The Beatles: Rock band (Xbox 360) Review
Someone at Harmonix must of thought “Why the fuck did I suggest this?” at some point during the early stages of The Beatles : Rockband. The sheer amount of licensing and back room deals that must of gone in to even getting the game to the green light stage must of been humongous. One thing is for sure, we will all be glad they did.
The game represents the first time fans will be able to experience The Beatles’ musical career for themselves. From the early touring days in 1963 Liverpool to the immortal, final performance on the Apple Corps rooftop, fans can follow in the band’s footsteps as they traverse the globe during the height of Beatlemania. Adding to the experience is the introduction of three-part vocal harmonies to game play, allowing gamers to revel in the unparalleled vocal stylings of the Fab Four. Beatles fans will also be thrilled to hear previously unreleased authentic voice recordings from John, Paul, George and Ringo chatting between takes during studio sessions recorded at Abbey Road more than four decades ago.
The game begins during the band’s earliest days at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. Gamers then travel across the Atlantic to experience the band’s unforgettable 1964 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the sold-out concert at New York’s Shea Stadium in 1965, and conclude at The Beatles’ memorable concert at Budokan in Tokyo, Japan in 1966. The Beatles’ studio years come to life in legendary Studio 2 at Abbey Road Studios. Highlighting the studio years are inspired artistic visual expressions known as Dreamscapes, intended to transport players to imaginative environments that capture the essence of The Beatles’ genre-busting musical and fashion transformations during their later years. The game follows The Beatles to 1969 where story mode culminates with their final performance on the rooftop of the Apple Corps Headquarters.
Graphically this game is astounding. We’re not talking Uncharted 2 or Killzone 2 levels of realism or screens full of explosions, bloom and particles. What we have here is a moment in time expertly captured in a videogame, more so than any other title before it. The lamenting and stringent control by Apple Corp and the remaining Beatles has meant that Harmonix really had it’s work cut out for it. They took the whole gambit of cultural influence and fashion influence that The Beatles had and have and distilled it perfectly for these visuals. The visual representations of the menu systems, the intro movie and the incidental chapter introduction movies are all done with expertise and a real sense of love for the subject matter. A real care has been taken and was insisted upon and it shows in every frame. The standard Rock Band look is evident in the screen setup in game and the usual menus are there but they have all been overhauled to give it a more “Beatles” feel. Add to this the superb animation of the Fab Four and the super trippy visuals and it all just works. For a gerat example of the visceral experience on display just take a simple track like Octopus’s Garden. Whilst you sing and play along the screen wibbles and shakes like it is under water and all of a sudden you are under the sea with The Beatles – then some of the chorus words start to appear in psychedelic colours in teh background as they are sung a-la the Yellow Submarine animated movie – it is all great stuff! If you feel the great visuals are being spoilt by all that “game” stuff then turn off the HUD, put it into no fail and sing along to the full screen images – looks great!
The main meat of any rhythm action game is the track list. Here The Beatles Rockband both excels and disappoints. To be honest this was always going to be the case and would ring true of any theme or band based title; there are always songs you think should of or of not been included. The 45 songs you do get span the entirety of The Beatles careers, from the small beginnings at The Cavern Club right through to the final concert atop of the Abbey Road studios. Many big name tunes are in evidence for example Paperback Writer, Yellow Submarine, And Your Bird Can Sing, Come Together and loads more. Each track has been remixed perfectly and the new digital representations of the tracks are astounding. You are treated to small audio clips at time captured from things like the Ed Sullivan show, or pre/post recording banter from The Beatles in the studios.
All these little touches bring together the whole package to produce a visceral and audible experience like no other. The music work and visual representations in this game take this genre to a whole new level. Harmonix have raised the bar to an incredible height with this title. Small touches like being able to switch from lefty to righty in one step, or the visual barometer that shows you how difficult each song will be for each element (Solo, Guitar, Drums etc). There are numerous touches like this that elevate the title to being more than just the Rock Band 2 version re-skinned. Another key element to the update and bringing a Beatles game to the world is that of harmonies. If you listen to The Beatles music you will be hard pressed at times to tell which member is singing, this is due to the perfect harmonies that John, Paul and George managed to hit. Now you get the chance to create that yourself. It’s a small element but adds a new dimension to proceedings.
Instead of the regular “World Tour” mode you have a story mode that allows you to follow the career of the Fab Four through 8 different phases. Each phase has a selection of era relevant songs to play. If you do well you are rewarded with photos, a max of two photos per song is available to win and you get one for a four star performance and two for a five star performance. Collect enough of these photos and you unlock one of several prizes in the game. The photos and the prizes are unique items that show an insight in to The Beatles phenomena. Small bits of trivia and little promo items that only real hard core fans would of ever seen or heard – for example an old 7” vinyl recording of a Christmas message The Beatles sent to their fan club members. These really offer a level of authenticity and respect to the game.
Final Thoughts:
The Beatles: Rockband is a superb game. If you don’t like The Beatles or you don’t like this type of game then you won’t be swayed. If you kind of like the music or the genre then this game is the pinnacle of the genres progression. You can not get a better rhythm game. The game has been so meticulously produced that I can not see anyone, even Harmonix, matching this any time soon – possibly ever. What other band is as worthy or offers such a plethora of cultural references? The only reason this game is not a 10 is the fact that you are kind of shafted on the track list. I understand that they needed to hold tracks back to make provision for future DLC – let’s face it there is no new material from The Beatles so they have to make the best the catalogue they have – hell I have purchased All You Need Is Love already from the store. Bottom line BEST MUSIC GAME EVER – Period!
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11 Mar 2010, 3:24 pm
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