Wii The Beatles: Rock Band – Software Only

10 Review to this product

• 

  Jeremy A Daniels
  September 10th, 2009 on 3:24 pm

  Rating

  I fully expected The Beatles Rock Band to be my favorite game of this type based on musical consistency alone. I didn’t expect the game to be the mostly beautifully rendered, artistically intricate game I’ve ever played on any platform, ever. It would have been easy to just replace the regular Rock Band characters with Beatles. However, everything is different. There are literally completely different animations on almost every song. I agree with the previous review that I screwed up riffs being mesmerized by what was happening on the screen. I was skeptical that the game would be able to separate vocal, guitar, and drum tracks on these recordings, some of which are almost 50 years old, but this is done seamlessly. The sound quality is great, bright and crisp without sounding ‘enhanced.’ I can’t believe, with the level of intensity and anticipation I’ve had in waiting for this game for the last year, that it actually meets and exceeds my expectations.
• 

  Rancegt
  September 10th, 2009 on 4:47 pm

  Rating

  Other people have and will write thorough reviews so I won’t.
  
  The basic gameplay is very similar to any other Rock Band so if you like Rock Band and the Beatles you’ll like this game.
  
  It’s similar except for the three microphones. The harmonies are really cool. This is a great addition to the game.
  
  There are some other differences that I thought were worth talking about. First, the difficulty scale has an easier entry point than the other games. On RB2 I play guitar well on medium and very poorly on hard. For the Beatles, the low end of the scale is much easier. I’ve been playing very well on hard. By the time you get to the hard end of the scale things have balanced out and I fail on hard which is normal. This is much closer to the scale of RB2.
  
  I think that’s good for two reasons. First a lot of people who haven’t played Rock Band will want to try this game. They will be able to have fun pretty much from the word go. More importantly, this game can use three microphones. If you’re going to sing and play an instrument at the same time you’ll be glad some songs are easier. Playing a fake guitar and singing at the same time can be hard.
  
  Have fun playing.

  Tech Note for Wii:
  
  Some USB combinations don’t work for the extra microphones. I don’t know why.
  
  I couldn’t find anything in the manual about how to hook up three mics so I used a standard PC USB hub which worked without a hitch.
• 

  Gabriela Batista
  September 13th, 2009 on 12:11 am

  Rating

  I was reading a couple of reviews and many people complain that the game is short. Seems to me, you don’t really grasp the idea the Beatles’ songs are actually short yet simply perfect. And overall the game experience couldn’t be anymore satisfying, the graphics are amazing, the songs are expected genius and I can’t wait to see what other songs are available for downloads. Its worth the time and the money if you know a bit about music.
• 

  Kristopher Aadahl
  September 14th, 2009 on 5:03 pm

  Rating

  I love the Beatles, so I don’t really care about if the songs are fast-paced and that sort of thing. The game is really fun, the background videos are really cool and the features you unlock are interesting (seldom-seen photographs and videos and little snippets of info about each song/album.) The game may be a little short, but there’s plenty to keep you occupied after you’ve beat the game: more features to unlock (you can only both photographs for each song if you get 5 stars) and accomplishments to, well, accomplish. There’s also some very interesting versions of the songs, like live versions and the Beatles talking before and after most tracks.
• 

  Silicon Valley Girl
  September 15th, 2009 on 11:04 am

  Rating

  This is the first video game that our entire family can enjoy playing, together or separately. The game play on easier levels is easy enough that Mom and Dad can make it through a song, and on harder levels is difficult enough to challenge our fairly hardcore teenager. Plus, what could be more fun than playing and singing along with the Beatles? We haven’t even played the game in Story Mode yet — we’ve only used Quick Play and Online modes — so we still have all the amazing animations to look forward to.

  Possibly not the best choice for super-hardcore players looking for viciously challenging gameplay, and clearly not for anyone who dislikes the Beatles (do such folks exist?). Pretty much awesome for everyone else.
• 

  Juan
  September 16th, 2009 on 11:31 am

  Rating

  yes, the game is exactly what you expect.

  in case anybody is wondering, you CAN play guitar hero instruments (drums, guitar, mic) with this game. in the GHWT drumset, the orange cymbal doubles as the blue pad on the RB drums. they all work perfectly.
• 

  R. Coppola
  September 16th, 2009 on 7:32 pm

  Rating

  I was reading some of the negative reviews about this game and I have to say- are you kidding me?. Never have I seen a game with such brilliant video imagery such as this, and the music I really don’t have to explain- incredible. This game just might blow away any Rock Band or Guitar Hero game ever put out, even if you’re not a true Beatles you’ll like this game. Prediction- one of the top 5 games of 2009.
• 

  James Donnelly
  September 21st, 2009 on 2:12 am

  Rating

  All of the people that have been complaining that this game is too short better be looking at this bands’ history. They are a 60′s pop group, as opposed to everything pop from the 70′s on, where the existence of 2 minute guitar solos ran rampant and final verses ran about 30-40 seconds longer than necessary. The Fab Four were the perfect pop-rock band, and this game is filled with songs that barely reach the 3-minute mark. And that’s ok. There’s very little filler here. What’s so important about this version of Rock Band comparatively to other GH or RB versions out there is that it takes the time to go through the Beatles’ catalog and not give too much that isn’t necessary, and it gives the friends and family the opportunities to sing along, harmonize, and play as a single unit.

  And the DLC that will eventually come to this game is going to be AWESOME. ABBEY ROAD will be available in October, SGT. PEPPER in November and RUBBER SOUL in December. And I’m sure all of their other albums to soon follow on a monthly basis.

  The only complaint that I have about this game is that it has far too many Ringo songs and too few George songs. And the absence of the song “Rain” for a game like Rock Band is just wrong. That’s a song tailor-made for this game. But I’m sure eventually, the DLC will offer it and that will be awesome.

  This is a near-perfect game for any fan of The Beatles, and a great stand-alone Rock Band title.
• 

  Dawn M. Riedel
  October 23rd, 2009 on 2:24 am

  Rating

  I purchased this for my daughter’s 13th birtday. She has been a Beatles fan for years and this was on the top of her birtday list. The game is excellent she plays it all the time. The music is great and there are many choices which makes the game challenging. She can play by herself or with the family. The only thing that I will say is that I did not know that you had to have the guitar in order to play (or at least one instrument) I thought that you could play with the wii remote until instruments were purchased. (maybe I just misunderstood) However when we went to play the game for the first time we reaslized that it will not work without an instrument so we had to go out and buy that also. If you give as a gift make sure to include an instrument (which can be an expensive gift when combined with the game) or make sure the person already has at least one. The good thing is that you can use guitar hero or generic wii instruments and do not have to purchase rockband instruments. We found a guitar hero guitar on sale and it works perfect! Highly recommend this game to any beatles fan!
• 

  J. Raphaelson
  December 13th, 2009 on 6:34 am

  Rating

  A huge hit at Hannukah, my wife, eight-year-old daughter and I have practically done nothing but play Wii Beatles for the last three days and counting. I managed to buy the last Rock Band 2 special edition bundle at local stores at a decent price. Then I bought the Beatles software from Amazon. The Rock Band 2 set includes a wireless guitar that can be used for lead or bass, and wireless drum set and a wired logitech microphone. To hook up two or three microphones I plugged a standard portable 4-port USB hub into the Wii, plugged the microphone and another logitech microphone (originally from High School Musical game) and the Beatles game immediately recognized both mics. On the mic there are two options – solo or harmony (for 2-3 microphones). All the equipment works great – probably better, and definitely cheaper, than the Beatles Special Edition bundle, according to many review I have read. We are very very satisfied, and the whole family is enjoying playing this game together.