The Beatles: Rock Band

Reaching a whole new generation through the Guitar Hero template is something artists like Aerosmith, ACDC and Metallica have already entered into and now it is Harmonix’ turn to enter the fray with John, Paul, George and Ringo.

The first thing you will notice is how polished The Beatles: Rockband is. As soon as you start you are treated to a sublime opening FMV which then whisks you into a psychedelic rainbow landscape littered with multiple options. Many of the gameplay options are stalwarts of the Rockband franchise such as multiplayer battle modes (including tug of war) and the way in which you can play all modes on and offline. Yet taking the Rockband model and wrapping it in psychedelic colours and flowers is no bad thing as you’ll have plenty of options offering both limited and extensive depth.

It is within the career/story mode that you will find the bulk of The Beatles package and as you start to play you will find that the extensive create a player mode is culled as you are instantly whisked into an FMV of a particular timeframe in The Beatles career. From the starting blocks of The Cavern in Liverpool circa 1963 and beyond there is never a moment where you feel you are missing out on a key part of The Beatles career. Ok, so there is no mention of Hamburg and any break-ups but this is a celebration of the success of the band. Known to all, when The Beatles gave up their live shows (due to the exhaustive touring and screaming crowds) you’ll be stuck in the recording studio for a few years and here is when the title truly starts to shine.

Envisioning The Beatles in a recording studio could have left the whole experience a flat one yet credit must go to Harmonix who have crafted in several dreamscapes which all fit The Beatles trippy songs very well. Playing Sgt. Pepper is a visual sensation as you’re taken through the skies in a wonderful Union Jack balloon and Yellow Submarine is an underwater seascape which leaves you smiling from ear to ear.

It is this ‘duty of care’ which Harmonix clearly demonstrate which gives The Beatles: Rockband real quality. Upon completion of songs you will gain the traditional Rockband star-rating system (out of 5) yet rather than gaining new fans you will gain photographs or movies based on your ranking. It is a clever device which will keep you plugging away to 5-star all songs thus unlocking a wealth of clippings and movie clips (some of which are extremely rare).

Other than a polish which shines obsessively bright, Harmonix have also introduced the ability for 3 microphones to be used to re-create those patented Beatles harmonies. Truth is we couldn’t manage many of these harmonies but they are fun to get down and if all else fails you can all sing the main melody which is as enjoyable as the already established guitar, bass and drum playing.

For those already established in such practices there is an exhaustive ‘Beatles Beats’ tutorial for budding drummers aching to become Ringo and although the general difficulty of the title never hits the arthritic heights of Guitar Hero, the songs are so enjoyable and the notation so well mapped that this doesn’t particularly present a grudge. Sure you’ll fly through the single player and reach the encore far sooner than you would have liked but it’s more down to the quality of the tracks on parade than a lack of longevity. You could argue the fact that there are only 45 songs as opposed to the usual 80+ on a standard Rockband or GH disk, yet (unlike those titles) most of the songs here are established, enjoyable guitar-led songs which means that you will find yourself returning to tracks far more than in previous music games.

There’s not much else we feel we can say about The Beatles: Rockband. It is a fitting tribute oozing clarity of direction, accessibility to newcomers and a tracklist that will make all Beatles fans proud. The foundations laid by previous Harmonix titles has created a stable stage on which The Beatles can stand proudly on and the future downloadable content (including full albums) will ensure that those with an online connection will continue to rock with The Beatles for many more months to come.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that The Beatles were musical pioneers in many respects. With more musical flexibility than most bands could ever dream of they are one of (if not the) greatest bands of all time. It’s really no surprise then to see The Beatles music available in videogame form, especially as they continue to enter the musical mindset of every passing generation at one time or another. What is a surprise though is just how much love Harmonix have poured into the title. The graphics are brilliant and have a variety that will surprise at every turn and the way in which Harmonix use ‘FMV-alike’ aspects for performances means that the quality of the title shines through.

The critic within us knows that the DLC model and high pricing of the band/instrument sets are stretching the franchise right into the consumers pockets, yet for the most part this is wholly ignorable as the title which sits in our hands is a celebration. A journey with one of the greatest bands ever and that alone makes The Beatles: Rockband a journey worth being a part of.

Comments

LostOverThere Says:
September 18th, 2009 at 19:16 || Total Comments: 108

Great review, Mark! The score seems pretty on par with what everyone else is saying, so I'm becoming quite curious with it. Sucks about the £180 price tag for the full band set though.

Ganepark32 Says:
September 19th, 2009 at 03:28 || Total Comments: 611

Good review. And I'd definitely agree with the score and the sentiments here. It's just such a labor of love from the guys at Harmonix. It's so polished and well put together that it's simple to just sit and play it for ages on end and continue to enjoy it from start to finish and beyond. I personally wouldn't begrudge the 45 songs as I know there are whole albums to come but even with 45 songs, I would still put it as one of the best musical games on any console, and I've played virtually all Guitar Heros and Rock Bands.

Mokong Says:
September 19th, 2009 at 04:39 || Total Comments: 591

Not a Beatles much myself so not really interested in this, but just out of curiosity, do Guitar Hero instruments work with this like other rockband games?

Sunshinelad Says:
September 19th, 2009 at 08:40 || Total Comments: 114

yes they work.

TheVillan Says:
September 19th, 2009 at 21:38 || Total Comments: 34

This game is quality, and I went into this game not as the biggest Beatles fan. The Beatles were never that big on me, just a few songs I knew of that I liked. But I always wanted to properly sample The Beatles' music, because as perhaps THE biggest British band in existence they must have made a few good hits, no? I had to get this game, it looked sweet. I could tell Harmonix were more intent on making this game about the titular band more than Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Metallica seemed to. This game succeeded in getting me into The Beatles. I discovered lots of their tracks that I never gave much attention to before and I bluddy well enjoy them. I enjoy them a lot! Nice work, Harmonix.

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