You probably haven’t heard of ‘em, but the up and coming Liverpool-based rock group—the Beatles—just hit it big, scoring a recent deal with Harmonix to appear in their very own Rock Band title. Featuring 45 of the Beatles jaunty tunes, The Beatles Rock Band shows hope for the young musicians. Personally, I think it’s fantastic that small bands with good music are getting this kind of attention. The Beatles have potential, my friends. And in my opinion, they’ll soon be bigger than Jesus.

As far as gameplay goes, The Beatles Rock Band runs exactly like the other games in the franchise, so there’s really not much new here. If you’ve played Rock Band, you know what you’re getting into—only now with a yellow submarine full of Beatles tracks (har har, I’m so very witty).

Where the game shines, however (aside from the great music), is the nifty interface and background animations that fit snugly with the Beatles unique, psychedelic style. Typically, the animations consist of on-stage performances featuring the British rock quartet. But occasionally a song is presented using “dreamscape” animations featuring trippy flashes of color while displaying the lyrics on the screen. The lyrics proceed to flutter about in a bubbly dance to the beat of the music.

And to answer your question: yes, you will be able to see the Beatles perform “Octopus’s Garden” under the sea.

As you might have guessed, I had a chance to play The Beatles Rock Band and was quite impressed (har har, I can rhyme!). I appreciated the challenge offered by the songs, something contrary to my expectations and something the most hardcore Rock Band fans are certain to appreciate.

A new feature allows players to connect multiple microphones at once, turning what was once a four player game into a four to six player game. Of course, if the backup singers lack the angelic vocal beauty brandished by the lead vocalist (because we all know that Rock Band vocalists are the possessors of such glorious talent), the game doesn’t penalize players, with the harmonies acting strictly as a bonus. This means you and your tone-deaf buddies can suck it up and only be rewarded for it. Sweet!

Shortly after The Beatles Rock Band hits store shelves, Harmonix intends to release Abbey Road in its entirety as DLC. Alongside it, they’ll be selling the single “All You Need is Love” with the proceeds going to some sort of charity (they didn’t really specify, though they did say “doctors” quite a few times Doctors without Borders). Them devs and their random charities. You know how it is.

Unfortunately, Harmonix reps were unable to comment on which tracks would be gracing the final game, so no word on “Helter Skelter” as of yet (sorry, James). However, I can confirm the following songs will be in The Beatles Rock Band:

• Octopus’s Garden
• I Wanna Hold Your Hand
• Back in the USSR
• I Am the Walrus
• I Saw Her Standing There
• Taxman
• Here Comes the Sun
• Day Tripper
• I Feel Fine
• Get Back

As for the replica guitars, they’re simply amazing. They play just as good as they look, and I’m tempted to “lose” my old guitars just to own my own Rock Band McCartney violin bass—and I’m not even that big of a Beatles fan.

Oh, and I asked Harmonix if the game allows you to export songs to or from other Rock Band titles, but they couldn’t comment. Hey, at least I tried.

Overall, this is definitely the game to draw in the small group of people yet to be exposed to the Rock Band phenomenon. I can already tell this is going to be a great party game, and I’m definitely looking forward to playing the final final version. The only issue I found was when the “scrolling guitar neck” occasionally flashes yellow, serving as an awful distraction and making the orange and yellow notes difficult to see. It’s something to get used to, certainly, but it’s no tragic failing.*

Expect to see The Beatles Rock Band in stores sometime around or on the 10 year anniversary of the GREATEST CONSOLE EVER MADE Sega Dreamcast. Blasphemous, sure, but like I said: bigger than Jesus.

*Upon playing Lego Rock Band, I quickly realized this is something typical to the franchise. Still, it didn’t seem to be as bothersome in the Lego rendition of the franchise. Playing The Beatles Rock Band a second time, it wasn’t as much of a problem. Like I said, it’s just something to get used to.

Gameplay images, FTW!

Popularity: unranked [?]