Quick Review:
The Beatles: Rock Band
Developed by Harmonix
Published by MTV Games
for the Playstation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360
A game worthy of the band:
In honor of John Lennon's 70th birthday, I've decided to take a look back at last year's hit, The Beatles: Rock Band. The game coincided with the release of the entire Beatles catalogue, both in mono and stereo collections. The game received major buzz when Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr introduced the game at e3 2009. George Harrison's son, Dani, played alongside Conan O'Brien on the Tonight Show a day before its release. The game certainly received much hype prior to release.
Prior to the release of The Beatles: Rock Band, the Guitar Hero franchise had band focused games with Aerosmith and Metallica while Guitar Hero: Van Halen was planned to be released a few months after The Beatles: Rock Band. The Beatles, however, is an example of making a band oriented music game right. Unlike Guitar Hero, Rock Band not only gave Beatles fans a loyal interpretation of the Fab Four but created a fun and well-tuned music/rhythm game that could stand alone against the numbered entries of both Rock Band and Guitar Hero (Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero 5).
The artistic style of The Beatles: Rock Band is perfect in representing John, Paul, George, and Ringo. The designs of actual Beatles venues, such as the Cavern Club and Shea Stadium, are presented with incredible charm and keen detail on both Beatles' attire and the fashion style of the teenage girls crying their eyes out in the stadium seats. Eventually we come to the "hippie" days of the Beatles in which every song is performed as a dreamscape within Abbey Road Studios. Seeing the crazy and cartoony Yellow Submarine drifting passed the screen in beautiful 7th generation graphics is stunning.
The gameplay is the same as Rock Band 2 with a few tweaks. The vocals now offer up to 3 players to sing along in order to encompass how The Beatles used harmonies in almost all of their songs. The drums also feel a little looser and more forgiving than they did in Rock Band 2.
How can you argue against the sound in music games? If it's a good music game, you can't. The Beatles: Rock Band presents all the songs as clear as can be but the real charm comes in the sounds effects. Whether it's the actual recordings of Beatles rehearsal chatter played during loading screens or a chord from "Getting Better" used as a selection noise, the sound effects are great.
The Beatles: Rock Band is a loyal music game that offers Beatles fans everything they might ask for. Although the difficulty level may seem a little low and the low variety of songs may get boring after awhile, the fans looking to play for the love of everything Beatles will not be disappointed. Oh, and Happy Birthday John!
Details -
Genre: Music/Rhythm
ESRB Rating: T for Teen (Mild Lyrics, Tobacco Reference)
Player Options: 1-Player, 2 - 4 Players( recommended), online multiplayer
Difficulty: Easy
Learning Curve: Harsh
Stats -
Graphics: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Controls: 4/5
Lasting Appeal: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
31 Hit-Combo!!
Superb!
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