To the cheer of Beatles fans around the world, the Beatles CD catalogue has finally been digitally re-mastered. To coincide with this release, EA Australia has released the latest in the Rockband series, this one consisting solely of classic Beatles tunes: The Beatles: Rockband.
At the press launch held at the Diamant hotel near King's Cross in Sydney, representatives from EA were joined by up-and-coming and young rock-punk-glam-electro band Short Stack. Donning the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club outfits, they did their best to play a song in the game, but the guitarist curiously missed almost every beat (though apparently the controller was set up incorrectly). To the complete indifference of the audience they then played two songs from their new album, before giving up the stage to allow the attendees at hands-on experience of the game.
Anyone who's played the other Rockband titles or Guitar Hero would be instantly familiar with the gameplay – almost nothing has changed except unique addition of three-part vocal harmonies. Players can choose from four instruments - guitar, bass, voice or drums. One of the games unique selling points are the replicas of instruments made famous by the band, including the Höfner base used by Sir Paul McCartney. The drums kit is also a very cute imitation of Ringo's pearl-finished set.
Over 45 songs from the Beatles catalogue have been included, the songs themselves divided up into the different venues featured in the game, which include the Cavern Club, the Ed Sullivan Theatre, the final rooftop concert and, of course, Abbey Road. While 45 songs are on offer, including classics such as “Can't Buy Me Love”, “I am the Walrus”, “Yellow Submarine” and “While my Guitar Gently Weeps”, a mass of material is missing, some of which will be available to download, beginning with Abbey Road in October.
While I was not given a chance to extensively playtest the game, particularly impressive were the cell shaded animations of the fab four in concert and the particularly surreal video accompanying “I am the Walrus”, which was as visually creative as many recent animated films.
The career mode of the first Rockband game has been replaced by a similar “story” mode which chronologically maps out the band's career. Also akin to the previous titles, you can play any song cooperatively or competitively at difficultly levels ranging from “Easy” to “Expert”. Hence, The Beatles: Rockband doesn't do a lot to advance the already established gameplay, but it doesn't need to. The very presence of their classic songs is sufficient to warrant this an essential purchase for fans of the series or of the band. If for some inexplicable reason you don’t fall into either category, then this is a great opportunity to interactively become familiar with some of the most iconic musicians of the 20th century.
The Beatles: Rockband is now in wide release with a RRP of $79.99 for Wii and $89.99 for Xbox 360 and PS3. The limited edition bundle including the unique set of controllers retails at $369.99.
