Hey “The Beatles: Rock Band” is out. You don’t want to read 6,000 words telling you it’s fucking rad, so I’ll use less than 500. Because I’m a real goddamn journalist.
The gameplay is standard “Rock Band“. (I’m not going to elaborate because if you’re reading this website you should know what that game is and have an opinion on it.) Some love it, some are sick of it. I still like the game, and don’t mind more of it.
It’s all about The Beatles, not you. No character creation, no naming a band, no customizable anything. This is an interactive documentary of the boys from Liverpool.
The Beatles are one of the only bands that can carry an entire music game (sorry Metallica, Aerosmith, Queen, and ABBA games, but it’s true). And with 13 albums, there are hundreds of tracks to choose from, so the fact that there are 44 on the disc is kind of bullshit. I get that the developers and publishers want people to buy the upcoming DLC, but there could have easily been 60 songs with no problem. Hell they didn’t have to be all of their Top 20 singles, load some of those B-sides and lesser known songs in there and educate people! You think anyone under the age of 40 is going to spend money on those random unfamiliar tracks from “Revolver” or “Abbey Road” anyway?
That said, what is on the disc is gold. These songs are great, and despite being bombarded with them for the past few months, I still love listening to, playing, and singing them. The dreamscapes are really cool, and actually make the game fun for parties of more than four. Watching the world shift and transform based on the song is more interesting than any part of that stupid “Across the Universe” movie.
I never bothered to figure out which Beatle sang what, or when the songs were recorded, and “The Beatles: Rock Band” does a good job of educating me. The story mode follows the career of the Fab Four, and is broken up into different venues and song sets from their brief but illustrious career. It’s nice to know that my favorite years for the Beatles are 1967-69, and that I have a soft sport for George Harrison tunes. I thought I hated that guy.
A few other notes. Three part harmonies are harder than they look, but fun when you do it right. And “Realistic” mode makes the crowds scream so loud that you can’t hear anything. No wonder these guys stopped touring.
This game really is a must buy for anyone that enjoys “Rock Band” or The Beatles. Of course you’ve got to be a sourpuss of monumental proportions to dislike either of those. It’s out now, so go get it.
