Happiness Is A Warm Plastic Guitar...

The combination of the greatest and most celebrated band in history and one of the most popular gaming genres of recent times was almost guaranteed to be a good thing, but for any of you with niggling doubts, The Beatles: Rock Band is fantastic!

Opening with a beautifully put together animated sequence, showing the Fab Four running through their own history in gorgeous slinky style, The Beatles: Rock Band sets its stall out from the off. It's a massive act of fan service, filled here, there, and everywhere with neat little touches.

Neat little touches

The samples of guitars and drums from actual Beatles songs used for menu noises; the little snippets of studio and live conversation before songs, some of which have only been recently unearthed; the way clothing, guitars and facial hair of the band matches up with the periods of time the songs are from; it's truly fantastic attention to detail, which really immerses you into the game. There's no doubting Rock Band: Beatles is a Beatles product, and that's exactly what we want from it!

As in all Rock Band games, you have the option of playing guitar, bass, drums or singing, or a combination of the four. In a revolution for the genre, The Beatles: Rock Band allows up to three microphones to be attached at once, allowing you to replicate the Beatles famous harmonies on songs like 'Paperback Writer', 'And Your Bird Can Sing', 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and more. Unfortunately, it's NOT compatible with Xbox 360 headsets, and the vocals will only work with a Rock Band mic. A bit annoying if you just wanted to grab the game to use with existing instruments, but drums and guitars from previous instalments in the series work fine.

Gameplay wise, it's a simpler affair than Rock Band. Cutting back on the fearsome note twiddling of other games in the genre, partly due to the nature of the songs being played and partly for the sake of inclusivity, it's a joy to play solo or with friends. The Beatles were never about three million note a minute solo guitar freakouts however. The songs are the key here, and they're a joy to play. From the early rock'n'roll clatter of 'Saw Her Standing There', to the extended swamp rock crawl of 'Come Together' and the proto-metal of 'Helter Skelter', there's something for everyone, and even if you're not a fan you'll be surprised by how much you know. And if you're anything like our mates, how much you suddenly realise you like The Beatles after all!

Dreamscapes

Naturally it's better with a little help from your friends. Come together as a group and you can expect a hard day's night to just fly by as you become John, Paul, George and Ringo in the fantastic Story mode. From the early Cavern club days to the final gig on the Apple Building rooftop, via Shea Stadium and the Budokan, you'll be taken for a magical mystery tour through some fantastic songs! With the live shows accompanied by screaming girls,it almost feels like you ARE the mop tops. Later material from the band's non-touring Abbey Road days is played out to some gloriously psychedelic “dreamscapes”, each one created specifically for the song it accompanies. They really show the care and attention that Harmonix have put in for the game!

The package is rounded out with quickplay modes, online multiplayer, tug of war/duel options, and the usual tutorial modes. The Beatles: Rock Band includes a special Ringo drum trainer section as well, so you can learn how to play some of his iconic beats, which is a nice touch.

Negative points? Well, there's the microphone issue as mentioned before, and the tracklisting isn't as perfect as we could have hoped for. There's no 'Help!' or 'She Loves You' for starters, and when the painfully dull 'Yellow Submarine' is included, it seems a bit silly. However, we expect songs not featured in the 43 song playlist will be available as DLC, with 'Abbey Road', 'Sergeant Pepper' and 'Rubber Soul' already promised as future downloadable albums. We just hope they sort out 'Everybody's Got Something To Hide, Except Me And My Monkey'.

Tried and true

Taking the tried and true Rock Band formula and dipping it into a vat of 1960's nostalgia, psychedelic colouring, and chiming Rickenbacker heaven, The Beatles: Rock Band is a lovely slice of honey pie that will appeal to all ages. Basically it's a fab game, and you've got to get it into your life. Believe us, you'll be playing it eight days a week!

GAME's Verdict

• Fantastic tunes.
• Great presentation
• A joy to play

• Quite expensive for the full set if you don’t already have instruments.
• Headsets don’t work as microphones anymore.
• Yellow bleeding Submarine.

Review by: Ian 'All My Lovin' MacDougall
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Review Published: 17.09.09