Guitar Hero Metallica

Name: Guitar Hero: Metallica.
Platform: Xbox 360, Wii, PS2 and PS3.

You’ve probably heard that Metallica sucks at playing rhythm games. This hasn’t affected the fact that they have snuck at least one song from their massive collection into almost every Guitar Hero and Rock Band game out there. So you know, it probably only makes sense that instead of waiting for the next version, Metallica follow the footsteps of Aerosmith and get a Guitar Hero game made specifically for them. They may suck at playing Guitar Hero, but when it comes to being in Guitar Hero, things couldn’t be much better.

The Wii version looks pretty damn good in my opinion.

Guitar Hero Metallica builds off of World Tour’s interface. All your plastic instruments are compatible with this game. However if you don’t own a drum kit, you can’t rightly buy one with Metallica as it only comes as a stand alone game or with a special Metallica-styled Guitar controller. Unfortunately while this game looks pretty much like World Tour gameplay wise, none of your DLC will work with Metallica except for the content from the Death Magnetic Album. Having said that however, I can only assume you bought this game because you love Metallica and on that note, this game will not disappoint. These songs are killer fun to play. There are over 40 tracks on the disc, most of which are Metallica. The rest are songs and bands that they performed with, were inspired by or just like. The end result is mostly consisted of heavy metal songs, but then again, this IS Metallica we’re talking about right?

Double bass will really test your endurance.

One of the most notable changes to the franchise introduced in Guitar Hero Metallica is the inclusion of the Expert+ difficulty level. Expert+ as the name implies is a difficulty beyond that of Expert that can only be accessed if you are using the drum kit. The reason being is that Expert+ allows you to plug a second bass pedal into your drum kit and do double bass. Sadly (for some), only the Guitar Hero World Tour Drum Kit supports the second bass pedal for Expert+, so those who own the Rock Band drum kit may be a little disappointed. Another notable change (which will receive mixed criticism I am sure) is the way career mode is now completed. Instead of completing a list of five or so songs to move to the next venue, you only need to collect a set number of stars from beating the songs. This makes beating the game much easier, as you can skip songs that are either too hard or you don’t like. In addition to that, all the songs are unlocked from the beginning via Quickplay which is a welcome addition if you just want to stick the disc in and start rocking out instantly.

Fun for the whole band.

While it would have been nice if Metallica was just DLC for World Tour, the amount of detail that Neversoft put into their band-specific games blow that right out of the water. All the detail put into the motion capture animation, the presentation of the menus, the galleries and the behind the scenes videos tell us that the developers simply love everything about Metallica. If you like Guitar Hero are a hardcore fan of Metallica, well you should probably already own this game. If you are a mad Guitar Hero shredder looking for some finger ripping solos, Metallica will not disappoint.

The Good
- Metallica goodness unleashed.
- Most of the issues with World Tour have been addressed.
- Songs don’t need to be unlocked for Quickplay.
- Rock star and Music Creator make a return.
- Compatible with Death Magnetic DLC.
- Expert+ will REALLY test your endurance.

The Bad
- No other DLC is compatible.
- Non-Metallica fans probably won’t get a kick out of it.
- Online play is lackluster.

Graphics: 5/5 – Everything from the design, the menus, the graphics and the motion capture simply scream METALLICA!
Sound: 4/5 – If you like Metallica, then you’re in for a real treat.
Gameplay: 4/5 – Most of the songs are killer fun. If you are new to the series though, this game may be a little hard for you.
Longevity: 4/5 – What's here literally rocks! Apart from the Death Magnetic album, there is no more DLC.

17/20 – A - (85%)