threevue

The Beatles: Rock Band sounds like a match made in heaven; I’ve eaten everything that Rock Band has spewed up for two years now, and I’ve loved The Beatles since childhood. Along with the future Radiohead: Rock Band (yeah, I’m starting the rumor now), The Beatles are one of those few bands that actually warrant an entire music game (here’s looking at you, Aerosmith/Van Halen/Metallica).

You’ve probably read a review on this game already. Hell, you probably saw something about this game on CNN, for all I know. You’ve also probably heard of Rock Band, so I’m not going to insult you and tell you much about this game’s content. I will say that you follow the band along their career, stopping at all the major events, with some pretty sweet cut scenes between each event. I’ll admit that any review of this game feels premature, even a month after its release, because we’re still waiting on the DLC to drop. Come on, Revolver!

Likes: a) the band members’ ages are reflective of the song/era, b) the game’s interface was tweaked to be more true to the band, c) each song has its own distinct appearance/setting, especially the studio sections, d) the unlockables show the band’s history and are actually interesting, e) the game reminds you how difficult the song is per instrument before starting up each track, f) the game grades you based on performance and NOT on what difficulty you are playing on, and g) they didn’t include other bands’ music.

Dislikes: a) they brought back performace-based achievements (“five-star this song on expert guitar”, etc) in a game that is mostly focused on the overall “fun factor”, b) you can’t play your own fills on the drums, and c) it only comes with 45 songs (vs the 84 that came in Rock Band 2).

The game does a great job of focusing less on shredding and more on just having fun. Truth be told, this is as far from the current iterations of the Guitar Hero franchise as you can get (in a rhythm game, at least). If there wasn’t already a war raging between the two franchises, The Beatles: Rock Band firmly draws a line and expects you to pick a side. If you’re not an idiot, you’re going to pick Rock Band. By its very nature, music isn’t usually a universally-acceptable medium; everyone has their own taste which can vary drastically. The Beatles broke down that barrier. This game succeeds because it captures the essence of the greatest rock band of all time, decades after their breakup, and made an experience that’s great for all ages. If you don’t at least rent this game, you have no soul.