Guitar Hero: Metallica

The crowd going wild under the stage, wild guitars wailing and no less wild roars of the vocalist. Firework explosions, flames shooting into the air, and the sound that is pushed to the limit for the human ear. This is what it looks like at concerts. Guitar Hero tries to make a small effort to create the impression of playing in a real band, in front of a real audience. Guitar Hero is slowly becoming another virtual soap opera. In total, more than ten (including mobile productions) parts of this music series have been created, and more are in production. What's most interesting, however, each new game under the Guitar Hero brand sells great in the world and makes it the most recognizable music game recently. The popularity surpassed even the brilliant Dance Dance Revolution and SingStar, often seen at parties.

At one point, Neversoft had the idea to make a game in the Guitar Hero series dedicated to one specific team. It fell on Aerosmith and - even though the Boston guys created quite a sizeable discography of good rock music - the game turned out to be the worst part of the series. Neversoft, not discouraged by the light defeat, continued this trend and invited the legend of metal music - Metallica to cooperate. The producer has already worked with Metallica on the occasion of preparing the DLC from the band's latest album, Death Magnetic , which can be downloaded by owners of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: World Tour .

The collaboration with Metallica was very successful and resulted in the creation of Guitar Hero: Metallica - the best Guitar Hero series ever made. The sharp, rhythmic and catchy riffs used by Metallica turned out to be the perfect material to translate into the virtual world of a plastic guitar. Neversoft's extensive experience in creating "guitar" music games perfectly matched Metallica's amazing musical output.

Guitar Hero: Metallica has a total of 49 songs, 28 of which are from Metallica albums and 21 are from the bands that James and the crew were inspired by. The number 49, compared to 86 songs from Guitar Hero: World Tour, for example, may not be impressive, but GH: Metallica has a lot of real gems.

The game is a neat cross-section of all of Metallica's work. We find here songs from every album released by this band. From the debut album from 1983 Kill 'Em All through Ride the Lightning , Master of Puppets , ... And Justice for All , Metallica , Load , ReLoad , St. Anger and Death Magnetic .

Just choosing songs from these albums can cause both Metallica fans' cheers and noses. It doesn't change the fact that the tracklist is very solid. We'll play great Battery , Creeping Death , Fade to Black , test our skills on energetic Dyers Eve , Fight Fire With Fire , hang around with Nothing Else Matters , One , and finally test our neighbors' patience during sessions with Sad But True and Master of Puppets . There were also The Unforgiven , Wherever I May Roam or Seek And Destroy . Neversoft chose some great tracks that work brilliantly in a game from the Guitar Hero series.

Apart from Metallica, there was also room for other bands. Atmospheric Alice In Chains, rhythmic Foo Fighters, classic Queen and explosive Slayer. We will also play songs by System of a Down, Machine Head, Mastodon, Motörhead, Mercyful Fate or - typical for the whole Guitar Hero series - Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Guitar Hero: Metallica gives us a truly explosive song list. However, the truth is that all the bands featured in the game are only a modest addition to the real treat, which is Metallica's songs.

The Neversoft team did everything to make Guitar Hero: Metallica not look like a normal expansion pack with a few songs, but a full-fledged new game. I must admit that the manufacturer's effort is visible at every step. This game is dripping with Metallica. Everything - from the main menu to the graphics during the concerts - is inspired by the title band.

The entire team participated in many motion capture sessions so that the producer could capture the typical Metallica movements and characteristic ways of playing the instruments. The band played all the songs from the game in a special studio. This art went perfectly. If someone has been to a Metallica concert, they will immediately feel "at home". All the movements of the team members were perfectly reproduced and presented. While playing, we can really get under the illusion of attending a Metallica concert. The characteristic, energetic behavior of James at the microphone, Lars standing on the drums and striking the drums with all his might, Trujillo twirling around with the bass in hand - it's all here and looks phenomenal.

The manufacturer also took care of a few additional flavors. Each song has bonus content. For example, we can run a song that will start in the music video mode (i.e. we will not see the fretboard and we will not be able to play, but only watch the band's performance), and at the bottom of the screen there will be interesting facts about this particular piece. A small thing, but it enjoys. Additionally, we can see the lyrics of the song and - for some tracks - watch a special video material. These are either official bootlegs from Metallica's concerts or recordings from the motion capture studio. A great and very nice thing.

Speaking of additional flavors, I must mention a very interesting drumming mode. We can run any piece of Metallica with the Lars track turned off. We will only hear guitars and vocals. Our job is ... to just play the drums. The game simulates the sound of the instrument from samples of a given song, and we can just jam. Another really interesting accessory, which - paradoxically - works great and makes a lot of fun.

The producer took care of not only many interesting additions, but also a great writing of the songs. Guitar Hero: Metallica is the most challenging and difficult part of the series. Metallica's songs are usually very long and - apart from fast riffs - they also have hellishly fast solos. Neversoft took the matter mercilessly and with no fare. Guitar Hero: Metallica is a real carnage. The game gives a solid impression from the very beginning, and the final pieces (such as Dyers Eve , Fight Fire With Fire or Battery ) are a complete destruction for our fingers. Personally, I play a real electric guitar and I am willing to risk saying that - paradoxically - some songs are easier to play on it than on plastic equipment from Guitar Hero .

The songs in Guitar Hero: Metallica are written great, with a feeling and in a way that makes us want to come back to them all the time. We play heavy riffs just like heavy riffs, and the solos, despite the extremely large accumulation of notes, are quite logical. Neversoft has done his best to the extent that, for example, the movement of the fingers when playing Master of Puppets is very similar to the movement of the fingers when playing this track on a real guitar.

Congratulations also for the drum tracks and the sound of the instrument itself during the so-called "fillers", when we can play our own inserts. In Guitar Hero: World Tour, the drums sound tragic and very quiet. In Guitar Hero: Metallica, the producer used samples from Lars' drums, which turned out to be a big plus for the game. Playing drums is pure pleasure.

Most importantly, just like playing the guitar, playing the drums is a real challenge. Neversoft has added a special Expert + difficulty level, which has been adapted to play with two feet. Challenging Expert + only makes sense if we buy a second foot for the instrument. Playing Dyers Eve or Slayer on drums at Expert + level is a real challenge that few will do.

Guitar Hero: Metallica is a really explosive pack. A great list of songs, many additional flavors, curiosities and a huge challenge for the player. But the satisfaction of completing the game comes along with the challenge.

Neversoft, negotiating with Metallica, caught a hen laying golden eggs. I am convinced that Guitar Hero: Metallica will sell in huge numbers around the world. Not only because the game is named after one of the best metal bands in its title, but because it really deserves it. High level of difficulty, well-written songs, a lot of bonus content and a lot of fun that comes from playing Metallica's hits virtually.

In short, this game has a lot of power. I don't think there will be an equally explosive mix in the Guitar Hero series for a long time.

Marcin "Del" Łukański

PROS:

MINUSES: