The Beatles: Rock Band

I'm not normally one to get excited about Rock Band or Guitar Hero games. Look at those wannabes, prancing about with their toy planks and tunelessly squealing AC/DC songs into twee little mics. One of my 'friends' attempted 'Paranoid' onstage at a Monsters of Rock festival once and got sprayed with pee. Served him right. Leave the metal posturing and fantasies to the bedroom, you daft sod.

But while we think RB and GH may be a bit too gimmicky, The Beatles version of Rock Band is something a little quirkier. In fact, if you're either a) a Beatles FAN or b) remotely inclined towards 'pretend' rock star games, The Beatles: Rock Band could actually be the sweetest thing you'll 'hear' or play all year.

TWIST AND SHOUT!

The game's STORY MODE is split into two parts, part one taking a historical jaunt through the group's early poppy years ('Get Back' in Liverpool's Cavern Club, for example), while the subsequent half turns into some LSD wig-out as psychedelic belters such as 'Octopus's Garden' and 'I Am The Walrus' are performed underwater or to hordes of strange animal people.

The multiple cameras spin about the 'stages' like classic Top Of The Pops, and the superbly drawn Beatles stars (check out those perma-grins) make for a visually cheery experience. Plus, it's no shirker on the tracklisting: there are 45 Beatles numbers included, all of which are available in QUICK PLAY from the word go, and there will be more songs to download in the coming months (including the whole of one classic album right after launch).

REVOLUTION!

Beatles Rock Band's big gameplay revolution is that it caters for UP TO SIX PLAYERS with THREE-MAN VOCAL HARMONIES. That means playing bass AND singing, a la Paul McCartney. Or fulfilling your Lennon fantasies by crooning out 'Day Tripper' while rocking out on the guitar. However, space restrictions (basically small telly screens) make a second guitar track unfeasible, so there are no seperate George Harrison AND John Lennon guitar-playing parts. Not that that really diminishes from the overall playing experience.

BIGGER THAN JESUS...

Money may not be able to buy you love, but it can buy you an ace family video game. At least that's the way this one's shaping up. And if you're really keen to splash the readies, check out those new Beatles replica instrument peripherals, including Ringo's drumkit, Macca's Hofner and John Lennon's trusted Rickenbacker - all shrunk down and plasticised for poppy, fret-a-long fun. Just don't smash them at the end of virtual gigs, though, because then that will get really expensive! (Not that The Beatles ever engaged in such primitive hi-jinks, anyway). Get ready, for as Macca once almost sung, HERE COMES THE FUN...

The Beatles: Rock Band is out for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii from 9 September 2009.

CONFIRMED TRACKLISTING SO FAR:

'I Saw Her Standing There'
'I Want To Hold Your Hand'
'I Feel Fine'
'Taxman'
'Day Tripper'
'Back In The USSR'
'I Am The Walrus'
'Octopus's Garden'
'Here Comes The Sun'
'Get Back'
'Twist And Shout'
'Do You Want To Know A Secret'
'Can't Buy Me Love'
'I Wanna Be Your Man'
'Eight Days A Week'
'Paperback Writer'
'And Your Bird Can Sing'
'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'
'With A Little Help From My Friends'
'Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows'
'Yellow Submarine'
'Revolution'
'Birthday'
'Dig A Pony'
'I've Got A Feeling'