Nerd Life: Guitar Hero Metallica

Awesome.

Okay, review over.

Seriously. Best Guitar Hero ever.

Every song in this game is just FUN to play. Even the brutal tracks like War Ensemble and Dyer's Eve are entertaining. You feel like you've actually accomplished something by completing them.

They've changed the advancement system. Now you unlock new venues and songs based upon how many stars you've earned. So, if you can't get past Disposable Heroes, just move on. However, at least on Medium, my noob-preferred setting, you unlock the final set after playing less than half the game. That's a bit TOO easy.

Heck, just WATCHING the game is amazing. For the first time in GH history, the crowd is part of the performance. They sing along on songs like One, Master of Puppets and Creeping Death.

One thing that I really enjoy about this game: the difficulty curve. In previous GH games, the first few sets are just boring. GH:M throws you right in to For Whom the Bell Tolls and doesn't let up from there. Sure, the earlier songs are easier, for the most part, but not mind-numbingly so.

The track list is awesome. Here's some highlights:

For Whom the Bell Tolls: Great beginning to the game. Very fun.
Fade to Black: One of their best songs, hands-down.
Orion: I wonder what the vocalist does during an instrumental? Still, this is "Cliff's Song," and it's great that they included it.
Mercyful Fate: It takes guts to put an 11-plus minute song in a game like this. It's an endurance test. Great song, though.
Fuel: Way more fun that I would have thought.
The Thing that Should Not Be: Metallica's favorite song to play. The venue that you unlock this in is epic.

I would have LOVED to see a Cliff Burton cameo playing "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth," but I'm happy with the game, nonetheless.

Certain songs had to be left out due to licensing issues. Ride the Lightning, The Call of Ktulu and The Four Horsemen all have Dave Mustaine listed as writing credits and had to be left out. Ktulu was originally supposed to be the final song.

IF they were to release DLC, here's some songs that I would LOVE to play:

Harvester of Sorrow
The Frayed Ends of Sanity
To Live is to Die
Bleeding Me
The Outlaw Torn
Fixxxer
Astronomy

I doubt they'll do any DLC, but a guy can dream, right?

Anyway, enough rambling. There's really not much to discuss about a rhythm game, so go buy it!