Anyone here never heard of Metallica? Of course not, Metallica has become an icon of the Metal scene, and have been going for just about forever.

The fact that they appeal to both hardcore metal fans, and casual listeners alike means that not only have they given many a gift to the music world, but are pretty much the perfect band to incorporate into Guitar Hero.

Now we finally get given the chance to don the axe of the mighty Kirk Hammet, the bass of Robert Trujillo, the drums of Lars Ulrich and the microphone (and guitar) of James Hetfield.

So when it comes to Guitar Hero, is this latest addition the “One” to feed your hunger for metal, or is it that after all is said and done, the developers will be remain unforgiven?

This One Time, At Band Camp

Guitar Hero: Metallica works on the same formula as Guitar Hero: World Tour in that you have the ability to not only play the guitar or other instruments alone, but join with up to three other players online or in your living room to play together as a band.

With Metallica as the featured band, it goes without saying that the track list is absolutely fantastic with heavy hitters and much loved classics such as Nothing Else Matters, The Unforgiven, Master of Puppets, Seek and Destroy and all of the other greats that you are hoping for.

The game isn’t entirely made of Metallica songs though, there are a lot of other great songs from other bands, chosen by Metallica themselves to add to the metal experience.

Metal In Motion

What does make the Metallica songs pretty special compared to the rest though, is that the members of the band actually did motion capture for their performances, meaning that you don’t just stare at the same random animation loops in the background during the performances.

Metalli-Sims

You have the ability to create your own rocker, which is a nice addition in terms of customisation, and allows you to buy all sorts of goodies, from shoes and clothing, to special Metallica guitars and even altering your age, so that you can rock it out like Keith Richards.

Get Creative And Take On The World

You still have the ability from World Tour to create your own tracks and there is now also a “Drum Over” mode, which lets you pick any song you want, and drum to it in any way that you please. Speaking of drums, you now also have the ability to connect a second pedal to the drum kit to blast out those impressive bouts of double-bassing.

Multiplayer allows you to connect to 4 other players co-operatively, but you now also have the option to take on other bands online in an eight player battle of the bands.

Metal Is Hard, Right?

As far as difficulty is concerned, casual players shouldn’t have any problems here. As for those of you who, like me, love expert difficulty and nothing else, you may find a lot of the songs to be a little easier than, say, Guitar Hero III, although you will still find some serious challenges. Master of Puppets in particular has me stumped on the introduction so far.

There are also a couple of nice extra’s, such as videos of the band performing live as well as videos of them doing the motion capture, so fans of Metallica will appreciate that the most.

Conclusion:

If you are looking to put more use to your World Tour kit, or don’t have one yet and need an excuse, Guitar Hero: Metallica is a fine choice. For hardcore fans of Metallica the purchase is a no-brainer and the game will fit nicely next to your collection of CD’s, posters and Live in Concert DVD’s.

Scoring

Gameplay: 8.0
Exactly what you would expect, you already know if you will love it or not.

Presentation: 8.0
The band has been decently recreated, menu’s are themed nicely to give a good overall metal feel.

Sound: 8.5
It’s Metallica, coming out of your speakers.

Value: 8.0
A lot of gaming time to be had. Get some friends together and whip it out for some awesome metal moments every now and then. DLC is looking slim though.

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Overall: 8.0

Metallica was obviously a great choice for Guitar Hero, and their history and music show that they have earned a spot in your living room, as long as you are already a fan of the Guitar Hero series of games.