Beatles Rock Band is on shelves and the major question is: Does this game do justice to the Beatles legacy? As a Beatles fan I can say yes. Let's grab a ticket to ride and take a look at this game.
Content:
Guess what music you'll be playing? If you said Kool & the Gang then you get to go back to school and learn to read. I suggest you start that study with the letter "A". Don't let E throw you either, it's tricky. Obviously, this game is about the Beatles. If you are familiar with Guitar Hero Aerosmith then this is familiar. The Beatles: Rock Band follows John, George, Paul, and Ringo from the early days in Liverpool all the way to Abbey Road and to the Apple Studios. Each set represents a certain era in the band's history and lifestyle. If you are a Beatles fan like I am you will know the progression quite well and you will look forward to each new set.
Game Play:
This is a Rock Band game at its core. Up to four players grab instruments and play their part. The new Harmony feature lets up to three people sing together to emulate that Beatles style. As long as everyone can keep where they are in the harmony straight it looks and plays well. The Overdrive mechanic is the same but now it's called "Beatlemania" to represent the crowd going crazy. They also added a better no fail option for all that party playing you will do. The only real complaint I have here is a fair amount of songs can be too easy to play. Let's say you want to play "Day Tripper" on guitar. Well George gets to play the same chord a lot. It seems like Bass and Drums get the hardest music early on before vocals and guitar pick up later. As long as you are a Beatles fan first and a Rock Band fan second you won't really think about difficulty much and instead focus on the music itself.
Graphics:
This is what makes the game wonderful. The colors are bright, eye-catching and entertaining. Fans scream, the band plays and the venues look like the ones the really played in. Once the band leaves the road and focuses on studio work the designers decided to take players to various dream worlds. In the song Yellow Submarine the Fab Four start in the studio and find themselves in the submarine as Ringo sings. It's very reminiscent of the animated movie of the same name. Overall this game is just as much fun to watch as it is to play. It can be distracting but that's not a bad thing.
Audio:
It's the Beatles. Do you like the Beatles? If yes then you like the audio. They added little bits here and there to set up and end the songs like Ed Sullivan introducing the band or John talking after a song. It adds more to the fun and makes players feel like they are really there. Needless to say these are all master tracks now with no covers and nothing but the Beatles. A lack of complete discography is the only downside. You play a few songs off the album and move on. Harmonix says they will release entire albums to go with this starting with "Abbey Road". You can't really blame them for doing it this way. If you like the band you'll pay for it.
Final Thoughts:
Since I am a big Beatles fan it's hard for me to be picky on this game. I'm sure a good amount of people will pick up Guitar Hero 5 over this one but when you think of how Harmonix managed to get possibly the biggest music license possible and turn it into a top tier game...that's very impressive. This one simply comes down to selling points. People who like the Beatles, and people who like Rock Band. If you don't care for the Beatles, try it anyway and maybe you can grow to like them.
Pros:
- It's visually appealing. Looks great and flows well
- Fun to pick up and play a few songs. You won't have to wade through songs you hate here.
- Stand alone game. You don't need to own any other games to play this one.
Cons:
- Incomplete discography. Only 46 songs make up the discography.
- Sometimes too easy. Even expert can be a breeze.
- Price. Some people will think 60 dollars for 46 songs is a rip off.
Darke
said:
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I am not a Beatles fan, I just have never really listened to the band. So can this game draw new fans in? |
Rowan
said:
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I'm of the opinion that rhythm games may be the BEST possible way to draw new people in. I never would have dreamed I could like Ricky Martin until Samba de Amigo. And Elite Beat Agents demonstrated that while Ashlee Simpson may be a terribly annoying person all-around, I can't argue with Lala as a song too much. |
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