Whether you are old or young, I bet you anything that you have heard of The Beatles. Now, this doesn't mean you are a fan, but the fact that The Beatles were one of the greatest bands to have ever existed and as a DJ, I'm constantly asked to play at least one Beatles track during a gig. So, when it came to playing BRD, it was a pleasure to listen to the tracks as well as play them.

Gameplay:

Beatles Rock Band is an interactive trip down memory lane (not Penny Lane) highlighting The Beatles remarkable career, from their early days at The Cavern Club, to the US appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show followed by stadium filled concerts at Shea Stadium and the Budokan, then back to the studio at Abbey Road whilst finishing off with their final performance on the roof of Apple's London HQ. Each point in their career is represented by several songs ranging from 'Twist and Shout ' to 'Get Back', in total - 45 songs. Quite a small selection considering Guitar Hero and previous Rock Bands have twice as many songs to play, but let's face it, not every song is a classic unlike The Beatles.

Now, I'm going to presume that as a gamer, you must have heard of Rock Band / Guitar Hero, even to suggest that you might have played at least one track. Why? It means I don't have to go through how the game works. There is one main difference with the introduction of the three-part vocal harmonies. This feature now allows up to six players to play at once – 1 Bass, 1 Guitar, 1 Drums and 3 Microphones. The game encourages you to harmonize with your friends with achievements to be earned if you manage this feat with two players as well as three.

I do like how the achievements are shown within the game as they keep track of what you have accomplished or how close you were. A good example would be a 350 note streak on a particular song where it states your highest streak so far. This streak might have been done completing the song on Easy with 100%. At least now you know you need to move up a level if you ever want to succeed.

Graphics:

What I found unusual whilst playing was that I was more interested in the background graphics than the actual notes I was supposed to be strumming. The scenery relates to whatever point of The Beatles career you are at, this could be screaming crowds at Shea Stadium to the psychedelic colours of the Yellow Submarine. If you watch the cut scenes (like I did) and matched them to a Beatles documentary, you can tell that much effort has been made to make the visual experience of game as close to the real events. Shea Stadium is the best example especially when The Beatles run out of the tunnel onto the pitch to get to the stage.

Sound:

Every song is sung by The Beatles unlike previous titles within the Guitar Hero / Rock Band range where you see 'Made Famous by…..' As well as the great catalogue of music, the build up to each song whilst it is loading is worth listening to, as these are original recordings giving you a more immerse experience.

Longevity:

You can complete all 45 songs within a day (hence an achievement – Day Tripper) but it's the quality of the songs that you will never tire of. These songs have been around for over 40 years and still you will hear them on the radio. On the day of release exclusively through Xbox live for a limited time, you will be able to download 'All You Need is Love'. Additional music will be made available for purchase from the vast catalogue – Abbey Road, Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Rubber Soul.

Overall:

I'm not a Beatles Fan, but I do appreciate their music and for that fact alone, it is nice to play a game where I know every track. The single and multi player experience are superb allowing total novices through to experts to play along and still enjoy the music and in my own honest opinion, that is what makes a game count!