My copy arrived today and I pretty much hammered the Story mode to completion in one session.
First impressions were favourable: the excellent intro movie that's been doing the rounds on the internet for a month or so now kicks off the game in a stunning manner, setting the mood nicely. You then get prompted to calibrate the audio/visual offset (and bizarrely win a trophy in the process) before getting dumped in the Main Menu.
As has been documented elsewhere, all songs (except for the bonus final song) are available from the off in Quick Play, although I'd honestly recommend avoiding this mode and going straight for Story Mode. I know a couple of others have suggested going straight for a particular song:
.
But really: don't.
When taken away from the context of the rest of it, it really loses a lot of its impact.
So, Story Mode...
Well it basically starts off as a setlist in various venues, bookended by some highly swish video sequences setting the tone of the era wonderfully. And, if I'm brutally honest, during the first part of Story Mode it really does feel like a by-the-numbers approach to a band-focused Rock Band game. There's nothing you've not seen before once the game is in progress - you get the Beatles performing on stage with a few inserted crowd reaction shots. It's the Rock Band you know and love.
Between songs it's a little different - you unlock photos depending on your performance, and after a certain number of photos have been unlocked, you earn video prizes. Once you've completed an entire setlist for each venue, you then unlock a Challenge mode for that particular venue (which is basically playing the entire setlist back-to-back, earning you another photo if you complete the challenge with maximum stars).
As I was playing through the early stages, to be honest I was a little disappointed. Sure, I was really enjoying it and grinning throughout but, y'know, it was Rock Band. But then something happens:
You reach Abbey Road. And the whole thing takes off like some ginormous phoenix of ruddy awesomeness.
The whole game is transformed. It ceases to become a rhythm action game and it turns into an unbelievably stunning interactive experience. I don't care how poncey I sound saying that - it's true.
Every song becomes something special - something that you feel truly, inherently connected with. You forget that what you're doing is sitting in front of a screen playing on a plastic instrument - you get completely sucked into the utterly beatiful events going on in the background, your eyes wanting to look away from the scrolling notechart, desperate to give in to the kaleidoscopic carcophany begging to be watched above.
It's no exaggeration to say that it's one of the most artistically brilliant videogames yet released. It's gorgeous. I want to give examples, but I don't want to ruin anyone else's first experiences.
The loading screens also add to the atmosphere, featuring never heard before banter between recordings, as well as the odd comment on completion of a song. You get counted into the songs by the chaps too, rather than having the typical Rock Band high-hat count-in. All of this sounds very minor and periphery, but in terms of keeping you fully immersed into the experience, it's all brilliant stuff.
And so the ginormous phoenix of ruddy awesomeness stays soaring until the conclusion and you end up feeling satisfied. Feeling like you were on a journey rather than just playing a sequence of songs.
And this is why I recommend playing the Story Mode rather than dipping into Quick Play. When dipping into the songs willy-nilly, I can really see this just feeling like a by-the-numbers Rock Band game and people wondering what the fuss was all about. But when played as a single, long experience, it becomes something else entirely.
I can honestly see myself playing through the Story from the beginning again on more than one occasion, treating it almost like a movie - using it as a way to escape for 2-3 hours, immersing myself in that experience once more.
I felt truly connected to the Beatles and to their music when playing this game - something that just hasn't happened with any other band in any other music game. It didn't happen with Guitar Hero: Metallica, it didn't happen with any band-specific Rock Band DLC such as AC/DC, Maiden, Pearl Jam, etc. But it happened with this.
Which, in my book, makes it an utterly fab success.
I can only hope it helps a new generation of people appreciate the genius of the Beatles, introduces a whole new generation or people to one of my favourite pastimes and encourages Harmonix to make many, many more games with such passion and love.
First impressions were favourable: the excellent intro movie that's been doing the rounds on the internet for a month or so now kicks off the game in a stunning manner, setting the mood nicely. You then get prompted to calibrate the audio/visual offset (and bizarrely win a trophy in the process) before getting dumped in the Main Menu.
As has been documented elsewhere, all songs (except for the bonus final song) are available from the off in Quick Play, although I'd honestly recommend avoiding this mode and going straight for Story Mode. I know a couple of others have suggested going straight for a particular song:
.
But really: don't.
When taken away from the context of the rest of it, it really loses a lot of its impact.
So, Story Mode...
Well it basically starts off as a setlist in various venues, bookended by some highly swish video sequences setting the tone of the era wonderfully. And, if I'm brutally honest, during the first part of Story Mode it really does feel like a by-the-numbers approach to a band-focused Rock Band game. There's nothing you've not seen before once the game is in progress - you get the Beatles performing on stage with a few inserted crowd reaction shots. It's the Rock Band you know and love.
Between songs it's a little different - you unlock photos depending on your performance, and after a certain number of photos have been unlocked, you earn video prizes. Once you've completed an entire setlist for each venue, you then unlock a Challenge mode for that particular venue (which is basically playing the entire setlist back-to-back, earning you another photo if you complete the challenge with maximum stars).
As I was playing through the early stages, to be honest I was a little disappointed. Sure, I was really enjoying it and grinning throughout but, y'know, it was Rock Band. But then something happens:
You reach Abbey Road. And the whole thing takes off like some ginormous phoenix of ruddy awesomeness.
The whole game is transformed. It ceases to become a rhythm action game and it turns into an unbelievably stunning interactive experience. I don't care how poncey I sound saying that - it's true.
Every song becomes something special - something that you feel truly, inherently connected with. You forget that what you're doing is sitting in front of a screen playing on a plastic instrument - you get completely sucked into the utterly beatiful events going on in the background, your eyes wanting to look away from the scrolling notechart, desperate to give in to the kaleidoscopic carcophany begging to be watched above.
It's no exaggeration to say that it's one of the most artistically brilliant videogames yet released. It's gorgeous. I want to give examples, but I don't want to ruin anyone else's first experiences.
The loading screens also add to the atmosphere, featuring never heard before banter between recordings, as well as the odd comment on completion of a song. You get counted into the songs by the chaps too, rather than having the typical Rock Band high-hat count-in. All of this sounds very minor and periphery, but in terms of keeping you fully immersed into the experience, it's all brilliant stuff.
And so the ginormous phoenix of ruddy awesomeness stays soaring until the conclusion and you end up feeling satisfied. Feeling like you were on a journey rather than just playing a sequence of songs.
And this is why I recommend playing the Story Mode rather than dipping into Quick Play. When dipping into the songs willy-nilly, I can really see this just feeling like a by-the-numbers Rock Band game and people wondering what the fuss was all about. But when played as a single, long experience, it becomes something else entirely.
I can honestly see myself playing through the Story from the beginning again on more than one occasion, treating it almost like a movie - using it as a way to escape for 2-3 hours, immersing myself in that experience once more.
I felt truly connected to the Beatles and to their music when playing this game - something that just hasn't happened with any other band in any other music game. It didn't happen with Guitar Hero: Metallica, it didn't happen with any band-specific Rock Band DLC such as AC/DC, Maiden, Pearl Jam, etc. But it happened with this.
Which, in my book, makes it an utterly fab success.
I can only hope it helps a new generation of people appreciate the genius of the Beatles, introduces a whole new generation or people to one of my favourite pastimes and encourages Harmonix to make many, many more games with such passion and love.
If anybody can grab a code for the preorder songs I'd really appreciate it
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