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Tap Tap Revenge Metallica Review
Written by Robert Workman on Monday, November 2, 2009
Multiple favorites from the Metallica library, terrific presentation, insane two-player Battle mode, reasonably priced at five bucks.
Only ten songs (less than other Tap Tap games), hard and expert settings are incredibly difficult.
Earlier this year, Activision released a Guitar Hero game specifically suited for Metallica, featuring a number of the band's hits. However, since it never came out for iPhone, a few folks were wondering if they'd ever get the chance to rock out to "Enter Sandman" without listening to it through their music library. Well, good news. Tapulous has listened, and the band now has a portable game to bang your head to in Tap Tap Revenge Metallica.
Ten of the band's greatest hits are here, from older favorites like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Enter Sandman", to more current releases like "All Nightmare Long" and "Some Kind of Monster". As each song plays, you need to hit balls that roll down a playfield, right when they pass a sensor bar at the bottom of the screen. Hit them in succession, and your score multiplies. As you proceed through each segment, specifically colored balls appear. Hit these at once and you'll earn either a bonus multiplier or a shield, depending on which difficulty you play on.
Shields are vastly important, because bombs come down the field every so often, and if you hit them, you do damage to the lane they were in, missing numerous notes as a result. If you have a shield, you're protected, but only for one hit.
Shields and bombs also play a huge part in the game's two-player mode. You can hook up with a friend via Bluetooth in a versus battle, sending bombs each other's way while completing notes on the current song. This versus mode is one of the biggest highlights of the game, and will keep you and your head-banging friends hooked for hours.
Single-player modes shouldn't be brushed aside, though. The Career Mode slowly walks you through the ten-song library, warming you up for the challenge that lies ahead. If you think you're ready, you can choose Arcade Mode and press your luck. Just make sure you watch out for those bombs.
The presentation is dark, but never to the point that you can't see what's on-screen. It's a game with a moody atmosphere, with lightning strikes, tolling bells and hard rock attitude that fits Metallica almost perfectly. It's not as smooth looking as what's in Tap Tap Revenge Coldplay, but this is a whole different kind of game.
As for the music, it rocks. Plug in your headphones and you'll be treated to ten excellent Metallica recordings. "All Nightmare Long" is the best of the bunch, an eight-minute opus that starts out slow and picks up the pace, to the point that your fingers will get a little numb. There are no sound effects to speak of, but we don't care. We just want to rock.
Tap Tap Revenge Metallica only has two downfalls. First, the hard and expert difficulty settings will test even the most skilled touch masters. These markers come flying so quickly that you'll easily miss strings of five or more at a time. The second is that the game only has ten songs. Considering that other Tap Tap games have at least 12 or more, this is unacceptable. Plus, some of the band's bigger songs, like "The Memory Remains" and "Nothing Else Matters", are absent.
Still, for $4.99, Tap Tap Revenge Metallica is a hard-rocking game that'll keep you busy. The songs are great, and the presentation stays loyal to the band's mantra. If you're away from your precious copy of Guitar Hero Metallica, this is a good substitute.
