The Beatles: Rock Band Review

E3 2009 was, for many reasons, supposed to be a spectacle. But being that I’m a part-time writer for the site and have become more of a casual gamer over the last few years, the one gem I was looking forward to was The Beatles: Rock Band. Rock Band has become the game I play most often when I play my Xbox 360 and The Beatles have been, and presumably will always be, my favorite band of all time. For me, and millions of others, the partnerships between The Beatles and Harmonix is a good thing.

As far as I could tell the gameplay mechanics have hardly changed. The three part vocal harmonies were the most exciting and the lack of drum fills before kicking into overdrive were actually a pleasant surprise (but an option to turn them back on would also be greatly appreciated). The game will include 45 tracks (all masters) that span The Beatles’ career and the attention to detail is amazing. Depending on which year the track was from the venue will change appropriately: The Cavern Club, the set of the Ed Sullivan Show, the concert at Shea stadium all look perfect.

Of particular interest to me was how the live venues would be handled during the songs from the second half of The Beatles’ career. For those not in the know, The Beatles stopped touring after the release of Revolver for a number of reasons and besides a couple one-off shows never played live again. Luckily, Harmonix took this into account and incorporates what they call “dreamscapes”.

What was once Abbey Road studios will be transformed depending on the song being played to fit that particular mood. For example, we saw Octopus’ Garden being played and the entire scene appears to be underwater with some simple effects in the background. If it doesn’t sound all that great to you, blame my lack of eloquence because it’s all very neat (or just watch the video above).

As for Downloadable Content, Abbey Road and the track “All You Need is Love” will be available for download shortly after release. I have hope that this signals that more albums will be available but mum’s the official word (so far). All of that, of course, is after the official game release date of September 9, 2009.

The instrument peripherals are neat looking. Paul’s Hofner being the coolest, in my opinion. Something about the smaller size of the Rock Band instruments fits his bass quite well. George’s Gretsch Duo Jet and John’s Rickenbacker 325 will also be available but will not be included with the Special Edition bundle. Also, Ringo’s Ludwig drumset will come bundled with the Special Edition but the differences are quite minor (a pearl finish and the iconic “The Beatles” logo on the front of the bass “drum”). Aside from appearances, functionality will be nearly identical to the Rock Band 2 peripherals. Fans of The Beatles will find this package to be irresistible.