(Xbox, PS3, Wii; $59.99 (game only); Rated T for Mild Lyrics/Tobacco Reference; www.thebeatlesrockband.com)
(four and a half stars)
Once rhythm-based games became a powerhouse for how music was experienced by gamers, arguably the Holy Grail of bands to feature in either "Guitar Hero" or "Rock Band" was The Beatles.
Knowing how notoriously tight-fisted Apple Corps. is with the use and likeness of the Fab Four and their historic anthology, it seemed that getting The Beatles' music to appear in a video game would be an impossibility, let alone animated versions of the band.
How Harmonix and MTV were able to actually release "The Beatles: Rock Band" is a "Behind the Music" documentary that needs to be made. It's not so much that I think Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr would have put the kaibosh on a video game version of themselves...
But Yoko...
Ugg... Yoko.
Putting aside the shady deals and enormous royalty promises that were made in exchange to get this game made, "The Beatles: Rock Band" is here, and created with such respect to the material and the band, that it isn't so much a game, but the epitome of an interactive documentary.
Documentaries have been done in game-form before, namely "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" and "Guitar Hero: Metallica," but the way these titles were put together only felt like a half-hearted celebration of the band and its music. Songs that had nothing to do with the band had to be played in order to unlock the segments of that featured Aerosmith or Metallica. The documentary features of those games, thought original, seemed tacked on.
"The Beatles: Rock Band" features 45 songs from twelve of The Beatles albums, with the promise of the full albums of "Abbey Road," "Rubber Soul," and "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as downloadable content for the future. Though all 45 songs are unlocked from the beginning of the game to allow fans to "Quickplay" them in any order, the "Story Mode" shines as an tribute to the band and its music.
Playing the discography of The Beatles chronologically, the Story Mode is a walk down memory lane for the Baby Boomers who are the target audience for this game. Starting out at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, to appearing on the "Ed Sullivan Show," to rocking Shea Stadium, to being introspective in Abbey Road Studios, players experience the legacy of The Beatles with accurate reproduction of their seminal performances and unlock vintage, digitally restored audio, photos, and video of the band in their heyday.
The animated versions of the Fab Four and the locations they made famous have a stylized, yet faithful look. Rather than go for photo-realism, Harmonix's artstyle is more exaggerated and cartoonish which works especially well for the songs featured at Abbey Road Studios. These "Dreamscapes" begin with the band in the studio and take off into fantastical images associated with the lyrics and feel of the music. For some songs like "I am the Walrus," means psychedelic flights of fancy; for others like "Here Comes the Sun," a more serene, peaceful experience.
The Dreamscapes are so unique, yet complementary to the band's music, that it is both amazing that Harmonix convinced Apple Corps. to allow them to do it, and obvious that the game needed to be done this way.
Mechanically, the only change to the gameplay in "The Beatles: Rock Band" is the introduction of three-part vocal harmonies- a feature that is crucial to have in a game like this, and near-impossible to pull off while playing another instrument. Kudos to The Beatles for their musical skill.
Though none of the songs from prior "Rock Band" releases can be imported into this game, nor can the music of The Beatles be imported into the "Rock Band" platform, for any fan of music-based games and of The Beatles, purchasing this game is a no-brainer. This is also the perfect game to get for parents or... gasp... grandparents who grew up on The Beatles and insist that video games "just aren't for them." My father-in-law, who proudly stated that he's never played an never would play a video game, broke down and played this game-
He always dreamed of being Paul McCartney.
For those, like myself, who are not Beatles zealots- "The Beatles: Rock Band" won't change minds. As much as the game has increased my appreciation for the music of the boys from Liverpool, its not making me run out and buy the remastered discography. I am, however, blown away by how much care and reverence Harmonix took towards the music and the band.
It only makes me more hopeful for if and when "Led Zeppelin: Rock Band" is announced.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Guitar Hero 5 Review
(Xbox, PS3, Wii; $59.99 (game only); Rated T for Mild Lyrics/Suggestive Themes; www.guitarhero.com)
(four stars)
The leap from "Guitar Hero" to "Rock Band" was monumental.
What once was a two guitar-maximum experience became a full band rock-fest with guitars, drums, and vocals- "Guitar Hero III" couldn't hold a candle to the band experience.
Activision played catch-up by releasing "Guitar Hero: World Tour" last year and with it, it's own drum set and improved guitar. However, with "Rock Band 2" already releasing with the promise of being able to import almost all content from the original "Rock Band," I didn't give "World Tour" much notice- it felt too johnny-come-lately to me.
I am glad, however, that I was feeling the need to rock out lately- when "Guitar Hero 5" arrived on my doorstep, I popped it in and had the freshest "Guitar Hero" experience since the first time I held a plastic guitar.
Developers, Neversoft, threw out many of the mechanics of the Rhythm-based genre that had grown old and tiresome. Most notably, all 85 songs are instantly playable in the game- no more having to wade through the single-player portion of the game in order to unlock songs. Having all songs unlocked initially, while not only one of the most requested features from fans, also symbolizes an embrace of the "Guitar Hero" franchise as a game meant for parties with a pick-up-and-play mentality.
And pick-up-and play you can.
Unlike normal games which load into a title screen from which players can launch gameplay, "Guitar Hero 5" loads into a random song with accompanying visuals. Up to four players can jump in and begin playing at any point, without need to pause or restart the song- Players just pick up their guitar, microphone, or drums; choose their difficulty; and begin jamming out once the signature note "highway" appears for their instrument.
In this, "Party Play Mode," players can play for as long or little as they like- there is no failing out of a song, and another song begins to play after the conclusion of another. Players can also customize the songs that will rotate through "Party Play Mode" to better suit their taste in music.
Effectively, "Guitar Hero 5" has become an interactive jukebox- a playable soundtrack for your next party.
Additionally, "GH5" allows up to four players to play whatever instruments they want, in whatever combination they have available to them- eliminating the conundrum where no one wants to sing certain songs, but everyone still wants to play.
For competitors, there are six different play modes that award points for different scenarios from the traditional highest scorer, to a mode where the lowest scoring player gets dropped at a certain point in the song, and my favorite, "Momentum," where all players begin on Medium difficulty and increase or decrease the difficulty depending on notes hit or missed.
Finally for the budding composer and producer, "GH Tools" allow for the creation and distribution of your own music tracks- think of it as the "YouTube of Guitar Hero," upload your own creations or download and play others.
Of course, this is all topped off with a traditional single-player mode for those who seek to rock alone.
What "GH5" suffers from is a solid soundtrack and a paltry selection of downloadable content compared to "Rock Band." Though most of the songs from "Guitar Hero: World Tour" and "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits" can be transferred over and played for a nominal fee, there's still not the selection that "Rock Band" offers.
This may change with time, but whereas MTV seeks to release more content for "Rock Band", Activision seeks to release more versions of "Guitar Hero"- "GH: Metallica," "GH: Smash Hits," and "GH5" have already been released this year, with "GH: Van Halen" and "Band Hero" scheduled to be released by the end of 2009.
That's unfortunate, because the "Guitar Hero" drums are so much more fun to play on than the "Rock Band" drums. Although both drum sets can be played on the other game, neither feel quite right as they do on the franchise they were made for.
What "GH5" does right, it does so well that it's a shame I am only interested in playing about 15 of the 85 songs that are on the game disc. I've already become a "Rock Band" guy, so I don't see myself beginning to download new content for "Guitar Hero" at this point, but the changes that were made for "Guitar Hero 5" need to become the new standard in music games, and I hope to see the "Party Play" concept show up in "Rock Band 3."
Bravo to Neversoft for making a long-in-the-tooth series feel fresh again.
(four stars)
The leap from "Guitar Hero" to "Rock Band" was monumental.
What once was a two guitar-maximum experience became a full band rock-fest with guitars, drums, and vocals- "Guitar Hero III" couldn't hold a candle to the band experience.
Activision played catch-up by releasing "Guitar Hero: World Tour" last year and with it, it's own drum set and improved guitar. However, with "Rock Band 2" already releasing with the promise of being able to import almost all content from the original "Rock Band," I didn't give "World Tour" much notice- it felt too johnny-come-lately to me.
I am glad, however, that I was feeling the need to rock out lately- when "Guitar Hero 5" arrived on my doorstep, I popped it in and had the freshest "Guitar Hero" experience since the first time I held a plastic guitar.
Developers, Neversoft, threw out many of the mechanics of the Rhythm-based genre that had grown old and tiresome. Most notably, all 85 songs are instantly playable in the game- no more having to wade through the single-player portion of the game in order to unlock songs. Having all songs unlocked initially, while not only one of the most requested features from fans, also symbolizes an embrace of the "Guitar Hero" franchise as a game meant for parties with a pick-up-and-play mentality.
And pick-up-and play you can.
Unlike normal games which load into a title screen from which players can launch gameplay, "Guitar Hero 5" loads into a random song with accompanying visuals. Up to four players can jump in and begin playing at any point, without need to pause or restart the song- Players just pick up their guitar, microphone, or drums; choose their difficulty; and begin jamming out once the signature note "highway" appears for their instrument.
In this, "Party Play Mode," players can play for as long or little as they like- there is no failing out of a song, and another song begins to play after the conclusion of another. Players can also customize the songs that will rotate through "Party Play Mode" to better suit their taste in music.
Effectively, "Guitar Hero 5" has become an interactive jukebox- a playable soundtrack for your next party.
Additionally, "GH5" allows up to four players to play whatever instruments they want, in whatever combination they have available to them- eliminating the conundrum where no one wants to sing certain songs, but everyone still wants to play.
For competitors, there are six different play modes that award points for different scenarios from the traditional highest scorer, to a mode where the lowest scoring player gets dropped at a certain point in the song, and my favorite, "Momentum," where all players begin on Medium difficulty and increase or decrease the difficulty depending on notes hit or missed.
Finally for the budding composer and producer, "GH Tools" allow for the creation and distribution of your own music tracks- think of it as the "YouTube of Guitar Hero," upload your own creations or download and play others.
Of course, this is all topped off with a traditional single-player mode for those who seek to rock alone.
What "GH5" suffers from is a solid soundtrack and a paltry selection of downloadable content compared to "Rock Band." Though most of the songs from "Guitar Hero: World Tour" and "Guitar Hero: Smash Hits" can be transferred over and played for a nominal fee, there's still not the selection that "Rock Band" offers.
This may change with time, but whereas MTV seeks to release more content for "Rock Band", Activision seeks to release more versions of "Guitar Hero"- "GH: Metallica," "GH: Smash Hits," and "GH5" have already been released this year, with "GH: Van Halen" and "Band Hero" scheduled to be released by the end of 2009.
That's unfortunate, because the "Guitar Hero" drums are so much more fun to play on than the "Rock Band" drums. Although both drum sets can be played on the other game, neither feel quite right as they do on the franchise they were made for.
What "GH5" does right, it does so well that it's a shame I am only interested in playing about 15 of the 85 songs that are on the game disc. I've already become a "Rock Band" guy, so I don't see myself beginning to download new content for "Guitar Hero" at this point, but the changes that were made for "Guitar Hero 5" need to become the new standard in music games, and I hope to see the "Party Play" concept show up in "Rock Band 3."
Bravo to Neversoft for making a long-in-the-tooth series feel fresh again.
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