Published: Wednesday, 16th September, 2009 3:59pm
Beatles Rock Band
by Narin Bahar
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XBox 360, PS3, Wii
The music gaming genre is already a crowded one but, as you'd expect, Beatles Rock Band makes everything that's come before look like The Monkees in comparison.
Developers Harmonix have worked closely with the surviving Beatles, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison (known collectively as 'The Stakeholders' and notorious for guarding the legacy of The Beatles music in the face of suggestions for tacky merchandising) to produce something astonishing.
The game is stunning. The cut scenes and animation are beautifully rendered, while the unlockable extras - including rare and unseen photos showing behind the scenes glimpses of some of the most iconic moments of their lives and careers, audio outtakes of recording sessions, and even The Beatles' Christmas message to fan club members in 1963 - make this fascinating for anyone who considers themselves a fan of the band and their music.
Meanwhile, the actual tracks used are the digital remastered ones rereleased to coincide with the game's launch, lovingly restored by Giles Martin (son of George and the man behind the Cirque du Soleil Beatles Love show).
You play through all the key elements of The Beatles' careers - starting at The Cavern Club before moving on to The Ed Sullivan Show, The Shea Stadium and the roof of the Apple Building in Abbey Road which hosted the band's final gig. The exuberance of the songs is infectious and makes for a fun gaming experience - it's impossible not to end up tapping your toes or hopping from foot to foot in glee.
The biggest change to the Rock Band formula relates to the vocals. In true Beatles fashion you can use multiple microphones to recreate those famous harmonies, or try to at least - it takes a bit of practice. Gone also is the stupid tapping of the microphone for solo sections - meaning if you're so inclined (and, in my case, surrounded by non-Beatles loving friends) you can play two parts by singing and playing another instrument at the same time. This means if you play drums and have a fairly decent singing voice you get the opportunity to play Octopus's Garden better than Ringo Starr. Who could ask for more in a computer game?
That isn't to say there aren't some negatives. The instruments are expensive - particularly if your head is turned by the limited edition replicas of the band's iconic guitars and drum set. And while 45 songs sounds like a lot the extensiveness of the back catalogue means that you're missing some amazing tunes which - of course - you can pay to download one album at a time in a way that means if you're a true fan you're going to be seriously out of pocket by the end.
Overall though, if you're a fan of The Beatles then this incarnation of Rock Band is going to be your game of the year by far. It is fab indeed.
Five stars.
Check out some of the jaw dropping game footage here:
