The wait is finally over. The highly-anticipated release of The Beatles: Rock Band is mere days away (9/9/09) and the excitement level is incredible. It's Beatlemania all over again, minus the frantic teen girls.
The game starts off with a beautiful animated intro which shows John, Paul, George and Ringo on a journey throughout their storied career; from their humble beginnings to their psychedelic phase, the animation truly captures the specialness and uniqueness of the greatest rock 'n roll band of all time. After the breathtaking intro, you'll be presented with the main menu, which will look familiar to players of previous Rock Band titles.
First up is “Quickplay” mode where you'll get the option to quickly jump into any of the game's 45 on-disc songs; all of which are immediately accessible. You can choose Solo or Band Mode and play through any song with drums, guitar, bass or vocals – each with varying degrees of difficulty chosen before the start of each song.
Next is the “Story” mode, where you'll no doubt spend most of your time. This mode is broken up into 8 chapters, beginning in Liverpool '63 and ending atop the Apple Corps building as The Beatles gave their final performance as a band in 1969. Each chapter is introduced with a short animation, followed by a time-period appropriate set-list. As if playing along to your favorite Beatles songs wasn't enough of an incentive, you'll also get to unlock photographs every time you get a 3 or 5 star rating. Of course you'll want to try for 5 stars as it's the only way to unlock each song's two photos. There are 104 total unlockable photographs, each with insightful trivia attached. And if that wasn't enough, you'll also get to unlock six more items, varying from a rare Beatles fan club Christmas album audio track to a video interview with Paul, George and Ringo at Abbey Road Studios. Don't think those final unlockables are going to come easy though. In fact, it'll be quite challenging. Each of the eight chapters includes a Chapter Challenge where you must play through the entire chapter's set-list in one sitting; all the while managing to 5 star the entire set.
For those who have never played the Rock Band drums, I'd suggest checking out the various training options. To learn the basics, hit up the Drum Lessons, where you'll learn all about drum beats and how to play the game. Once you've mastered that, head over to Beatle Beats, where you'll be able to play along to Ringo Starr's favorite drum beats at the BPM level of your choosing. I'd highly recommend playing through this mode as it will make playing the game less complicated. Lastly, there's the Freestyle Mode, which is nothing more than a place to bang on the drums without having to worry about keeping up with a beat.
If you've played any of the previous Rock Band or Guitar Hero titles, you will be able to pick up the microphone, guitar or drum sticks and get right into it. Gameplay is identical to previous releases. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The one major addition to the gameplay is the ability to have up to 3 microphones connected at the same time. As you may or may not know, the Beatles were very keen on harmonies, and this translates to a unique addition to the music video game genre. The way harmonies work in the game is simple. Three arrow-looking icons represent the microphones, each of which has its own vocal line to follow. If all three singers are in tune, they'll earn bonus “Fab” points. Thankfully, singing in multiplayer doesn't hurt the team's score, it can only help. Drums and guitar/bass go unchanged from previous versions of Rock Band. Strum or drum along as the notes scroll vertically as you amass “power” to unleash Beatlemana (star power) by tilting the guitar up, or hitting a specific drum note as it scrolls down the screen.
Visually, the game delivers on all fronts. John, Paul, George and Ringo are digitally reproduced accurately in the unique Rock Band art style; a mix of real and cartoon-like qualities. As previously mentioned, the animated intros are exquisite, and so too are the “Dreamscapes,” visual backgrounds that appear as the song of your choosing from the Abbey Road chapters plays. If you've ever wondered what an LSD-induced trip is like, look no further than these mind-tripping dreamscapes. These visual backgrounds really add to the experience of playing through The Beatles' experimental stage which brought us such classics as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and I Am the Walrus.
Songs included on the disc are: I Saw Her Standing There, Twist and Shout, Do You Want to Know a Secret, Boys, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, A Hard Day’s Night, I Wanna Be Your Man, I Feel Fine, I’m Looking Through You, Eight Days a Week, If I Needed Someone, Ticket to Ride, Drive My Car, Day Tripper, Paperback Writer, Taxman, And Your Bird Can Sing, Yellow Submarine, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, Getting Better, Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows, Good Morning, I Am The Walrus, Hello Goodbye, Hey Bulldog, Back in the USSR, Dear Prudence, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Helter Skelter, Revolution, Birthday, Octopus’s Garden, Something, Come Together, Here Comes the Sun, Dig a Pony, Get Back, Don’t Let Me Down, I’ve Got a Feeling, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), I Me Mine.
Beginning in October, Harmonix/MTV Games will begin to release downloadable albums via The Beatles: Rock Band Music Store. The first release will be the Abbey Road album, which will sell for $16.98 (1360 Microsoft Points) or $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) per song. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band will follow in November, while Rubber Soul will make its debut in December.
The highly-anticipated release of The Beatles: Rock Band is upon us and the excitement level is incredible. It's Beatlemania all over again, minus the frantic teen girls.
Your Talkback on this Story