I used to make fun of my friends for liking Guitar Hero and the other various “band games”. I used to tell them how ridiculous they looked and that they should spend their time learning to play real instruments. I will be the first to admit I was wrong. These games can be pure gaming bliss… and The Beatles: Rock Band has shown me the light.
Like other band games, the premise of The Beatles: Rock Band is keeping rhythm with the games colored bars as they fly by the bottom of the screen. This is done by strumming or banging on whatever plastic instrument you choose, or you can be the poor sap that gets stuck with the microphone. All this seemed moderately amusing to me before The Beatles: Rock Band came out. Sure it is fun to make-believe you and your closest friends are in a band together. Sure it is fun to watch them curse at little colored bars and tiny plastic instruments. And yes it is even fun to get intoxicated enough that you actually want to be the poor sap with the microphone. Still, band games always seemed like party games and not “play at home by yourself” kind of games. I think this is mostly dues to the selection of songs. Yea there are a few really great songs in Rock Band 2, but there are also only so many AFI and Paramore songs that a man can withstand before he goes insane. Solution for me: Make all the songs Beatles tracks!!
The second the game starts up you can tell that a lot of love was put in to it. George Harrison’s son Dhani was one of the main collaborators in the making of the game, which explains the attention to minute detail. The menus are fast and responsive, the graphics are clean and crisp even on the Wii, and the sound effects and music in the background just scream Beatles. Online play is a lot of fun even on the Wii, even though it is still a pain networking with friends; a problem that is circumvented by getting this game on another system. Harmony vocal sections have been added so you can use up to three microphones. This mode is particularly nice if you are playing an instrument and singing since it does not require the tapping of the microphone at certain sections. You can also purchase special Beatles style controllers for the game… I picked up Lennon’s old Rickenbacker 325. Awesome.
The only downside to this game I have found is the releasing of downloadable content. The game comes with 45 tracks and three DLC albums set to be released by late December, but after that it is anyone’s guess. While there is potential for the entire Beatles catalog to be made available, this will be unlikely, according to John Drake of Harmonix.
All in all this is not only an amazing game, but also an amazing piece of art and a wonderful addition to any Beatles memorabilia collection. Even if you are not a Beatles fan I would still pick this game up, it may just turn you in to one. I give The Beatles: Rock Band an 8 out of 10.
