Meet the Beatles, Rock the World, over and over and over again
Straight off the bat you can tell that this game will focus on the Beatles. The intro, a quick panorama of the Beatles' career, really sets the tone of the game and bla bla bla. You have already heard all of this, haven't you?
The fact is that I bought the limited edition pack for this game, not because I really really wanted to, but because I couldn't get my hands on the RB2 set. That said, I am pleasantly surprised at the level of quality these instruments deliver. Everything has a solid feel to it, from the metal-plated bass pedal to the microphone and its stand. The guitar, supposedly a scale model of whatever the Beatles were supposed to have used, looks slick and designed with the fake metallic parts and such.
The guitar has had its throat elongated a good five or ten centimetres (pure guess) and although the change is hardly visible, you WILL feel it. Until you have reacquainted yourself with the layout, you will not only miss about 50% more of the notes than you would with the RB2/1 or GH guitars, your days of playing the guitar in front of your TV-set for hours on end will be but a memory. In short, the guitar makes your arm hurt.
As for the songs, not being a fanatical Beatles supporter, I originally had doubts on whether I would be able to enjoy the songs at all. To be honest, the set-list showcases an amazing variety in styles that I didn't think possible from a single band. From the standardized love-songs that no boy-band of any era seems to be able to escape, The Beatles Rock Band showcases some of the most drugged out songs you will ever hear anywhere. I suggest listening closely to, or singing, "I am the walrus", it just makes me laugh.
Although the variety is great, the unusually small amount of songs available shows after not too long. No doubt you will have fun conquering the world on the backs of screaming teenage-girls, but if you play more than ten hours, it is a pleasure you will have over and over again. Apparently even perfection can get a bit tedious.
Finally, the visuals. The game looks great. I mean WOW. Fabulous. The attention to detail in this installation of Rock Band exceeds anything I've seen before in an Harmonix game, and I have them all since GH1. Although some players might resent not being able to play "Yellow Submarine" as Lars Ümlaüt, as there actually is no character select (yes, that's right), but seeing the band-members change and evolve through time (and during a song) has its definite charm.
The most impressive feature that the game manages to pull of in the visuals sector is the interpretation of the songs you play. I could try to explain what I mean, but I wont belittle the feat in that manner. Suffice to say that you will miss the notes if your not careful, gawking at the fantastic scenes appearing behind the flow of music on the screen.
This game is definitely worth the money. If you don't have any friends to play with and your gold-subscription just ran out, the story mode will keep you occupied and satisfied for a long time. Although, as with all the RB and GH games, the more friends you have around the better, even if your all alone, the Beatles will make you rock the world, over and over and over again.