Metallica are arguably the biggest heavy metal act in the world.From being one the pioneers of the 80’s thrash metal genre to their epic collaboration with the late Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony,they have literally been there,done it and bought the T shirt.Last year they made a very welcome return with their ‘Death Magnetic’ album which was by far their best work in years.Their recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame seemed to have put have a seal on their very illustrious career.But as ever,they are far from done with and have yet another trick up their sleeves,they now have their very own Guitar Hero game.While many Metallica fans have remained extremely loyal to the band over the years,they can also be an extremely difficult bunch to please at times.I saw them give Linkin Park a very hostile reception when they supported them a few years back.When Metallica were not included in the 2004 compilation album ‘The Best Heavy Album In The World Ever !’ and fluffy soft rock act Nickelback were,Metallica fans wanted blood !.There were online petitions to get the albums title changed and some even wanted it removed from sale altogether.Bearing this in mind,Neversoft really needed to deliver with this title if it was to cater for its target audience.

The opening sequence is fantastic.It encorporates each of the bands album covers starting with 1983’s ‘Kill Em All’ and ending by them all disappearing into the coffin from 2008’s ‘Death Magnetic’.Its set to the classic ‘Master Of Puppets’ and its a neat,smart effort which brilliantly sets the tone for the game which lays ahead.

The graphics are pretty much on a par with ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ and are more than adequate for the job.Where they really shine though is in the animation of the band members.They really do look and act like them.Nail a song and a huge fist from the St. Anger album cover rises to inform you that ‘You Rock !’.The bands hallmark on stage pyrotechnics have also been superbly recreated in this game.Guitar Hero and Rock Band games are all about having fun and these excellent graphical touches are more than enough to put a big smile on any Metallica fans face.

Audio wise it’s a real workout for your sound system.You can’t attempt to recreate Metallica on stage and not hope to annoy the neighbours !.The track list is a well balanced selection taken from their 25 year old plus back catalogue.If you liked music from any Metallica era,it is present in this game.If fancy playing thrash classics such as ‘Battery’,slower tracks like ‘Nothing Else Matters’or something in between like ‘Enter Sandman’ there is something in this game for you.If you downloaded the ‘Death Magnetic’ track pack for ‘Guitar Hero III’ or ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ it is also compatible with this game.Neversoft really seem to have pulled out all of the stops to ensure fans are not disappointed.I do feel it is worth mentioning that no other ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ downloadable content works with this game.Thats a bit of shame as there is a large selection of tracks that would be worth buying,as they would be perfect additions to the games existing songs.I was fearful ‘Guitar Hero Metallica’ would only come with a limited number of songs and further tracks would have to be purchased,but gladly this has turned out not to be the case.Where the game does disappoint ever so slightly though is in its selection of non Metallica tracks.Songs provided by acts such as Slayer,Machine Head and System Of A Down are fine and are as expected but others like those by Queen,Bob Seger and Alice In Chains feel a little bit out of place in my opinion.I don’t dislike them,they just seem slightly strange choices when tracks by bands such as Iron Maiden,Slipknot or Killswitch Engage may have fitted the bill better ?.But this is a minor gripe in an area in which the game has otherwise got right.

As in ‘Guitar Hero III’ where Slash made a guest appearance,’Guitar Hero Metallica’ brings its own additional characters to the party.These include icons such as Motorhead frontman Lemmy.There is also a good selection of hidden bonus content for fans to unlock.Metallica have been keeping an update on their website over the past few months regarding this game.It seems they have had a real ‘hands on’ input into developing it,and it shows.

Instruments from all previous Guitar Hero and Rock Band games work fine with ‘Guitar Hero Metallica’.So if you have any of those games you will only need the solus (game only) version.For the Xbox 360 version,support for the wireless microphone from ‘Lips’ has been added (but for some reason only the black one seems to work ?).For the all new ‘Expert +’ mode there is a second pedal available for the ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ Drumkit.I wouldn’t really say this is necessary to be honest as I found the game was hard enough on most songs playing it on the standard drumkit.However,if you found any of the previous games a tad too easy,then its the add on for you.

This brings me on to what really  matters and that is the gameplay.Everything in the game itself is very similar to previous Guitar Hero/Rock Band games.This gives the game a superb pick up and play quality.Being as the game basically runs on the ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ engine this is no great surprise really.First off all the tracks are available right from the start,so there’s no unlocking or cheats required.This is fantastic as personally I have found having to unlock songs a real chore on previous games.The two player battle modes in this game feature unique Metallica power ups.For example  ‘Fade To Black’ makes your opponents notes disappear at critical parts of the song or you can momentarily freeze their board with ‘Trapped Under Ice’.These are novelty additions for sure,but they add to the fun experience you get when playing this game.The career mode in this game is great fun.You play in the band ‘Tallica JR.’ who are Metallica’s support act.As you progress through the game you unlock actual venues Metallica have played.These can then be played later in Quickplay mode.Play a song well and the crowd may demand on encore,nail it and you will be rewarded with extra career points.Overall the career experience is nothing massively different from previous Guitar Hero and Rock Band games but its still a lot of fun and well worth playing through.

There was one question which sprung to my mind when I first heard this game was in production.That was wouldn’t an add on pack for ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ (like the AC/DC Rock Band track pack) have done the trick ?.Personally I would say no with a little bit of yes.No because there has been such an effort put in to make this game a real Metallica experience and yes because anyone who already owns ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ may feel they are having to buy a game which they already own,just to get the Metallica tracks and characters.A choice of either/or would have been nice.

I have always felt the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises have created a local multiplayer experience which very few games can top.There is just something about jumping around your front room with a stupid toy guitar strapped your neck,surrounded by your mates on their pretend instruments that creates such incredible fun.You can take it semi-serious trying to nail every note with perfection or be pretty rubbish at it and it really doesn’t matter,just as long as you are enjoying yourself.However,when you start to get a song right in unison it creates a real sense of team achievement.This is an experience rarely created by playing a video game.Due to the kind of music on offer here ‘Guitar Hero Metallica’ is generally more difficult than previous games.But as ever it can be played on easier settings if you just want a laugh with your friends.

Overall :

This game is very difficult to give a straight score,so I’ve done it like this.Simply pick the catergory which best suits you  :

A : If you like Guitar Hero/Rock Band and are a Metallica fan (or just like metal music in general),then you need this game 9/10.

B : If you like the above but already own ‘Guitar Hero World Tour’ it does seem a bit of an expensive,if worthwhile purchase 7/10.

C : If you don’t like any of the above there is nothing of interest here for you.


‘Guitar Hero Metallica’ is released in the UK on the 29th May on Xbox 360,PS2,PS3 & Nintendo Wii.