We’ve known about the game since October. The band only officially confirmed its existence on Sunday. But USA Today has just revealed pretty much everything you’d want to know ahead of the game’s release in the first half of 2009.
Metallica themselves have called it “the worst kept secret in rock-n-roll”. Guitar Hero Metallica is very much coming soon, packing 28 Metallica songs alongside those from metal-thrashing-mad contemporaries that include Slayer, Machine Head, Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters… even Queen!? The lads have requested an all-new ‘Expert+’ difficulty mode that demands two (count ’em) drum pedals so you can sound just like Lars Ulrich or Slayer’s Dave Lombardo. Track listings and more details on features are being promised via metallica.com.
Meanwhile this morning’s USA Today article has plenty more info to chew down on, with drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist Kirk Hammett (all hail) giving the low down together with lead designer Alan Flores. Revelations include that the game is indeed going to be plenty more difficult than previous editions of GH, mainly because songs from the Metallica back catalogue tend to go at gangbuster speeds with untold double bass-drum action required. The riffing is likewise insane.
Because the early stuff is so mental a decision has been made to order the game in terms of difficulty rather than chronologically. As a fan you’ll create your own Metallica tribute band and attend their gigs at iconic venues that include Tushino Airfield, San Fran’s The Stone and our very own Hammersmith Odeon (now Apollo).
Flores tells USA Today that “We tried to put as much Metallica into the game as possible.” We like his way of thinking. This roughly translates into new Battle Mode features such as Fade to Black that vanishes your opponent’s ‘highway’, forcing them to play from memory; Ride the Lightning, an electrical attack, and Trapped Under Ice – similar though somehow different (?) to the familiar Whammy Bar Lock.
There’s tons more to read from Metallica at USA Today, here: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2008-12-14-metallica-game-qanda_N.htm
