The Beatles: Rock Band is nothing short of a masterpiece. Beatles fans span decades and this accessible yet challenging game bridges the generational divide. There is something for everybody to love in this game.
The band’s original fans will get a kick out of seeing The Beatles perform in the Cavern Club or on the Ed Sullivan Show. Younger fans will love finally seeing Beatles songs released on the interactive Rock Band format. Parents can play with children to expose them to their favorite band, and children can play with parents to expose them to video games.
Even if the Rock Band guitar intimidates mom and dad, they know every word to every song and will not be shy about belting out “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
If you have never played Rock Band or Guitar Hero before, they are rhythm games where you try to match notes sliding down the screen by pressing the corresponding colored button on a guitar or drum shaped controller. They require attention, rhythm and finger dexterity.
Beatles fans who are not necessarily video game fans will relish in being able to pretend they are one of the Fab Four and picking up a microphone. Unlocking photographs and videos are the icing on the cake. The game is loaded with exclusive content, even the loading screens are filled with between-takes banter and jams captured in recording sessions at Abbey Road Studio Two.
Rock Band fans that are not necessarily Beatles fans may not be as enthusiastic about the game. Sadists will not find challenges beyond what is currently on the market, and 45 songs is half of what was included with Rock Band 2. Nevertheless, there is still find plenty to love. First, is the inclusion of three-part vocal harmonies providing a new challenge and allowing up to six people to play at once. Secondly, the visual style, cut scenes and general polish are amazing and unmatched in previous releases.
The development team watched a ton of reference footage and submerged itself in the Beatles and their history, said Josh Randall, creative director of The Beatles: Rock Band. Recreating four of the most famous faces in the world was a daunting task, and one that had to be performed perfectly to appease lofty fan expectation, he said.
The Beatles Rockband Intro from Stephane coedel on Vimeo.
Creating 3D representations of Paul, John, George and Ringo was one of the most challenging aspects of the game, Randall said. The team spent a lot of time trying to make them as evocative of the individuals they were based on as possible. But when early models looked a bit stale, Harmonix went back to the footage and discovered they were missing a critical element: joy.
The Beatles had joy pouring out of them every time they played, Randall said. Therefore, relatively late in the development cycle, Harmonix developed new technology to “turn up the joy filter” by making their eyes more expressive and increasing reactions to the camera and each other, he said.The team focused not only on their faces, but also on each Beatles’ mannerisms. From the way their mouths move when they sing, to the way their hair bounces and how wide they open their eyes, Randall said.
About once a month Randall and other members of the development team had a meeting with the shareholders: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono. Even Giles Martin, son of producer George Martin, was an instrumental collaborator. Their feedback helped drive the look and feel of the game, Randall said.
For example, Olivia Harrison invited some of the team members to her home to see private photos of George Harrison to help capture his essence in the game, he said. After watching game footage of the rooftop concert, Yoko Ono mentioned how it was a windy day. So Harmonix went back and simulated a brisk wind whipping the Beatles’ hair around to make the experience more realistic, he said.
Paul and Ringo’s help really came through in designing the Cavern Club set, as there were only a few black and white photographs and one old film to go off, Randall said. Much of the work in the game is based off their memories, he said.
“It was really incredible, to sit with those guys and hear their stories,” Randall said.
Early on they understood the game and how it could expose a whole new generation to their music, Randall said. They appreciated it as a new way for people to experience their work and as a challenge to be creative in a new medium, he said.
The Beatles were arguably the best songwriters in the history of Rock. Selecting songs to include in the game from such a deep library was a challenge in itself, Randall said. Primarily the team considered whether a song would be fun as a Rock Band track, he said. Secondly, they wanted to ensure the tracks covered the evolution of The Beatles’ sound and included favorites and deep cuts.
Story mode roughly follows The Beatles career, from the Cavern Club to the Ed Sullivan Show to Abbey Road Studios and the rooftop concert. Trippy dreamscapes accompany the music from the band’s studio years. These animations perfectly capture and modernize the visual style of The Beatles.
“If we were going to go psychedelic, we were going to go modern psychedelic with a riff off the stuff from the 60s,” Randall said.
Research consisted of watching and rewatching Yellow Submarine, he said.
“We wanted to capture the spirit and vibe of the music and come up with fantastic locations and abstract visuals that matched the feel of the songs,” Randall said.
The Beatles: Rock Band is not a game you can review alone. This is a party game, best experienced with two or more people. So we enlisted the help of Omaha-based Beatles tribute band Yesterday and Today to give us their impressions of the game.
Drummer Tomm Roland said it nearly perfectly simulates Ringo’s style.
“As far as what you’re playing, it’s on the record,” Roland said.
Even the details are perfect, he said. All of the drum fills in the game are programmed the way Ringo would do it left-handed, Roland said. In Ticket to Ride, there is a presumed mistake where the beat changes in the middle of the song, and even that is represented in the game, he said.
Matt McGuigan, bassist & vocalist for Yesterday & Today, said the bass lines were also well portrayed in the game.
“They have all the rhythms in there,” McGuigan said.
Ryan McGuigan and Matt McGuigan from Yesterday and Today.
More importantly, the game will have the same timeless quality that The Beatles’ music enjoys, McGuigan said. The Beatles’ have never spoiled, they continually find ways to be creative in hot new mediums and genres, he said. The visual aspect of the game just elevates the audio aspect to a new level, he said.
Working with The Beatles has bee a dream come true for the Harmonix team, Randall said.
“We spent a lot of nights here making sure we did right by these guys,” Randall said.
Being incorporated into Beatles history is flooring, he said. Paul McCartney has been so impressed with the project that he is using footage from the game in his concerts right now, he said.
If you are not satisfied with only 45 Beatles tracks, more will be available for download soon. In October, the remaining songs from Abbey Road will be released as downloadable content, followed by Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band and Rubber Soul in November and December. Depending on those sales, it’s a safe bet that more albums will be released in 2010.
Or if the simultaneous release of the game and The Beatles’ remastered albums has you reliving Beatlemania, check out Yesterday and Today at the Omaha Community Playhouse where they will be performing all of December.
Track List:
Cavern Club
- I Saw Her Standing There
- Twist and Shout
- Do You Want to Know a Secret
- Boys
Ed Sullivan Theater:
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Can’t Buy Me Love
- A Hard Day’s Night
- I Wanna Be Your Man
Shea Stadium:
- I Feel Fine
- I’m Looking Through You
- Eight Days a Week
- If I Needed Someone
- Ticket to Ride
Budokan:
- Drive My Car
- Day Tripper
- Paperback Writer
- Taxman
- And Your Bird Can Sing
Abbey Road Dreamscapes:
- Yellow Submarine
- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band/With a Little Help from My Friends
- Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
- Getting Better
- Within You Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows
- Good Morning
- I Am The Walrus
- Hello, Goodbye
- Hey Bulldog
- Back in the USSR
- Dear Prudence
- While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Helter Skelter
- Revolution
- Birthday
- Octopus’s Garden
- Something
- Come Together
- Here Comes the Sun
Rooftop Concert
- Dig a Pony
- Get Back
- Don’t Let Me Down
- I’ve Got a Feeling
- I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
- I Me Mine
