When The Beatles: Rock Band introduction video was first shown at E3 2009, you could tell that Harmonix was really putting the time in to get everything right with this game… and I’m sure there’s probably a ton riding on that.
In case you’re new to the genre, gameplay is handled by multicolored musical “notes” descending an on-screen track. It’s your job to time your button presses or drum hits as they cross a horizontal bar at the bottom of the track. Alternatively, The Beatles: Rock Band allows for up to three players to take part in three part harmonies, made famous by The Beatles, singing along karaoke style. In total, up to six players can play at the same time (three vocalists, three instrumentalists).
Gone is Rock Band’s typical World Tour mode. Instead we’ve got a very methodical progression through defining moments of The Beatles career, not unlike the original Guitar Hero venue based setlist. You’ll go from the humble beginnings in The Cavern Club, perform at Shea Stadium, and ultimately finish at the Apple Corps Headquarters Rooftop (please note, this is not Apple, Inc.). Each venue is a great digital representation of these historic locations, but where the visuals really shine is when the Fab Four records at Abbey Road Studios.
You’ll spend almost half of the game inside the studio and this is where, I’d wager, most of the development time was put in. Harmonix appears to have crafted a full music video for each song presented here, most starting with the Beatles playing in a recording booth then melding into some fantastical, other worldly representation of the song’s lyrics… complete with kaleidoscopes, sunshines, and of course, men dressed like walruses. It’s beautiful and disconcerting at the same time.
Before Rock Band 2 came out, Harmonix briefly talked about including a jukebox mode, which would allow you to just turn on the game and let it play through the catalog of songs with a digital band playing out the songs. The Beatles: Rock Band unfortunately still does not include that mode, instead relying on the “Performance Mode” which just removes the note chart from your screen while you play. Considering the work put into the visual aspect of this game, it’s a bit disappointing.
While including support for three vocalists, some of the old trappings of the series are still in place. You’ll be able to start up the game with three microphones connected, but considering that the Beatles as a band consists of three guitarists and a drummer, it would have been nice to see support for three guitars as well. Additionally, if you want to have any vocals at all, you STILL need to sign in as a separate player with a standard 360 controller.
Ultimately like any other music game, the soundtrack is what truly defines it. While there are only 45 total songs here, every single one of them is a classic track from one of the best bands ever formed. If you compare it to the likes of Guitar Hero: Metallica, well… This is a huge win over that partial Metallica soundtrack (49 total songs, only 28 from Metallica). Sure, there are omissions (Where’s Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da?) but generally all the songs you would hope for are here.
Before playing Beatles, I had severe concerns that the audio quality itself wouldn’t be of wonderful quality considering when these were recorded. The originals were mostly two or four track masters and now they have to be multi-track to deal with the separate instruments in-game. I’m very happy to report though that at this point in time, that not only do they successfully split the tracks, but this is probably the best sounding Beatles material ever released.
If you’re a Beatles fan, or a music game fan… or both, you should buy this game. The music is superb, the visuals are phenomenal, and there’s a ton of fan service for Beatle-heads including unlockable photos and loading screen “never before heard” audio clips from their recording sessions. With multiple difficulty modes, tons of game specific achievements, and promises of at least three more full album downloads, there’s plenty of Beatles here that’ll keep you and your parents busy for a long, long time.
Score: 4.5 out of 5
The Good
The best audio catalog to hit any music game.
Lovingly crafted presentation and visuals from start to finish.
Watching The Beatles travel through their heyday is eye opening and impressive for those of us that weren’t alive at the time.
The Bad
Other than support for three microphones, there’s not much else new to report.
Too many people in the crowd are doppelgangers.
The Ugly
Why are there so many American teenagers in Japan’s Budokan?