Hi everyone, I’m GuitarGirl24 and this is my first post for Plusxp.com.
As you’ve probably guessed by the name, I’m a big fan of music based gaming. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t say that I’m the undefeated champion of these games or anything, but most people who have seen me play (sometimes for 6 solid hours or more) would tell you that I truly am a Rock-Hero addict. Over the last few years I have grown addicted to both the Rock Band and Guitar hero series, and am here to give you all the news and updates on the new additions to this loud and proud gaming revolution.
A sneak peek at The Beatles: Rock Band
Though I have an unprecedented love of the music based gaming genre, I have never been as excited by the band specific releases as I have been about the compilation based games. Needless to say with Guitar hero 5 just around the corner the Beatles Rock Band had not been at the top of my gaming wish list. However when I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak at the game earlier this week I was pleasantly surprised.
The graphics have certainly improved (though I was playing it on on a massive HD TV so what can I say) with great attention to detail being played to the atmosphere created within the game. The likenesses of the characters was great, and the new retro fret bored patterns were a nice touch. I also really enjoyed the innovative use of graphics within the recording studio levels. The session begins in a standard recording studio, but as the song builds your characters are taken on on a journey into a surreal, extremely colorful, fantasy land before being gently transported back into real life. Its a bit like stepping into a hippy dream, and though Paul McCartney and John Lennon skipping in circles can be a little distracting at times its a nice touch.
Now to the gameplay, the important bit! I sampled both the drum and guitar modes, and though I didn’t get to play all of the songs I did pick up on a few changes. The guitar mode is basically the same as it was in Rock Band 2, however the first few songs I played seemed far easier than those in the previous titles. I soon selected a song which claimed to be more difficult, but though it was a little harder it still failed to really challenge me. At a guess, I would say that the difficult songs come quite far towards the end of the game, making this a good choice for newbies and parties, but perhaps not the most challenging addition to the series. There is also the option to add a second singer to the band, which makes this game even more of a party favorite. As for the drum setting, there were some changes here; the biggest thing I noticed was that the overdrive activation method had changed. The large solo bar (previously used to activate overdrive) has gone, and has been replaced by a smaller strip with a double note at the end. This set up leaves less freedom for the drummer to solo, but is helpful if like me you don’t like missing out on the programed solo’s when the overdrive bar comes at an inconvenient time.
Overall I would say that this game is a lighthearted, fun edition to the Rock Band series. The choice of songs looks good, the gameplay is up to scratch and the graphics certainly won’t disappoint. As for me, not a lot can beat Guitar hero 3 and Rockband 2, but for Beatles fans its a must.
- GuitarGirl24
