled by this mode.
The music of the game is amazing and it recorded from the originals masters and includes such songs as
All Nightmare Long
Battery
Creeping Death
Disposable Heroes
Dyers Eve
Enter Sandman
Fade To Black Fight Fire With Fire
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Frantic
Fuel
Hit The Lights
King Nothing
Master of Puppets Mercyful Fate (Medley)
No Leaf Clover
Nothing Else Matters
One
Orion
Sad But True
Seek And Destroy The Memory Remains
The Shortest Straw
The Thing That Should Not Be
The Unforgiven
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Wherever I May Roam
Whiplash
I do have to admit that the singing potions of the game at times gets frustrating as I wish there would be a headset microphone so I could sing while playing and instrument as playing the guitar and singing is tough enough, let alone trying it with drumming. Some may also say the routine of the game may need a shake up as it is still essentially playing as a young band with each new locale offering new songs that must be mastered before moving on to new venues.
While I will admit I am much more of a Van Halen, Scorpions, Def Leppard, and Judas Priest fan, I found myself enjoying the songs and the complex guitar solos the game offered. For those looking for more of the great fun and music that made Guitar Hero such a runaway hit, the best addition to the series is here and it is named Guitar Hero: Metallica
4 stars out of 5
