Rock Band: The Beatles

[sadude]

Anyone getting this or have it already? It's been getting pretty good reviews as well as a lot of attention from non-video game mainstream places. Though in general there are some pretty lofty descriptions being bandied around, as well as a lot of importance placed on the game. Not sure what to think of this.



p.s.: What if it had been Guitar Hero: The Beatles instead of Rock Band?

[neshcom]

I never got into The Beatles and the novelty of Rock Band has worn off. From what I've seen, it looks pretty and I see the appeal to even moderate Beatles fans. I think there's been an over-saturation of plastic instruments and of course, not everything work with everything. I typed out a whole spiel about rock music games, but meh.

[al kusanagi]

I've never been into the Beatles, but I was thinking about getting GH3.



And whatever happened to that special edition of Rock Band that was going to be released on the Japanese market with all the j-rock songs in it? I guess when the Guitar Hero games didn't catch on in Japan the whole thing was scrapped...

[Ap2000]

Contrary to the other two guys I do like the Beatles very much, but I'm not into rythm games (except for a little bit of Audiosurf now and then).



I would never buy it anyway, 50€ (or whatever) for a few songs and some new models ? pf, never.

Besides, it's just another installement in the series that has become as repetitive as all the generic sports games.

[neshcom]

[quote name='Al Kusanagi' post='68676' date='Sep 9 2009, 01:48 AM']And whatever happened to that special edition of Rock Band that was going to be released on the Japanese market with all the j-rock songs in it? I guess when the Guitar Hero games didn't catch on in Japan the whole thing was scrapped...[/quote]

Q Entertainment is still supposed to be working on it. I bet they're having problems trying to figure out where to take it since it was announced after RB1 came out. X Japan confirmed they'll have a recent song on it a while back ("X JAPAN's music will be in the Japanese edition of "Rock Band 2," Sept, 2008).

[Melon]

I go from wanting wanting wanting to not wanting. I mean, the plastic instruments look cool and all, but for that price I could buy a beginner guitar (a crappy one, but still) and learn to play the songs themselves! I want to rent it but I don't think any rental place would stock it. Perhaps when it hits 30$ or so I'll pick it up.



If anything, I want the MONO box set. But it's so expensive...and sold out everywhere. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... #>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':(' /> I don't want to torrent it, but if that's the only way I can get it... I can't believe they're dropping the ball and releasing the stereo versions only. <img src='http://mm-bbs.org/public/style_emoticon ... /veins.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />

[AEUGNewtype]

I got the game on launch night and there's a lot to say about it, coming from a lifetime HUGE Beatles fan and HUGE Rock Band fan. If you're looking for the ridiculously expansive, towering, jam-packed experience that is brought by the huge song availability in Rock Band 2, you're looking in the wrong place. Yes, a large portion of the Beatles' songs are pretty short and the game only features 45 of them, as opposed to the 85 packed onto the disc for Rock Band 2, but given how much it cost for them to make this game and how much EXTREME amount of detail they put into this, if you can appreciate the history of the band, this is like a dream come true. They put a lot of detail into even little tiny things that casual fans of the group may not even realize, but if you've followed the history of them, you'll appreciate this even more. Also, if you're complaining about it not having enough songs, once they include all of the DLC that they currently have planned, the game should end up with around a 70-track list, and that's only if they don't release any more than what they already have confirmed they'll have out before the end of the year. The thing is, when it come to Beatles music, its not about how long the song lasts, they were often masters of constructing songs where the main structure of the song was run through twice or so and then it was over, instead of dragging it out for 4 or 5 minutes like a lot of modern artists do. The joy comes from the experience you have while playing those songs, and the fact that I could play some of the songs 5 times in a row and be happy with it.



It is true the media is blowing this out of proportion in certain respects, and I'd hate to understate the greatness this game has, but for anyone who is a fan of the Beatles and isn't really conservative about money, this can be a worthy investment for the package deal, but of course, you don't even have to buy the bundle anyway if you just want to play some of the songs. Just for the new drum set alone, it was almost worth the price, the thing is extremely responsive and the best-designed plastic drum kit out there yet. A lot of people are also complaining that they should've just put all these soon-to-be DLC songs on the game disc, but honestly, with how much they had to pay for the royalties and licensing, I understand how they would like to try to at least get some of their money back, while still getting out a product that people can enjoy and I appreciate it, I have no problem paying for the songs they'll be putting up.



Also, as usual with Rock Band, the majority of the enjoyment comes from playing these awesome songs with friends. The excitement and fun that comes from playing with other people is a huge part of what the game is all about. I could go on about this for a while, but I think most of my points have already gotten across. And to sanch's final question, that Guitar Hero: Beatles thing is very true to representing where the Guitar Hero franchise has been taking itself lately and honestly probably not that far off from how a Guitar Hero Beatles game may have ended up in the end. If you know the details about each release they've had in the series, that video was an accurate estimate.



And Petit Melon, I guarantee any rental place you go to would have multiple copies of this, but Rock Band games aren't really something you just play for an hour or two and then get rid of, though obviously for the meantime, you could do that. All the Blockbusters in my area stock multiple copies of any new release game unless its something really under-the-radar, and this game surely doesn't qualify in that category. And those box sets of the albums are already like ancient history, all online retailers were sold out before it was released and there were crowds lined up outside of the few remaining retailers that still carry music to find them and snatch them before anyone else could have a chance. I bought the 5 albums that I enjoy the most, so I'm happy without the box, but I would've liked the extra DVD that came with the stereo box. Why is everyone flipping the hell out about this mono box? Its not like anyone uses a mono speaker setup anymore. Maybe I'm just bitter because my 2 favorite albums were never even mixed in mono so most of my favorite music from them was already given a stereo treatment before it hit the market and therefore it really doesn't matter to me. I'd rather have something that plays a little better on current stereo systems *shrug* I don't see how only releasing single releases of the stereo mixes is "dropping the ball."



[quote name='neshcom' post='68673' date='Sep 9 2009, 12:11 AM']I think there's been an over-saturation of plastic instruments and of course, not everything work with everything.[/quote]

The compatibility thing really isn't much of an issue at all anymore, quote honestly. The only games not compatible with instruments from other games are Guitar Hero 2 and 3, which, at this point, are so old that no one really plays them anymore and from my understanding, the developers of the games are currently working on getting a large portion of the songs from those older games into the newer games that DO work with the other instruments. At this point, those games are pretty archaic, feature very little gameplay options, not very large songlists compared to how they are now, and outdated graphics/gameplay engines that a lot of people just don't care for anymore. Not any great loss to the greater good in not being able to use newer guitars with old games.

[Geof]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='68808' date='Sep 12 2009, 08:35 AM']Why is everyone flipping the hell out about this mono box? Its not like anyone uses a mono speaker setup anymore. Maybe I'm just bitter because my 2 favorite albums were never even mixed in mono so most of my favorite music from them was already given a stereo treatment before it hit the market and therefore it really doesn't matter to me. I'd rather have something that plays a little better on current stereo systems *shrug* I don't see how only releasing single releases of the stereo mixes is "dropping the ball."[/quote]

As a passing-to-indifferent fan, it seems most of the people drooling over the mono set are fans who had those albums when they were originally issued, so it's probably more of a sentimental attachment. Though, having been listening to the sets this week, I've noticed that some of the stereo mixes are iffy (Please Please Me completely falls into chaos at the end of the song, for example) and I have to admit I think some vocals come out quite a bit stronger in mono than they do in their "fake" stereo versions. Personally, I have the 1st 4 albums on my iPod from the mono set, and the rest from the stereo set.



As for the game, I really want to pick this up as soon as I can afford it, but I'm not interested in the drums. The running demo I saw this week looks impressive & the Dreamscapes are pretty creatively done, you almost can just watch them & have fun. The number of songs doesn't bother me, since I really only like about 50 of their songs anyway, and while I suppose it'd be cool to be able to use these songs in previous games & vice versa, it just doesn't really feel right. Neither is really appropriate for the other.



Now someone needs to get on the fucking ball already & make a KISS game. With Gene's axe-shaped bass controller.

[Melon]

[quote name='The☆AEUGNewtype' post='68808' date='Sep 12 2009, 10:35 AM']And Petit Melon, I guarantee any rental place you go to would have multiple copies of this, but Rock Band games aren't really something you just play for an hour or two and then get rid of, though obviously for the meantime, you could do that. All the Blockbusters in my area stock multiple copies of any new release game unless its something really under-the-radar, and this game surely doesn't qualify in that category. And those box sets of the albums are already like ancient history, all online retailers were sold out before it was released and there were crowds lined up outside of the few remaining retailers that still carry music to find them and snatch them before anyone else could have a chance. I bought the 5 albums that I enjoy the most, so I'm happy without the box, but I would've liked the extra DVD that came with the stereo box. Why is everyone flipping the hell out about this mono box? Its not like anyone uses a mono speaker setup anymore. Maybe I'm just bitter because my 2 favorite albums were never even mixed in mono so most of my favorite music from them was already given a stereo treatment before it hit the market and therefore it really doesn't matter to me. I'd rather have something that plays a little better on current stereo systems *shrug* I don't see how only releasing single releases of the stereo mixes is "dropping the ball."[/quote]



Because certain albums were recorded in mono. I'd like to get the albums that were recorded in mono in mono and the ones that were in stereo in stereo. It's a matter of what sounds better in the end product, and since I listen to my music out of headphones more often than not, the weird sounds on one side or the other bother me more than if I played it out of speakers. I don't have good speakers but I do have really nice cans. I'd like to get the full discography with these super updated releases and not giving me the option to pick (even if its limited release from beatles.com only) pisses me off, especially since that set is more expensive than the stereo because they KNEW they could overcharge for it.



As for the game, the rentals were sold out, so I'll rent it when I can and buy the game once it drops in price. I want to have money left over for the DLC. :|

[Suika]

Just got this yesterday, having a lot of fun with it. This is, amazingly, my first foray into the RB/GH world. I'm definitely going to pick up the first RB disc too since its tracklisting piqued my interest so long ago (but not enough to try it!). I prefer vocals because it's just so damn easy, but I'm slowly getting better at the guitar. I haven't tried drums yet, they're always claimed. I don't really enjoy story mode because I prefer to play only the tracks I actually like, which has led me to adequately do While My Guitar about eight times and butcher Octopus's Garden about three.



And on the subject of the Beatles, I saw their cirque show, Love, while I was in Vegas last week and holy crap. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, more of a concert than an acrobatic freakshow, loud music, heavy bass, frenetic dancing, it was AMAZING, but the best part was the soundtrack, all remixes of original recordings. I've never enjoyed a Beatles album in its entirety before this.

[sadude]

I got the game and played it briefly (15-20 songs?) over the weekend with a few friends. It was fun, though I'm not that into The Beatles to be completely excited over this. Also, we put in RB2 after a while and had way more fun with that, so that detracted from the game a bit. Didn't really play it enough to form an opinion, really, though the presentation was pretty awesome.



[quote name='Suika' post='68909' date='Sep 14 2009, 11:52 PM']I'm definitely going to pick up the first RB disc too since its tracklisting piqued my interest so long ago (but not enough to try it!).[/quote]

If you'd like, check out this deal: https://www.rockband79.com/

Rock band 1 bundle + Rock Band 2 game for $79 and free shipping. Note: For $5, you can import 55 of the 58 songs from RB1 to your hard drive so you can play them with RB2, so you don't have to switch discs to access all the songs. (Won't work with RB: Beatles). This is a really fantastic deal if you don't have the first two games already.