Guitar Hero- Metallica Review

BY Rabie Hassoun | POSTED: 11 July 2009

It does not get any better for Metallica fans.



This game is defiantly going to make a countless number of people happy. Imagine how many Metallica influenced metal fans are playing GH at the moment. They now have their very own game to mess around with that includes their favourite Metallica songs to go with many other related pictures and videos for the band.  Even with all of that on mind, are we really ready for another Guitar Hero title? Didn’t World Tour just land? And isn’t Smash Hits about to come out as well? What about the all new GH5 promised later this year? Which brings us to the question: Is GH: Metallica a rip-off or is it something else on its own?



GH: Metallica follows the exact footsteps of World Tour. Songs will be played by the whole band, so guitars along with drum sets and microphones will be crowding up the living room all over again. The sound tracks are well picked and represent the whole era of the band. Of course the songs will range in difficulty and speed giving you time to adjust when you first pick the game up.  Making this even more of a party game, you will be unlocking almost all the songs instantly, giving you the chance to try something new every time you’re stuck at a song. You might already be a professional and easily beat every song on expert, but your poor friends might struggle. So giving them the choice to pick what song will own them less is a good idea. 

The only problem with this game is quiet a simple one. You cannot play any other downloadable packs you bought for previous GH titles. Adding this feature would have been a convenient move for GH fans. Instead of having to switch disks to play DLCs that you paid for with your hard earned money, every new GH title should support the DLC packs released in the past few months at least. The developers though could have done this on purpose. By limiting the DLC content, the game is clearly separated and isolated from the rest of the long running series. 

On the other hand, what is so good about this game is that it’s all authentic. The band members are really well represented. They all look identical to their real life selves and they even move and react in a very realistic manner. The developer made sure this game is not just about you playing Metallica songs. You will be presented with a set of footage and videos from the band’s tours in the past. The game even offers a photo gallery and some personal tour notes by the band members, making this game a true heaven for every Metallica fan.

Gameplay wise this game is the same old GH we all know. Do not expect any changes to the way you play the game. All what you have different here is the characters on the screen and the songs played. How you play and adjust to different difficulties is identical to what you have experienced in the past. The game might feel less of a challenge after unlocking every song so quickly. But try beating every song on 5 stars to truly sense the difficulty level in this game.  Some of the songs at the end of the list are extremely fast, giving you no chance to recover or think whatsoever (Again, typical GH).

Do not expect to be blown away by the graphics. The game just gets the job done. The videos quality is very high as you might have anticipated. The characters look really good and move even better giving the game an authentic Metallica coat to wear. The fact that the band actually visited the developers for motion capturing is a clear indicator of how real the moves and jumps on the stage are. Each member will stand and rock the stage in his own way and style.



If you find us complaining about the sound department in a music game, then that’s a very bad music game. Luckily, GH: Metallica is one hell of a musical experience and the music and sound departments can only follow suit. Quality of the sound, music and background effects is simply top notch and gives you no chance to ask or wish for more.

Just like sport games, music games now come out every year in different sizes and shapes. GH: Metallica is a unique title in the series that offers the fans of the band a chance of a lifetime. Every diehard Metallica fan we know enjoyed everything about this game, spending hours and hours either playing their favourite songs or playing the tour videos and pictures over and over again. Simply put, this is the perfect gift for any diehard fan of the band. For many of them GH is the reason they even own a video game system, while Metallica is the reason why they even care about metal altogether. A win-win combination that surly won’t let the fans down. As a side note, the game is good enough to attract none Metallica metal fans out there too, if they exist that is.