(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.
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