The Beatles: Beatles Rock Band

The Beatles: Rock Band
PS3 – XBOX 360 - Wii
MTV Games

The Good – Great presentation throughout – It’s fun singing and playing an instrument at the same time – being a Beatle is fun – Engenders great sense of band unity

The Bad – Lots of great Beatles tracks are not included

It has been just under two years since Rock Band ushered in the era of full-band rhythm games. Subsequent games have refined the formula, offering increased accessibility, new songs, and sharper visuals, but they all still rest on the same basic appeal: it's a lot of fun to rock out, especially with your friends. The Beatles: Rock Band stands out from its peers because it magnifies this basic appeal by better channelling the excitement and camaraderie of being in an actual band. The all-Beatles song list creates a strong sense of continuity between songs, yet it is musically diverse enough to keep things lively and varied. Follow the Beatles' career in the excellent Story mode, and you'll unlock a bevy of photographs and videos that give you an endearingly human look at the larger-than-life stars. These bonuses, along with the beautifully creative artistic design, help you identify with the Fab Four and engender a sense of unity within your own band. When you have a few members singing in harmony, the bonds grow even stronger and you have that much more fun. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of other music games, The Beatles: Rock Band brings you and your band mates together in joyful musical partnership and makes your living room rock sessions uniquely rewarding and entertaining.



From the first moments you fire up The Beatles: Rock Band, it's clear this is a different breed of music game. You are treated to a lengthy animated video that charts the arc of the Beatles' career both musically and artistically, connecting you to the world you are about to dive into. Throughout the Story mode this connection to the band is reinforced as you play in iconic venues, from the small, raucous Cavern Club, to the massive, screaming Shea Stadium, to the intimate, introspective Abbey Road studios. Stylish cut scenes bridge the different chapters in Story mode, and unlockable photos and movies provide interesting snippets from the Beatles' career. Whether you are a Beatles scholar or can't even name all the band members, these bonuses help draw you into the experience by showing you a more casual side of the superstars themselves. A video of the guys playing with headphones and a boom mic on their first trip to the US offers a quirky glimpse of the youthful energy that suffused their early songs, while the background studio noise that precedes their later songs gives you a window into their more mellow mind-set.



The gameplay elements are very similar to those of Rock Band 2, with a few notable differences. Gone are the sweet freestyle drum fills and end-of-song jam sessions; you can only play the music as it was recorded. Almost all of the songs are immediately available in Quickplay mode, and the one exception is unlocked by completing Story mode. There is no character creation, and you can't customize your band's appearance because you always play as the Beatles. Songs you have downloaded for previous Rock Band games are not compatible here, and you will probably find that some of your favourite Beatles songs are missing from the song list, though there are at least three full Beatles albums planned for future downloadable release. There are cooperative and competitive online modes, but, like any Rock Band game, The Beatles: Rock Band really shines when played locally

To a certain extent, this game is great because Beatles music is great. The Beatles: Rock Band is packed to the gills with excellent songs, but its real genius is the way it captures the excitement of playing in a cohesive band. Following the arc of the Beatles' career wouldn't be as engaging without the interesting bonuses and the stunning art design that so elegantly complements the music. Vocal harmonies add an invigorating new dimension to the gameplay, encouraging you to either get more people involved or challenge yourself to be all the rockstar you can be. The Beatles: Rock Band doesn't just let you play the music of one of the greatest bands in history; it knits your band closer together so that you can better experience the camaraderie and excitement of playing in a unified, talented group. This makes any Beatles session great fun and makes The Beatles: Rock Band something special in the world of plastic living room rock.
8/10