Guitar Hero: Metallica
2009
- music
- party
- single player
- multiplayer
- co-operative
- split screen
The story
Guitar Hero: Metallica is a music rhythm game developed by Neversoft, published by Activision and distributed by RedOctane. The game was released in North America on the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 on March 29, 2009 and on PlayStation 2 on April 14, 2009, with an Australian and European release in May 2009. Guitar Hero: Metallica is the second game of the Guitar Hero series to focus on the career and songs of one band following Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. The game is based on Guitar Hero World Tour, with support for lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. The game has many of the same features from World Tour, including single-player and band Career modes, online competitive modes, and the ability to create and share songs through "GHTunes". In addition to the normal difficulty levels presented in Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero: Metallica provides an "Expert+" difficulty for drums that allows the use of a second bass drum pedal to match the drumming style of Metallica's Lars Ulrich. The game features 28 master recordings spanning Metallica's career and an additional 21 songs selected by members of Metallica. The band performed extensive motion capture for the game for their in-game avatars and performances. The game includes several extras including behind-the-scenes videos of the motion capture sessions, tour and concert videos of the band, and Pop-Up Video-like facts for many of the songs on the game disc. Guitar Hero: Metallica received positive reviews, with critics stating it to be a strong tribute to the band and Neversoft's best work on the Guitar Hero series to date. The difficulty throughout the game was praised, found to be more enjoyable to players of all skill levels than the more-difficult Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Reviewers noted the lack of additional downloadable content, save for the pre-existing Death Magnetic songs, the cartoonish storyline for the Career mode, and the overall value of the game as some of the negatives to the expe
What it’s like
Bright, high-contrast stage lighting over a dark arena: blown-out white spotlights, smoke-hazed reds and blues, and the chunky, glossy polygon avatars of four members of Metallica thrashing under them. The sound is the point: thick distorted guitar riffs, a booming double-bass drum kit, and the band's gritty studio recordings played back at full volume, with crowd roar and cheering swelling between songs. Menus carry the cartoonish, comic-book energy of a late-2000s console party game, with unlocked stage videos and behind-the-scenes motion-capture clips adding a loose, backstage-pass feel. Pacing is brisk and cyclical: a short song, a score screen, a rush toward the next set. The emotional register is loud, cheerful and nostalgic rather than moody, with the band's career playing out as a celebration of riffs and rebellion. It is intense in sound and speed, with no violence, gore or sexual content, and the hardest tracks demand real finger and foot stamina. Best for fans of Metallica and rhythm games who want a noisy, sociable evening, whether solo, with friends on split-screen, or chasing high scores online.
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