It seems every time either Electronic Arts Studios or Activision (publishers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero, respectively) come out with an awesome addition to their list of music video games, the other releases a superb new game to match it. Guitar Hero 5, released on September 1, 2009, was followed shortly after by The Beatles: Rock Band, released on the ninth. While Guitar Hero 5 has reported much better sales than The Beatles: Rock Band, The Beatles: Rock Band has been standing its ground.
The Beatles: Rock Band intertwines music with superb art design. The venues a player unlocks are replicas of the real places The Beatles played, such as the Cavern Club, Shea Stadium, and even the well-known Abbey Road studios. The graphics are said to be stellar; some reviewers even mentioned becoming more engaged in the background than the music!
The exciting new aspect that Harmonic added to the standard Rock Band gameplay is vocal harmonies. A band can have six members, with up to three singers that can come together for a single song, to truly feel like The Beatles. As long as one likes The Beatles, this game has few downfalls. The game does well to perfectly mimic how the tunes were actually played, unfortunately that leads to the loss of drum fills and end-of-song jam sessions.
The Beatles: Rock Band allows players to dive right into the nearly-full song list without having to painstakingly unlock each song; there is only one song that is an exception to that statement. The songs range from the early classics, “I Saw Her Standing There” and “Twist and Shout,” from the album Please Please Me to some of the hits from their later albums Abbey Road and Let It Be. With a score of 9 out of 10 by critics on GameSpot, what users seem to want is simple: more. There are already forty-five great songs featured on the game, but those who love The Beatles know that there are many more greats that are missing from that list. Fortunately, full albums soon will be available as downloadable content, and I’m sure many will be anticipating their release.
Looks pretty cool, actually. I’ve enjoyed some of the Beatles songs, so this game become a little more tempting to pick up. I doubt, though, that “Number Nine” is included in the game…
[...] mentioned in The Beatles: Rock Band, Activision has published yet another installment in the Guitar Hero series. After World Tour, the [...]