Though band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo participated in motion-capture sessions to help create lifelike in-game avatars, the story actually finds players in the shoes of a band serving as Metallica's opening act.
In general, the game's difficulty level was designed to be on par with that of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, however, the hard-hitting nature of some of Metallica's tracks led to the creation of an extremely difficult 'Expert+' mode that can incorporate a second drum pedal. The game features a total of 49 songs, including 28 original Metallica tracks, such as 'Seek and Destroy,' 'Fade to Black,' 'Master of Puppets,' and 'One,' and 21 band-selected songs from such acts as Bob Seger, Judas Priest, Queen, and Thin Lizzy. Just as Guitar Hero: Aerosmith was something of a glorified expansion of Guitar Hero III, Guitar Hero: Metallica serves as an extension of Activision's band-focused hit Guitar Hero: World Tour, offering gamers a feel for life in and around one of heavy metal's most popular and influential bands.
