A lot has happened in the world of Metallica since they graced our shores back in 2004. They have appeared on The Simpsons. They have toured for the 20th anniversary of Master of Puppets, playing the entire album start to finish. They have released a new album to critical acclaim and widespread positivity. They have done escape tours, US tours and European tours. But they have not come to Australia. Over the years it had hinted at a possible tour of Australia, but nothing was ever set in stone or taken too seriously until an official announcement. This official announcement was made towards the end of April this year. It was greeted with shock, excitement, emotion and a steely resolve that this would be a tour I would never forget.

After the memorable success of our previous adventure in 2004, taking in 3 Big Day Outs and three arena shows, the Tango to my Cash, Sam, and I decided that we indeed had to do it again and then some. It was easy for us to commit to doing every Metallica show on the next tour. We even got as deluded to say we would goto New Zealand and Japan. But those ideas changed when the realities of life appeared. So we focussed on what we could do. What we were going to do. What was our fate.

The announcement of a tour to Australia was read and double-read to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I scoured each bit of information. They were to start the tour on October 18 in Brisbane and end on November 18 in Melbourne. All up there were eight shows were announced over the month long period. It didn’t take a genius to gather the four horseman of awesome would announce extra gigs. Me and Sam debated wether it would be more in each city or only the east coast. Regardless, I took a day off work and sat myself down in front of my computer on the morning of 04 May. I had printed out and stuck on the wall the MetClub presale codes that Sam and I were given. I had everything organised. And I was waiting until the noon release of the presale access.

By about 12:05 I had purchased eight tickets for the first show in Melbourne. And within that 5 minutes, problems had already started to appear. The main issues were with Ticketek not quite understanding exactly the process for a MetClub presale. I have to say that the efforts of the MetClub staff over in the USA whilst this was going on were the only things keeping me from having a stroke. So there I was after all this waiting and waiting, and I only had the eight tickets. What happened next was a chain-smoking ordeal of the highest order. I sat. I refreshed. I waited. I cursed. I hoped. I prayed. And then it happened – Ticketek pulled its greedy fat finger out of its fat arse.

By three o’clock that afternoon I had secured tickets to every single show Metallica had announced. I was going to be seeing them in Brisbane then Perth and back across to Sydney, over to Adelaide and then back home in Melbourne. It had happened after all of these years. Six long fucking years. Which reminds me of what James said in ‘04 when I got to meet him. He promised us it would not be another six years, but unfortunately it was. But who gives a fuck about dwelling on that? I HAD TICKETS TO EVERY SINGLE FUCKING METALLICA SHOW IN AUSTRALIA. Well, so I thought.

As we predicted (woohoo), Metallica announced further shows (fuck yeah!) in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. I was at work when this happened. Unfortunately Ticketek had fucked up AGAIN and was now demanding VISA cards. So I had to go home. Once home I got the next batch of tickets. YES! I was going to see Metallica 8 times! EVERY SHOW! Again, so I thought. A few days later a third show was added to the east coast and extra ones for Perth and Adelaide! Like competitors in the Amazing Race, Sam and I were faced with a road block – a choice between two tasks, each with their own pros and cons. Did we go to all of the newly announced shows? You know that reality thing I mentioned earlier? Well it came back and reminded us that it was simply not going to be affordable. So we ended up getting tickets to the third shows in Sydney and Melbourne. Oh and I forgot to mention that my little bro is coming with us to all Sydney and Melbourne shows.

So as of right now I have purchased nearly $5000 worth of tickets – not all mine, mind you. I ‘only’ bought ten for myself. Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane x 2, Sydney x 3 and Melbourne x 3. And it feels awesome. I wrote up some memories from the 2004 trip – it was a week and a half in the life of a Metallica fan. This year, its going to be close to a month of madness in the life of a Metallica fan.

And I would not have it any other fucking way. No life ’till leather!

For those of you who catch public transport you may have seen posters littered around the place with a cowboy pointing a shotgun at you. For those of you that frequent the internet, you may have noticed ads with the same cowboy. For those of you with even a little finger on the pulse of modern entertainment may have also seen and heard of this cowboy. This cowboys name is John Marston, and he is the protagonist for one of 2010’s biggest gaming releases, Red Dead Redemption.

Developed by the same crew of people that brought the world the Grand Theft Auto series of games, Red Dead Redemption (RDR) has kicked down the door of this hear varmints saloon, had a shot of whiskey and is now chatting up one of the whores in my mind. John Marston has in many ways pushed Commander Shephard and Alan Wake (thoughts/musings to come shortly) aside and taken pride of place at the bar. I had planned on offering some thoughts regarding Alan Wake, but as I said, Marston has rode into town and taken over.

Screenshot from Red Dead Redemption – 2010

I love a good story. I love a good story with characters that are given time to develop, mature and be fleshed out. I love a good story with these characters set in a believable world that I can spirit myself off into. When all of these things combine it is truly something special; a big bang of awesome, a smashing together of great ideas, great visuals and superb acting. I honestly fail to see how any game will be able to walk into my saloon and challenge John Marston and RDR.

Classic ending shot from John Wayne’s
1956 film ‘The Searchers’

A brief back story would help as you load the game up and follow John on a train to Armadillo. Marston used to run in a gang, an outlaw gang, and now he has tried to move his life forward, out of that life and into one of normalcy. But as we all know, the anti-hero’s journey is never smooth. The gov’ment have forced John through threats to his family, to hunt down and kill the members of his gang. And so begins your epic journey. Actually, epic is a really good word for this game. The scale of everything in this game is huge.

As you step off the train after the opening cinematic, you are hit with a realisation that what you can see is a world completely devoid of barriers. At times I have found this freedom quite daunting, but through the sheer brilliance and artistry of the games creation, I have happily ventured forth into the world known as New Austin. Within the first ten minutes of playing the game I was witness to a stunning sunset over the vast landscape and equally breath-taking horizon. This game is just amazing. Whilst it may sound slightly gay to talk about a lovely sunset, until you see this game in motion, you have to take my word for it that it is truly stunning.

I loved the TV series Deadwood as it was another big bang of awesome; gritty, dirty, violent and cussin’. But the key was an impeccably well written script and excellent acting. And RDR certainly ticks those boxes. John Marston is portrayed as an anti-hero; an honourable outlaw looking to turn is life around and onto the straight and narrow. He is forced to hunt his gang. He seems to have the a dry sense of humour and a gentlemanly gamesmanship that combine to create a likable if at times threatening character. The voice-acting is top-class, from Marston to all of the peripheral characters you meet. Sure, there are some walking talking wild west clichés, however Rockstar have managed to make them believable in the changing landscape of New Austin.

As the story unfolds and you deal with characters of note, the game reveals its open-ness. Whilst you might have spoken to Bonnie Macfarlane about doing night patrols on her farm, you are free to wander the land as you see fit. The land is not without its perils, as rogue bandits, wild animals and water will pop up out of nowhere to kill you. Its a shame water is deadly as it looks so nice. The last game to make me want to do the little things to get full enjoyment was Mass Effect 2. In New Austin you can hunt the aforementioned wild animals and collect pelts, meat and fangs. These can be exchanged for money at the stores in each of the townships. I never thought I would enjoy so much, the feeling of racing across the land with a rifle in my hand and taking down some wild deer or coyotes. So enjoyable.

Every now and then a stranger will grab your attention and ask you to do them a favour and these side missions are heaps of fun and can range from looking for a lost loved one, catching an escaped horse or even winning a land deed in a game of liar’s dice. I haven’t yet mentioned the side games in New Austin. You can play poker, blackjack, horseshoes, liar’s dice and possibly more. You can bet on these games and actually spend an infinite amount of time trying to win money, it is that good. The game is just bursting with awesome.

Last night I noticed I had played for nearly twenty hours and have only completed around 30% of the entire game. This is truly remarkable. This game is truly remarkable. It is so enjoyable, even my brother likes to watch me capture and hogtie bandits before galloping back to the sheriff. If you have had any doubts about this game, I hope for your sake you ignore them. John Marston is a character you simply have to let take you on what has been so far and will no doubt be in the future, the most impressive, immense and grand gaming experience of 2010. I best be going now as I have just made it to Mexico.