Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

The verdict is in and following this morning’s announcement, the Beatles are all set to grace the world of music based games. Rock Band has stepped up to the plate, and with developer Harmonix, batting, with the support of Apple Corps, this one might just fly out of the park. In a good way of course.

Raising a cautionary flag however, Alex Rigopulos, head of Harmonix, said that, “This is a game that’s entirely focused on The Beatles. It’s not a Rock Band game. It’s going to be a new creative exploration of their music and their legacy.”

Now, how can you possibly make a rhythm game, which also takes players on a journey through the band’s imagery and how the band evolved through their time together? Rock Band and Guitar Hero changed the way we hear music by giving us the impression that we were actually playing it. And there’s the rub. Anyone who’s ever played one of these games knows that unless you set the difficulty to pathetically easy, you’re not paying any attention to the imagery, or any other part of the experience for that matter, save that single, floating staff and the notes that sail out at you from behind the stage.

Unless the “journey through the band’s imagery and evolution” is entirely restricted to cut scenes between songs and the venue set up shots that introduce each track, the Rock Band experience is too performance driven to deliver a unique “Beatles experience“. A unique experience would mean that Beatle fans get to go inside Abbey Road and sit in on the creative and contentious sessions that produced the music they adore. They’ll want to flee from screaming girls in white patent go-go boots after a show. They’ll want to be the Beatles, not just play them in harried, three-minute intervals.

It’s indeed a tall order, but on the other hand, given Harmonix’s track record, it’s a good bet they’ll deliver. Plus, according to the companies involved, the game has “the blessing” of Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, the widow of George Harrison.

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