Harmonix set out to make a Rock Band game featuring nothing but Beatles songs and visuals to match. It succeeds on all those fronts AND is really fun, so they basically perfected their vision in making this game. The only caveat is it could have borrowed from Guitar Hero's band-specific game formula by lifting tracks from similar artists, because although the songs in this game are good, none of them really push the boundaries of difficulty in a challenging way. But yeah, this is an all-time classic

You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go go go, oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

I say high, you say low
You say why and I say I don't know, oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
(Hello goodbye hello goodbye) Hello hello
(Hello goodbye) I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
(Hello goodbye hello goodbye) Hello hello
(Hello goodbye) I don't know why you say goodbye
(Hello goodbye) I say hello/goodbye

Why why why why why why do you say goodbye goodbye, oh no?

You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello

You say yes (I say yes) I say no (But I may mean no)
You say stop (I can stay) and I say go go go (Till it's time to go), oh
Oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, I say hello hello

Hela heba helloa
Hela heba helloa, cha cha cha
Hela heba helloa, wooo
Hela heba helloa, hela
Hela heba helloa, cha cha cha
Hela heba helloa, wooo
Hela heba helloa, cha cah cah [fade out]

I love the Beatles and this game put a lot of fun and care into the overall style of this. The songs list should have been absolutely massive so the final tracks on here feel a little disappointing, but realistically there was no world in which everyone's favorite songs were all going to make the cut.

I am bummed that I didn't get back into the Rock Band scene until years after the Beatles DLC licensing expired because I probably would've still bought a lot of it, but that's my fault for taking a ten year break from gaming.

My biggest gameplay complaint is that some notes were very hard to see with star power activated and despite such a massive library of songs to choose from there were still a handful of songs chosen that I straight up do not like. It's also always annoying on these games when they smash two songs together and make it impossible to play just one song or the other without playing both.

Finish date is based on beating all songs on Hard Guitar with 5 stars. I have since also beat all songs on Expert Bass with 5 stars.

I totally get it, this is a WEIRD choice to give 5 stars to. But I’m practically obligated to given my childhood. I was raised on the Beatles, and they are still to this day my favorite band of all time. I also have a deep love and attachment to the Rockband series. So naturally, the merging of the two is right up my alley. This game is a huge celebration of The Beatles’ story and legacy, with an art style and UI design that really pays attention to the world the band left behind. The various character models are stylized enough to still hold up in an age of poorly-aged graphics, and the video backgrounds that play during songs feel spot-on to actual footage of their shows. Beatlemania segments are fun. The campaign, while excluding any real dialogue and leaving non-concert events out, is a treat to get through and I find it infinitely replayable. The soundtrack is an excellent summary of one of the biggest song catalogs in the world; there are a few notable songs missing but it is mostly a celebration of the various styles taken by the band through the years.

I totally get it if you don’t think The Beatles Rockband is anywhere near 5 stars. But it is for me!!!

Review #3 - 2022

This is one of those games that's incredible it even happened. The Beatles are extremely strict when it comes to how their music is handled, and the fact they managed to muster up the trust to let Harmonix create a plastic instrument game with their music, is such a lightning in a bottle moment in time. I'm not sure who approached who, but however it went down, I'm glad it did. Given that a major day was coming up known as Beatles Day 9/9/09 (perhaps this date was picked due to this little bluesy romp), where they'd release new remasters of all 12 of their albums, I imagine it just made sense to get this game together for such an awesome day, which would also be its release date.

I played this game with friends the moment it dropped. A friend of mine picked up the full band set, which consisted of replicas based on real Beatles instruments: Paul's Höfner bass and Ringo's Black Oyster Pearl drumkit (John's Rickenbacker 325 and George's Gretsch Duo Jet were sold separately). It also included a mic of course, as well as a Beatles logo drum head which attached to your drum kit. It was a well put together set, that I managed to finally get my hands on through eBay just a few years ago. Also, I'll never forget watching that incredible opening animation for the first time. I had goosebumps for days.

This would be my first real exposure to the Beatles' music, having only heard their early to mid 60s hits that were often played on oldies radio. I had never heard their experimental/abstract works, so this game opened that door for me, and as a 10th grader dying to take in something mind blowing and new, I was absolutely captivated.

It wasn't until my adulthood, that I'd finally get to take in all this game had to offer. As mentioned previously, I purchased the full band set on eBay, and made up for lost time, since we couldn't afford to buy such a thing back when I was in high school. I got to share this game with my wife, for she too is a big Beatles fan (being Beatles fans is how we first met funny enough). We played through the game's story mode, which takes you through each iconic year of the Beatles' career, starting from the days when they'd play in the Cavern Club as young lads, all the way to their breathtaking rooftop concert in 1969, which led up to their disbandment. You experience their touring years at the peak of their popularity, and get to hang out in Abbey Road studios, as they began to wind down from the Beatlemania, in order to create experimental works of psychedelic rock. As you progress, depending on how well you did score wise, you can unlock photographs that each come with a brief biography detailing that particular moment the photo was taken. It also features rare videos and performances, each too with their own set of biographical documentation. It's like a museum of you can play in, and I adore the amount of love and detail this game was given.

The setlist is incredible, and if you were able to get ahold of the DLC which were 3 full albums (Sgt. Pepper, Rubber Soul, and Abbey Road), then you'd have plenty to play along with. There were some misses though, like "Hey Jude" for example, but there's enough hits and deep cuts on here that you'd almost forget what's missing. There were 45 songs on disc, and with the DLC, a combined total of 73 (74 if you had the Xbox 360 exclusive "All You Need Is Love), and that's a lot of Beatles to enjoy. Each song has its own beautiful back drops depending on the era the song takes place in. If you're playing "Can't Buy Me Love", you're playing at the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1964. If you're playing "And Your Bird Can Sing", you're playing at the Budokan in 1966. Now, if you're playing their songs from their studio years, the devs came up with "dreamscapes" to take you to higher places, with each scape animated differently to fit the music and lyrics of each individual song. Some assets get reused, like the rolling hills with the trees, but are given different colors based on the tone of the song. "Here Comes the Sun" is bright and cheerful, full of lovely yellows, blues and greens, but then you get to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", which dampens those colors, and brings out more darker tones, such as browns, dusty yellows and greens.

So much detail, so much art, and I almost forgot the most important aspect. It's fun. So so flippin fun. Fun to play solo to get gud with the scores, and so flippin fun with family and friends. This is a game I play often with my siblings, for we love to pick an instrument, set a mic in front of us, and play our role as well as sing 3 part harmonies, as the game was intended. We perform for our Mom, as we let her drop requests since she grew up with these classic tunes. And with an amazing project ran by talented modders, there's even MORE music for you to enjoy, which keeps this game alive, and full of potential.

I totally understand and get it when people tell me The Beatles are overrated. It's not fun to be told that, but I totally get it, and I wouldn't take that notion away from them even if I could. Maybe to many, this is just another band. For me, they were a band I discovered through my parents, and through this game, discovered so much more. They fueled my own desire to make music, to collaborate, and to spread love with my art. I began to look into their music as individuals, and got excited for what I could do with my own music. They got a whole generation of kids to reject the bullshit around them, and come together on a mission of love, and peace. They also introduced the west to sounds and ideas from India, which opened the hearts and minds of many to try new things, and discover that there is so much more in this world than the nation they lived in. I just think that's the coolest thing, and something people STILL should learn.

The game's story mode ends with a beautiful animated scene that shows them playing "The End" on a rooftop overlooking London during Golden Hour. It leaves us with my favorite Beatles lyric: "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make". It moves me every time, and leaves my heart full and ready to make something that will impact the world, just like The Beatles impacted me. This game introduced me to all that, and is an astonishing love letter that captivates, inspires, and tells the story of 4 young lads, who innovated the way rock music is played, and perceived, just by coming together, and doing what they loved.

If you'd like, there's a highlight of my closing thoughts after playing this game for my Twitch audience, that fits well with the words I typed above. You can find that linked here.