The Beatles: Rock Band is more than just a music game that's geared towards one artist like Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. It's a finely crafted homage to one of the greatest bands who ever lived. There isn't a rock fan who doesn't know the names of The Beatles and has probably heard at least one of their songs. Being one of the most influential bands in history, it seems fair for the band to be the center of the latest entry in the Rock Band series.
Right from the get-go, you can play just about every song on the disc on any instrument. For the Career Mode, you get to visit the venues that the band performed at in real life while playing the same songs that they played there. You play a selection of songs only once and it's a lot less repetitive than the Career Mode from Rock Band 2. If you play a song in Career Mode very well, you can unlock photos. These photos take a look at a scene from the song and tell you a bit of history behind it. As you collect photos, you can also get short videos that are more pieces of Beatles history.
If you choose to lay down $249.99 for the Limited Edition set, you get a drum set based on the one that Ringo used complete with a big cover with the band's name, a microphone with a stand, and a guitar that's modeled after Paul's bass. These are pretty much the same instruments that came with Rock Band 2 only looking a bit prettier. As such, I can't help but think that the price tag is a bit too high. Perhaps if it came with an extra guitar or microphones, then it would've been justified.
For the set list, you can play more than 40 songs right from the get-go. However, the Music Store isn't up as of this time of writing, so you can't help but feel limited with 45 songs total. Sure, they're great songs, but it's still only 45.
The gameplay is the same we've come to expect from the series. Colored buttons stroll by on the screen and you play the instrument or sing to the beat of the music. The guitar part should be familiar to most people by now and while the included guitar looks nice, it could have been made a little tighter to play. The fact that the strum bar is silent can throw off your timing now and then and the frets can stick as well. It's nice that the Guitar Hero guitars are compatible with this game, I must admit. The drums also look pretty but the learning curve is rather steep, even on easy. The microphone actually works pretty well, it all depends on who's singing. As for online play, it works pretty well but at times, the server won't let me connect.
Difficulty is where I have to give the game some credit. After the previous Rock Band and Guitar Hero games killed my fingers with insane solos, it's nice to see something scaled back a bit. The Beatles aren't exactly known for very rocking songs but some can get pretty difficult. (The solo in "Taxman", I'm looking at you.)
The graphics are also where I have to give credit to the game. While the earlier venues have been recreated faithfully, complete with the screams of crazed teenage girls, the Dreamscapes are what make the backgrounds special. For the songs performed in the Abbey Road venue, the background changes for each one depending on the mood of the song. For example, the Dreamscape for "Here Comes the Sun" is a beautiful serene field while the Dreamscapes for "Within You, Without You/Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Helter Skelter" are among the craziest things I've ever seen in a video game.
In conclusion, The Beatles: Rock Band makes another great entry for the Rock Band series. Even if you haven't played any other music games, this is a good place to jump on.
Graphics: 9.0 - The authentic-looking venues and Dreamscapes are very pretty to look at.
Sound: 9.0 - The songs sound as great as they've ever been with some banter thrown in at the results screen.
Gameplay: 9.0 - The familiar rhythm gameplay is as fun as ever.
Appeal: 9.0 - It's easy enough for most people to play and can last for quite a while once the Music Store becomes available.
Final Score: 9.0 - Excellent. This is a game I definitely recommend.