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Guitar Hero: Metalica is a Wii Guitar Hero game from 2009. It features over twenty guest acts, and was made by Activision.
Gameplay[]
Guitar Hero: Metallica, like other games in the Guitar Hero series, allows players to simulate the playing of rock music using special instrument controllers. The game is based on the band approach presented in Guitar Hero World Tour, and features parts of lead and bass guitar, drums, and vocals. To successfully complete songs and score, players must use the instruments to play notes that scroll on-screen in time with the music. For lead and bass guitar players, this is done by holding down colored fret buttons on the guitar neck while striking a strum bar; for the drum players, this requires the player to strike the appropriate drum pad or kick with the bass drum pedal; for vocals, the player must attempt to match the pitch of the notes through a microphone. Players earn scoring multipliers for playing several consecutive notes or phrases correctly, and by correctly completing marked phrases, players can earn Star Power which can be released for a higher scoring multiplier. If players miss too many notes, they will eventually fail the song and will have to retry it.
Development[]
Guitar Hero: Metallica was revealed to be in production when an analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities discovered mention of the game in Activision's 2008 SEC filings, slated to be released in "fiscal 2009". The band was approached in April 2008, who quickly agreed to the game as a "no brainer". Development for the game began in the second quarter of 2008, according to lead designer Alan Flores. Two posts made to Metallica's website in June 2008 also referred to the "not so top secret GH thing", and that Guitar Hero players could expect "a pile of 'Tallica songs." Lars Ulrich, when asked about the game during an interview with MTV, stated that "the people at ‘Guitar Hero’ and Activision are rapidly becoming our best new friends in the world. You can put the rest of it together yourself." Ulrich stated that the idea for the Metallica-themed Guitar Hero game came from the influence the original Guitar Hero games had on Ulrich and James Hetfield's children, learning about music and older bands such as Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
Songs[]
Guitar Hero: Metallica features 49 songs based on master recordings, 28 by Metallica, and the other 21 songs by bands that are "their personal favorites and influences from over the years", including those that appeared on their Garage Inc. album.
Reception[]
Guitar Hero: Metallica has received favorable reviews from game critics, and has been described as the best Guitar Hero game in the series since Neversoft took over development of the franchise. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica noted that with numerous other Guitar Hero titles, Guitar Hero: Metallica could have been "just another way to cash-in on the hype cheaply", but the overall quality of the game shows that "the design team adores Metallica". Simon Parkin of Eurogamer stated that Guitar Hero: Metallica "sets the benchmark" for future band-specific games from either Guitar Hero or Rock Band.
External links[]
- Guitar Hero: Metallica at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Guitar Hero: Metallica at GameFAQs
| Guitar Hero series | |
|---|---|
| Main series | III: Legends of Rock • Aerosmith • World Tour • Metallica • Smash Hits • Guitar Hero 5 • Warriors of Rock • Van Halen • Live |
| Spin-offs | Band Hero • Guitar Hero: On Tour • On Tour: Decades • On Tour: Modern Hits • DJ Hero • DJ Hero 2 |
| Related | Harmonix • Activision • Rock Band |