The Beatles: Rock Band

Most people who have lived in the 60s/70s era where The Beatles were making music and wowing the world will say that 'The Beatles were incredible for their time' and some may even prefer their music over most modern music these days. Despite their musical prowless, however, the band has mostly been left out in the cold when it comes to rhythm genre these days even with their intense guitar, drums and bass, as well as the fantastic vocal harmonies for some songs. However, to tie in with the release of all the remastered Beatles albums Harmonix has given music fans The Beatles: Rock Band. As The Beatles lends their music to the Rock Band experience, does it live up to not only the high standards of the game's previous outings, but also the Beatles legendary legacy?

The Beatles: Rock Band basically takes the basic template of Rock Band, adds about 45 songs from The Beatles legacy, adds some tweaks and increases the number of band members. There are a lot of songs from The Beatles, and with only 45 of them in the game, some had to be cut. There's the popular and interesting songs like Yellow Submarine, Taxman, Helter Skelter and Octopus's Garden, but there's plenty of songs missing and a couple of odd choices which you'd want to be replaced with the missing songs. But it features plenty of groovy, and some more mellow, tunes. It's a great feeling when you're playing Can't Buy Me Love and you strangly want to start shaking your hips, if only while smacking everyone in the face with the guitar :P

While some may argue that the song list isn't 100% perfect, what Beatles really nails is being a documentary of the band. This is thanks to the fantastic story mode. It takes you through the ten years of The Beatles as you start playing at The Cavern Club in 1963, and as you work your way through the songs you'll play at the Ed Sulivan Show, Shea Stadium and even take some out of mind experiences as the band plays in their recording studio in Abbey Road. You even play the final live gig on top of the Apple Corps Rooftop in 1969. As you play songs, you'll unlock photos and videos with facts about the band, which will be greatly interesting for fans and newcomers alike. It's also accessible as you can play either on the same console, with three people on Xbox Live, or a mix of both with support for Live guests.

The other features from previous games are also here. You can play quickplay again locally, live or both. All songs are unlocked from the get-go meaning you can jump straight into your favourite songs if you wish to. There's also all the training options for newcomers, with some new features included like a drum trainer which helps newer drummers get better as well as some beats for you to learn and a freestyle mode where you can go crazy, hitting whatever notes you want. There's also a training mode for a new feature I'll mention later. Everything works just like it did, and no one wanted it any other way. There's also the no-fail option, meaning anyone can play without having to constantly restart songs, as well as some features like Hyperspeed available in the extras menu.

An early fear for The Beatles: Rock Band was that, considering the band, a lot of the tunes would be too easy for most players. Sure, some of the more mellow tunes are quite easy, but to be honest the difficulty is about as balanced as other music games. The songs which are the hardest for an instrument are quite challenging, considering some of the riffs and solos in the game. The drums are very challenging, with Ringo Starr's constant change of pace and random fills will throw off even some of the best drummers out there. And of course, vocalist is at its fiercest, with the calibre of the vocalists in the band being very high. There's also one new feature which makes singing harder, but much more fun because of it. However the general difficulty of the game is not as hard as, say, Guitar Hero Metallica.

The new feature in the Beatles: Rock Band is the vocal harmonies. Because the band usually had Paul, John and sometimes even Ringo singing, forcing you to sing as only one person would have been foolish. Players can use multiple microphones on the same controller, which is great, though if you're playing in a full band you'll need a USB port to fit all six Rock Band controllers on the console. There's an obvious party element there as it's hilarious trying to watch three people sing a song in unison, but it's also true to the band as a lot of the songs rely on vocal harmonies to deliver their best moments. It's also a feature which will definately be used in future music games, no doubt about that, and it's done so well, who wouldn't?

Unfortunately, while it's an interesting experience, it's not going to be a lasting one. It's a slim set of songs at just over 40, which is less than even Guitar Hero Metallica or Smash Hits. And it's worse considering that Rock Band 2 offered 84, plus tons more via the Rock Band store, which The Beatles Rock Band doesn't support. However, there will be more songs added in the future, with three albums already planned for release on the games unique marketplace. However, while it's been sucessful on Rock Band 2, it's hard to definately keep faith in the future because anything could happen and we'll be stuck with just over 40 songs still. It seems that the game's developers are slightly putting too much faith in people waiting for the future.

What The Beatles: Rock Band nails is the visual aesthetic. The game looks incredible, as while the technological side of the game is polished with no frame rate drops or rough edges, it's the trippy art style used in the recording sessions which really stand out. While playing I Am a Walrus, suddenly everyone turns into animals wrapped in sheeps clothing, which is insane, topped with some trippy background effects and pictures. Even the live performances ooze with atmosphere, as you'll see individual crowd members screaming in the joy of being at a Beatles concert. Whether's it's the studio being submerged in water while playing Octopus's Garden or the studio turning into a beautiful sunset, The Beatles: Rock Band looks amazing when the studio suddenly transforms into a vision of the song. It's definately the best looking music game to date.


I think a major strength of The Beatles: Rock Band is how diverse it feels. With GH: Metallica all the songs were Metal, save for a couple of slower songs. But with The Beatles, they first started out as a young boy band, with a catchy rhythm and a groovy vibe. But as you go away from the live shows into the studio, suddenly the songs become slower like Come Together, or they go downright insane with Helter Skelter. In particular, the last set, which features Dig a Pony, Get Back and The End shows how diverse the game's list is. In career, rather than ordering the songs by difficulty, the game instead follows this pattern, going from groovy to slower which shows a change in pace towards the end of the game. However no matter what kind of song you're playing, the note charts are fantastic and hammer-ons, a questionable element of the Rock Band series, are improved, though still suspect in some cases.

Is The Beatles: Rock Band good, bad or ugly?

While Guitar Hero Metallica offered thrash metal difficulty and some enticing features from the band, The Beatles: Rock Band trumps that game because this carefully weaved thread of the band's legacy is done so well it's hard not to play it again and again. The setlist may be disappointing for some with only 45 songs, which limits its value a bit. And until the DLC is released, you can't yet count on the upcoming music which will hopefully be added to the game. But it's excellent career mode, fantastic dreamscapes, excellent note charts and diverse songs, The Beatles: Rock Band will keep players interested and there's not doubt The Beatles: Rock Band delivers on the Band's legacy created around 40 years ago. If you're a fan, then don't be stupid and buy this game, and even if you are just interested to see how music was created, then this is well worth it.

Controls: 9
Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 10
Sound: 9
Value: 7
Overall: 8.8

The Beatles: Rock Band was released on 09/09/09 for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. It is rated 12+ for sex and bad language and can be bought for around £40.