Guitar Hero is a series I’m familiar with but have always seen it as a bit of a fad. I’ve played them all but never found it entertaining for more than a handful of songs. However, this fad has had me permanently attached to a plastic guitar for two weeks now. The reason – Guitar Hero: Metallica. If you’re not familiar with the band, Metallica is the biggest name in metal/heavy rock. Their career spans over 25 years and  they have sold more than 200 million albums.

The track list is the strongest of any such game, comprising of the very best of the band’s collection of songs such as Creeping Death, Wherever I May Roam, Fuel and All Nightmare Long. The selection of other music (chosen by the band no less) doesn’t offer the variety you would have hoped for, but tracks by Kyuss, Slayer and Thin Lizzy more than make up for a limited range in music. The story (if you can call it that) centers around your band who get the chance to play with Metallica. It’s not incredibly interesting but the animated versions of James, Lars, Kirk and Rob are humorous and give a nice break before the next section of songs is unlocked.

Much like Guitar Hero World Tour, the game can be played with all instruments (it’s the only way you’ll unlock the whole band and certain achievements/trophies). So you can play as a full band with the guitar, bass, drums and vocals on all tracks and even create your own tunes and submit them online. Cool unlockables include Lemmy from Motorhead, King Diamond and Zombie versions of Metallica. The Cheat section allows you to modify the rock-out colors and gems. As always you’ll also unlock new instruments and clothing as you play.

One of the best things about Guitar Hero Metallica is the design of the game. The artwork and graphics for the menus etc. are all Pushead (an artist who does a lot of artwork for Metallica) themed, or based on famous graphics from t-shirts and similar outputs. Next to that, the band’s digital projection is both authentic and matches the way they perform on stage due to motion-capturing. For example, Rob Trujillo’s signature axe-spin on Seek and Destroy is great to see in a game.

It’s difficult to judge a Guitar Hero game in terms of gameplay due to the nature of the series. Difficulty settings range from Beginner to Expert+ so anyone can play, no-matter their experience or ability. Expert+ mode on drums is particularly evil and will require you to perfect some double-bass control.

Online is available but isn’t the easiest to set up or to use. You can play battles or pro-face offs but it’s not quite as quick or as easy as playing with your buddies in the same room. Battles have a unique Metallica twist. Your guitars from Guitar Hero 3 or World Tour will obviously be compatible but I’d avoid using Rock Band peripherals as they never seem to work as well. Talking of which, if you have no guitar or have trashed your previous plastic axes, I recommend the Metallica Guitar Bundle as the Pushead artwork plate looks exquisite.

In conclusion, Guitar Hero Metallica is essential if you’re a fan of Metallica, heavy metal or the Guitar Hero series itself. For everyone else, it’s a great bit of fun. It even encouraged my girlfriend to get into the band – where I have failed before. It’s still a bit of a fad, but this is certainly the best version of the fad.

Metallica Tracklist:

Other Bands Tracklist:

You’ll dig:

Great Songs (if you like metal/rock)
Decent visuals
Good customizations for characters

You’ll not dig so much:

Not the greatest variety of tunes

Total Score: 92

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