Beatles Rock Band

I played this game with m' droogies at the Commuter Lounge and I have to say, it's very well put together.

There's this cool stuff going on in the background, called "Dream Scapes" during certain songs. It looks very nice, and it shows just how much work was put into the game.

Work, I'll ultimately ignore. It's not that it's bad by any stretch of the imagination, it's just that 1. I was expecting a little more song for my dollar and 2. I don't feel the relevance of the Beatles that much.

It's still miles ahead of the competition, but right now, I'll pass.

Nevertheless, you WILL know a lot of the songs, and it's still the same old, fun in a group Rock Band.

The Beatles: Rock Band Cancelled, Activision Taking Over

Found via Joystiq.

First week DLC:
"Wah-wahs" by George Harrison
"Operation Ground and Pound" by Dragonforce
"Crawling" by Linkin Park

Second Week DLC:
"I Am The Walrus" covered by Steve Ouimette

Then no more DLC ever.

Beatles Rock Band Looks Epic

I mean, the opening cinematic alone shows how much effort they put into this. While I'm sure Neversoft would have put in a good effort if the music went to Guitar Hero (they collaborated on a venue with Tool to have 3 of their songs in the game), I don't think they could pull off anything like this.

It's not like AC/DC or The Clash or any of the bands I'm usually a fan of, so I can't say which songs "be better be in there". If I've heard of it, chances are good it'll be included in the setlist. My only disappointment so far is that George Harrison's "Wah-Wah" won't be included as a bonus song.

Insert Beatles Pun Here and Exclusivity

Rock Band/Harmonix now has exclusive rights to Beatles music. As to whether it will be an expansion like GH: Aerosmith or the AC/DC Track Pack is yet to be seen.

I find this interesting because audio director Eric Brosius said this in an interview:
“We prefer not to sign exclusive deals with artists because while it seems like the competitive ‘business’ thing to do, in the long run it’s really not good for anyone. We think we should be working to get more music out to more people,” he stated plainly.

The problem with exclusive bands is that it's no longer about what you want in a game (i.e. Difficulty/videogameyness from Guitar Hero, Musicianship from Harmonix), but which bands you want. Some people just want to be exposed to new stuff. And if we start to go by bands and record companies, then that screws us out of a ton of variety we'd be missing out on.

Granted from the artist's perspective, you'll probably make more from an exclusivity deal than you would the royalties from both games, but the number one reason the artists are throwing themselves at Activision and Harmonix is exposure. With the exclusivity, the artists are limited to the customers of one game. Now, some people own both games, but the children of "PARENTS WHO DON'T GET IT" and cheap bastards and more or less everyone outside the truly hardcore will choose one game and stick with it. They might switch alleigences depending on that years showing, but it's ostracizing half of your potential new market.

Now to lighten things up where the Guitar Hero: Decades soundtrack:
Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal"
The All-American Rejects - "Dirty Little Secret"
Blind Melon - "No Rain"
Blondie - "One Way Or Another"
Bon Jovi - "You Give Love A Bad Name"
Boston - "Rock and Roll Band"
The Darkness - "I Believe In A Thing Called Love"
Edgar Winter Group - "Free Ride"
Fall Out Boy - "The Take Over, The Breaks Over"
Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"
Free - "All Right Now"
Jimmy Eat World - "The Middle"
Joe Satriani - "Satch Boogie"
Journey - "Any Way You Want It"
Lenny Kravitz - "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
Linkin Park - "One Step Closer"
Los Lobos - "La Bamba"
Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet Home Alabama (live)"
Paramore - "Crushcrushcrush"
Queen - "We Are The Champions"
R.E.M. - "The One I Love"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Can't Stop"
Sammy Hagar - "I Can't Drive 55"
Seether - "Remedy"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Tarantula"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Down"
Veruca Salt - "Volcano Girls"
Weezer - "Buddy Holly"

I might get this one... or just get the first one for cheap. I already have a few of these on Rock Band 2.