Guitar Hero: Metallica

It is Sad But True that Guitar Hero: World Tour was let down by a lacklustre set list. As much as I want to forget about it, The Memory Remains and in all honesty I was worried when Metallica was announced. This was One game which needed to be done well as the Guitar Hero series needs a quick cash-in game the same way this paragraph needs another laboured Metallica pun. Put simply, Guitar Hero: Metallica isn't quite the Hero of the Day but at times it can feel like you are Pulling Teeth.

Guitar Hero: Metallica has managed to remind me why I liked the franchise to begin with. Rock and metal music combined with the feeling of mastering an instrument without spending hours of hard work practicing was an inspired combination. However, World Tour's diversification combined with a selection of boring songs left me rather disappointed.

This latest instalment on the other hand had me wearing a sweatband with good reason while occasionally yelling out things like "Rock!" and raising a hand in the metal horns. Typically, this inevitable rock stardom didn't go beyond the living room and soon embarrassment followed when a concerned neighbour asked if I was alright. Any game which elicits worried responses from local residents must be doing something right.

This seemingly unrelated preamble has a purpose Guitar Hero: Metallica is going back to the series' roots by catering for a specific audience. In my opinion this is a great move by allowing time to concentrate on the strengths and weaknesses of the franchise. Whereas the previous solo-focused title, Aerosmith was more miss than hit, Metallica is backed up by a stronger band. One of the world's all time best-selling groups with plenty of material, a huge fan-base and true status as "Guitar Heroes" couldn't go wrong when combined with the Guitar Hero series.

As ever, the gameplay remains true to form and features no real changes since its latest outing. In order to play notes you hold down the corresponding fret(s) whilst strumming as they approach you on the screen. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are also present, more evidently on the higher difficulty levels. These notes don't require strumming, only the correct fret button to be pushed as long as you keep hitting the notes. The new translucent solo notes for the buttons on the lower neck of the guitar return as well as playing multiple chords whilst holding sustained ones.

The mechanics remain rigidly familiar but are entirely dependent on having good songs to accompany them as well as good charting of the music. The developers have done a fantastic job here and playing through the set list is fun and entertaining with the balance between fun, challenge and sound being far more thoughtful than World Tour. Expert difficulty is now firmly back at Expert level and the game is certainly challenging with a nicely worked out progression curve. The inclusion of the new "Expert +" mode is great for the hardcore player and requires two pedals for double bass sections. This is seriously difficult and as an inexperienced drummer I found myself looking more like a Cossack dancer than Lars Ulrich.

As ever the core appeal lies in how much you like the set list. As both a Guitar Hero and Metallica fan the track list kept me playing more or less from start to finish. The Metallica tracks are well chosen with virtually all the band's biggest hits present and the other artists songs are well chosen to fit in with the theme. Inevitably there are some mediocre songs including one from Metallica's 2003 Album "That Shall Not Be Named." Sound quality is excellent throughout with every song being a master recording showing the cover songs of old are now a thing of the past.

The game features a "story" in the loosest possible sense with some nicely animated clips filling in progression. For most of the game you play as Metallica in a series of gigs, and the rest as a tribute band which tours alongside them performing the other songs from the set list. Things move along at a healthy pace with songs played individually rather than in World Tour's sets.

Graphically the game is starting to show its age and very little appears to have changed in the last 18 months. Admittedly you don't need ultra-realistic visuals to show coloured notes moving along a line or people performing on stage but a little touch-up for the powerful consoles would have been nice. The digital band members look disconcertingly familiar but the stylized visuals make James' beard look like a stoat desperately clinging to his chin.

Guitar Hero: Metallica's minor changes to gameplay mainly involve moving the star power metre, current score and star rating into a nice compact area on the side of the fret. This has been long overdue and whilst it works smoothly is hardly a revolution. Loading times in the PS3 version are also lengthy leaving you to stare at a skull and a "witty quip" for far too long. The difficulty curve is generally kept in check and this means that Metallica's earliest and thrashiest works are introduced later in the game. Extra variation in each set would have been welcome and would have spaced out Metallica's best known material.

A good inclusion is a selection of bonuses which take the form of facts about each song, music videos, lyrics and more. These are useful extras which are great for existing fans and add something to help justify the relatively limited song list. They do tend to emphasise that this is a game for Metallica fans and will likely not impress casual players.

The decision on whether to buy this boils down to two factors, how much you like Metallica and Guitar Hero. If you enjoy both and the set list appeals then dust down your Master of Puppets T-shirt and get playing. If you are a Metallica fan then this is certainly a good place to experience the series with a short but well made game. Guitar Hero fans will have a difficult choice to make. With only 48 songs and little scope for future downloadable content this title is probably one to miss for the casual player. If you are the sort of person to spend hours shredding away to post your 100% fully complete run on the internet then go ahead. Metallica has been designed with experienced players in mind so Expert will provide some good challenges, although there isn't a stand out song to cripple your left hand.

Until the next Guitar Hero instalment is released, Nothing Else Matters, so in the meantime I'll return to scaring my neighbours.