It seems Guitar Hero is going down the path of Singstar, Sims, Survivor...and releasing a new version right around every time Jung takes his bi-monthly shower.
If you've watched Good Game for a while, you'll remember how much we hated the last few spin offs. But this time it's different. This time it's personal. This time...it's Metallica.
Yes, those formerly the enemy of the virtual revolution, are now embracing it, in an attempt to buy back their digital souls. And after an epic intro which sets the tone beautifully...I think it worked.
It's the first time I've actually looked up while playing to see what the graphics were doing, and James Hetfield's face even looks suitably strained when it should! They've achieved this by getting the band in for motion capturing and it really shows.
Certain songs have been kept a bit easier than you'd expect so everyone can enjoy them and this is good, such as Nothing Else Matters, Sad But True, Wherever I May Roam. But if you wanna pump Master of Puppets, or Battery, it's gunna be painful, but painful in that good way that makes you wanna actually get better at the game, just to do that track. It's like the noob-friendly World Tour format mixed with the hardness of Metallica, and it's just about right.
Unlike Aerosmith, a good amount of care has been given to the layout of the notes so it's fun to play. If you hit all the star notes during Star Power, it isn't wasted in this one, it just adds to the meter. If you're not a Metallica fan you'll find most songs repetitive and hard, but for fans this is a must-have experience.
The HD lag problem still exists, where on some TVs, not all, the audio doesn't match up with the visuals exactly. On 1 or 2 tracks we even noticed the calibration change, so if you were going alright, all of a sudden you'd need to hit notes a little earlier than you should, and then it'll change back. They've never been able to fix this problem, and it's just luck of the draw if your TV has this issue. But if your friend has the same TV and doesn't get it, that's a good bet.
As with all Guitar Heros, singing isn't a strength of the game - the Singstar version of The Boys are Back in Town is much more fun. And I dunno about you, but I don't have any friends that sound like Hetfield anyway. But the guitar, drums, and bass are all great on these tracks. 8.5/10 from me.
Yeah, I think light Metallica fans will find themselves really interested in just 8 or so tracks. But those tracks are great to play and the main thing is it's not another Rocks the 80's. 8 from me.