By Philippe Landry, reporter

Acadie Nouvelle, June 6 2009

Thank you Metallica!  With the participation of this legendary group, the Guitar Hero series goes full out and reassures us that it can still surprise us, this in spite having lost ground to its competition, Rock Band.  Having also lost some of its luster thanks to some weaker showings (GH: Aerosmith), I think it’s clear that Guitar Hero isn’t ready to hang it up.

The formula for this edition doesn’t stray far from the others of this series but the presence of a giant in the rock industry like Metallica permits the series to take flight once again, and millions of Metallica and metal fans have welcomed this edition with open arms.

GH: Metallica lets players use all the instruments offered with GH: World Tour.  It’s therefore possible to pick your favorite band member while other players look after the rest.  It is still possible, however, to play a solo with one instrument at a time.

Regardless of the selected instrument, it’s the group’s musical complexity of the songs that impressed me most.  It’s one thing to listen to these songs on disk, it’s another to try to follow Lars Ulrich’ demonic rhythms or Kirk Hammett’ demented solos.

Peu importe l’instrument choisi, c’est la complexité musicale des chansons du groupe qui m’a le plus impressionné… C’est une chose de les écouter sur disque, mais c’en est une autre d’essayer de suivre les rythmes déments de Lars Ulrich ou les solos déchaînés de Kirk Hammett.

The points system is based on the first two titles of the series.  You have to complete certain levels before passing to the next and your performance is evaluated based on the number of stars awarded.  It’s the tier system rather than the spectacle format, as used in GH III: Legends of Rock and GH: World Tour.

In spite of the general difficulty of the pieces, I appreciated the fact that the game is very forgiving and I was able to advance without having to worry about getting 100% at every level.

Aside from all the regular inclusions, this game also contains a ton of additional elements specifically for this title.  One such item is a DVD of the group that the players can watch and learn facts about the band.

Where this edition really surpasses the others and becomes quite possibly one of the best of the series is the sound track.  Aside from the 30 or so tracks from Metallica, this edition also features Mastodon, Foo Fighters, Motörhead, Judas Priest and Suicidal Tendencies,  just to name a few.  With the recaptured popularity of the series, we can expect other titles coming out by the end of this year.  Among those confirmed are GH: Van Halen and GH: Smash Hits, this one being a sort of encapsulation of the series with the biggest hits of each edition.  There’s also talk of GH: Hendrix.

Meanwhile, we’ll have to take particular notice of a new arrival: DJ Hero.

DJ Hero is slated for a fall release and will certainly be of interest to many.   The game will exchange the guitars and other instruments for a turn table, flanked with buttons on one side and mobile disk on the other.  In short, this game will simulate what one expects to see at DJ competitions.

There are many reasons for getting Guitar Hero: Metallica.  This title augments the quality of the game along with being one of the more exciting games to come out.   Even it you aren’t a fan of Metallica, you can’t pass up this title.  After having lost ground to Rock Band, it’s satisfying to see that Guitar Hero is finally returned and here to stay.