The Gaming Experiment

I took two classes in college that really made a huge impression on me. ‘The Muppets’ and another class called ‘The Beatles’. Both stuck with me for different reasons. I had grown up on the Muppets and everything that Jim Henson had produced, from the Muppet Show to Sesame Street to Labyrinth.

The Beatles class was a little different of an experience. Of course I had heard of the Beatles, and there was no question that they made catchy pop songs, and were four of the most recognizable music celebrities. The best part of the class I took was learning about their back story. These were four guys from Liverpool that became music’s royalty. Started in dingy Liverpool clubs and made their way across the pond to Shea Stadium, The Ed Sullivan Show, and Budokan. The band stopped touring to focus on recording at the famous Abbey Road studio and ended with a bang on the roof of the Apple Corps.

The class really opened my eyes to what The Beatles gave the music world, and how they shaped the power of music as a true art form. This game reinforces everything that was really great about The Beatles.

The Beatles Rock Band is a very special game. You can tell right from the opening cinematic video that a lot of care and love were poured into this game. Unlike previous Band specific rhythm games, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica, there are only songs from the featured artist. In the guitar hero iterations, there were songs from bands that inspired the featured band. The Beatles Rock Band is The Beatles all the time.

When you first start up the game, you’ll see some of your standard options like quickplay, where all the songs are unlocked and you can jump in on any of the instruments and start playing. Or you can start a story, like a campaign, where you follow The Beatles from a lowly pub band in Liverpool to Beatlemania in America, finishing up on top of the Apple Corp Building with the Let it Be album. As you make your way through the life of The Beatles, there are awesome interstitials that help illustrate what that time meant for the band.

For the first couple chapters of the game take place in real-life locations that have been faithfully recreated from the fans, to the venue, to how The Beatles were placed on the stage. A lot of care was given.

I remember watching The Beatles anthology and seeing the Fab Four come to New York and play Shea Stadium, with thousands of people screaming, just going ballistic at the sight. The Beatles Rock Band captures the spirit of that scene. You feel as though you are watching/playing as The Beatles, which is a magical feeling. That feeling comes through with every venue, every dreamscape, and that feeling is why I loved this game so much.

The Beatles stopped touring after they played Budokan and lived in the Abbey Road studios to record. What came out of those recordings were some of their more experimental music, however, playing in a barren studio wouldn’t be too fun to watch. Harmonix solved that problem by creating Dreamscape settings for the songs that were recorded in that time. For instance, the song “Here Comes the Sun” has a dreamscape where they are all playing with the beatiful backdrop of the sun, an open field and the wind. The dreamscapes are really creative, and colorful and really help bring the fun, crazy Beatles' songs to life. The story mode is one that should be experienced by anyone who likes music.

A feature that has been the standard, multiplayer, has been included with the normal tug-of-war and score dual modes included. You can also play though the story mode with an online friend. I tried it out and had fun playing it, however, being able to play with my fiancée in the same room was really memorable and awesome and I think that playing in the same room as the people you love is a great idea.

Of course you can play the game with your older Rock Band or Guitar Hero plastic instruments, but I was able to pick up the full band set. The guitar is a replica of Paul's bass and the drums are similar to Ringo's. It also comes with a mic, which is similar to what was included with Rock Band 2. I am disappointed though that a wireless mic was not included. However, both the drums and the guitar are wireless.

The bottom line with this game is that you must Add it to the Pile. The Beatles Rock Band has the best presentation I have ever seen, and every aspect and detail of the game has been dealt with love, caring, and a genuine appreciation of the source. If I had to knock the game for something, it would be the setlist. Don't get me wrong, the track list is fantastic, however, there are only 45 songs. There is already some downloadable content on the horizon. Harmonix has made a band specific game that, in my opinion, can never be matched. There are no other bands that would lend themselves to a full dedicated game like the Beatles.