Guitar Hero: Metallica

Gaming Age

For fans of the Guitar Hero franchise, Guitar Hero: Metallica might be the best entry we've seen yet. I was somewhat lukewarm on my reception to the other band-themed title that Neversoft put out with GH: Aerosmith, but Metallica absolutely blows that game out of the water, not only with the track listing, but the overall time and attention put into the actual presentation, and how the band seems to be infused into every aspect of the game.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Guitar Hero has reached its apex. It may be downhill from here.

PGNx Media

With Guitar Hero: Metallica, it looks like Neversoft was able to balance the interests of fans of the band and fans of the franchise.

TotalPlayStation

I've been a huge Harmonix fan since they created FreQuency and will openly admit that I never thought Neversoft could beat them at their own game. With Guitar Hero: Metallica they just did. And now the real battle can start.

Worth Playing

The bottom line is if you're a Metallica fan, there's no reason for you not to be playing Guitar Hero: Metallica right now.

GameZone

One of the best Guitar Hero’s to date. It has a great selection of songs, bands, and not to mention, rock legends.

PSX Extreme

Guitar Hero: Metallica is the best damn Guitar Hero game ever.

ZTGameDomain

Metallica songs just seem to lend themselves to this type of game. The note charts are a blast and the presentation is top-notch.

GamePro

That said, this entry is more challenging than previous Guitar Hero efforts, so newcomers should hone their plastic guitar-playing skills on World Tour before braving this one. Once you've learned to shred with the big boys, though, feel free to stage-dive into one of Guitar Hero's best encores yet.

Extreme Gamer

All together Guitar Hero: Metallica gives up 49 Rocking Tunes, 28 of which belong to the rock monsters Metallica. This makes Guitar Hero: Metallica the perfect add-on for Guitar Hero fans looking to turn up their stereo's and shred.

GameDaily

Thanks to a scorching set list (over 45 songs to choose from), the inclusion of a new Expert Plus mode and a bass drum track that's so difficult that two drum pedals are nearly required, players can skip their Wii Fit regime for a real rock workout that will mak 'em sweat.

Cheat Code Central

An amazing track list compiling important songs from every album of the bands history, solid character animations of the band, accurate representations of the stages the band has played on that fans will recognize, a digital "diary" of the band, and even special attacks in the Battle mode. There's not much else you could ask for. Guitar Hero: Metallica sets the bar for upcoming band-specific titles.

Games Radar (in-house)

The Metallica integration goes deeper than the music itself – the band members all appear in the game, although career mode finds you playing not as anyone IN Metallica, but as the band opening for them while on tour.

Level7.nu

If you're a fan of either Metallica or Guitar Hero, this is a must have gaming and music experience. There are 49 songs to play in the package and all of them works great on any of the supported instruments. Great music, presentation and atmosphere makes this one of the best rhythm game experiences available on the market.

Gamers' Temple

Guitar Hero Metallica is a great Guitar Hero game, but it does have one big knock against it and that's that it doesn't support downloadable tracks outside of Metallica's Death Magnetic album.

Gameplanet

Clearly the best artist-specific Guitar Hero yet, Metallica captures the intensity and pace of one of the most influential bands in history. It's a no-brainer for purchase if you're already a Guitar Hero fan, and looks sure to become a party favourite amongst those who appreciate extremely loud music.

WonderwallWeb

Guitar Hero and Metallica go together like love and marriage. Fans of the series will love this quality addition to the franchise.

PSW Magazine UK

Metal noise pollution of the highest order - a perfect package. [May 2009, p.80]

Eurogamer Spain

Neversoft not only has produced the perfect game for Metallica's fans, it also turned out to be the mirror in which Rock Band: The Beatles should look to see if it has succeeded or not.

XGN

This game is an absolute must have for every rock and Guitar Hero fan.

IGN

A great music game, one that has a track list that almost seems like it was written expressly for the purpose of this title. A lot of care was put into the production to ensure that it is both true to the band and its music, while also offering fans cool insight into the group's on-goings.

Game Informer

Perhaps inspired by the band they so love, Neversoft has dramatically improved the visual presentation. Extensive motion capture sessions with the band have yielded a host of realistic animations and dramatic, 360-degree camera work. Stage sets based on the band’s real-life tours and extensive pyrotechnics displays also help deliver a better sense of authenticity than Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. Also, the improved character models are leagues better than any in the series’ history.

Play UK

This is the ultimate music title for gamers. [Issue#179, p.81]

GameFocus

Any fan of metal rock will find more than enough from both Metallica and the bands that inspired them. With great care taken to pick a stellar track list that best represent the band’s music this is a game that Metallica fans will not soon forget since it is most likely sitting on their game shelf now. If you’re a fan of metal music this is a must own.

GamingXP

You’ll definitely enjoy this title if you like music. The only sad thing is that there are not all songs of the famous band included in the game.

MEGamers

A title that every Metallica fan should be playing already. Others might hesitate with so many GH titles coming out in the near future. This game defiantly warrants a purchase on its own however.

PSM3 Magazine UK

Fun to play and a fitting homage. The best 'artist' spinoff yet. [June 2009, p.72]

Vandal Online

Get into Hetfield's skin with the best Guitar Hero spin-off to date.

Playstation Universe

Guitar Hero Metallica is the most polished Guitar Hero game ever. It is a must-buy for Metal-heads, but even those impartial to the genre should check it out.

Game Chronicles

This score is for the Metallica fans who will be buying this game regardless of what I have to say, and hopefully the next Guitar Hero installment will continue to improve the technical side of things why offering some music more appealing to the masses and not just a niche group of hard rockers.

Pelit (Finland)

Guitar Hero with Metallica i.e. same old but for the fans. Neversoft isn’t the top dog when it comes to notation but the good thing is that Metallica’s songs nevertheless translate well into game form. [June 2009]

Playstation Official Magazine Australia

Arguably the best Guitar Hero game since "Guitar Hero III." [June 2009, p.66]

Playstation: The Official Magazine (US)

Here's what it comes down to: exactly how much do you love Metallica? [July 2009, p.78]

VideoGamer

What you essentially get here is 49 tracks metal and heavy rock tracks - 28 of them culled from Metallica's back catalogue, and a further 21 selected by the band themselves.

Gamer.nl

If you've got nothing going on with Metallica then it seems a little illogical to buy this game. But you'll probably buy it anyway if you're a Guitar Hero or Rockband fan. The game deserves that much attention. Especially Guitar Hero veterans will love the rocky numbers that are enclosed in this package. On the other hand, the little flaws and the inferior career-mode (in comparison to Rock Band) can be too much of a problem for the casual rocker.

D+PAD Magazine

Still, the fact remains that spending some time on stage with a virtual-Metallica can be a hugely invigorating experience, and fans of the band, or heavy metal in general, will quickly find their hands forming that most recognisable of gestures - the devil horns.

Playstation Official Magazine UK

The gameplay is also spot on. [June 2009, p.94]

games(TM)

It has more character and better tunes than any other music game. [June 2009, p.112]

Gamer 2.0

As a stand-alone game Guitar Hero: Metallica is decent. The 49 songs in the game are all good, though it would be great to be able to export them to World Tour and have everything in one place.

3DJuegos

Guitar Hero: Metallica is certainly not a revolution, but this new and funny new entry in the musical series will satisfy every fan of the band.

Game Revolution

Exactly what you expect it to be: a solid, offhand reworking of Guitar Hero World Tour with a bunch of Metallica songs.

Video Game Talk

While I'm not a huge fan of their material after the Black Album, the game is set in such a way that you don't have to play a ton of songs you dislike in order to progress, and there are so many classics here that even the most hardcore Metallica fan will love it.

PS3bloggen.se

For the fans Guitar Hero: Metallica is a must have, but even for non-lovers like us there's fun to be had - especially when it comes to the more well known hits. The addition of an extra mode and easier ways to unlock the songs is appreciated, but how come we can't play downloaded songs (apart from Death Magnetic) via this game?

GameShark

Ultimately, if you like Metallica (a lot), and if you like the standard Guitar Hero gameplay formula, then this game is well worth the price of admission. If you don’t meet both those criteria, however, you really should move on.