Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Hands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode


Click to see more colours.
One thing is obvious after playing the closely-guarded story mode of The Beatles: Rock Band: this is no quick cash-in. The rewards system included in the game features some extraordinary (and oftentimes exclusive) extras that no Beatles fan will want to miss. Rare archival photos, audio and video chronicle the meteoric rise of the Beatles, providing an almost-encyclopedic document of the band's career.

Unlike the previous Rock Band games, the entire setlist will be available from the get-go in The Beatles: Rock Band. Considering the mainstream appeal of the Beatles, Harmonix realized it was foolish to lock away the core content of the game from the masses. Instead, the story mode provides something sorely missing from the first two Rock Band games: context. The tour mode of the previous titles attempted to emulate the experience of being a band on the rise, but did so through a simple numeric representation of how many fans players have accumulated. The Beatles offers cutscenes, both rendered in the game's engine and through animation, that begin inside one of the band's earliest venues: The Cavern Club.

Players will have to play through a number of pre-selected songs in order to progress onto the next part of the story, visiting venues such as the set of the Ed Sullivan Show, Budokan, Shea Stadium, and the rooftop of Apple Records. Those who manage to get 5-star ratings on all the songs will unlock a number of extras, such as photos that chronicle the history of the Beatles. These images include intimate details fact-checked by Paul McCartney himself.

Continue reading Hands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode

JoystiqHands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Hands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode


Click to see more colours.
One thing is obvious after playing the closely-guarded story mode of The Beatles: Rock Band: this is no quick cash-in. The rewards system included in the game features some extraordinary (and oftentimes exclusive) extras that no Beatles fan will want to miss. Rare archival photos, audio and video chronicle the meteoric rise of the Beatles, providing an almost-encyclopedic document of the band's career.

Unlike the previous Rock Band games, the entire setlist will be available from the get-go in The Beatles: Rock Band. Considering the mainstream appeal of the Beatles, Harmonix realized it was foolish to lock away the core content of the game from the masses. Instead, the story mode provides something sorely missing from the first two Rock Band games: context. The tour mode of the previous titles attempted to emulate the experience of being a band on the rise, but did so through a simple numeric representation of how many fans players have accumulated. The Beatles offers cutscenes, both rendered in the game's engine and through animation, that begin inside one of the band's earliest venues: The Cavern Club.

Players will have to play through a number of pre-selected songs in order to progress onto the next part of the story, visiting venues such as the set of the Ed Sullivan Show, Budokan, Shea Stadium, and the rooftop of Apple Records. Those who manage to get 5-star ratings on all the songs will unlock a number of extras, such as photos that chronicle the history of the Beatles. These images include intimate details fact-checked by Paul McCartney himself.

Continue reading Hands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode

JoystiqHands-on with The Beatles: Rock Band story mode originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.