The Beatles Rock Band Review: Four Lads From Liverpool Make A Game

Hope arose a few years ago when Paul McCartney was quoted as saying that he was open to including the music of one of the most important bands of all time in a video game. A few years later that comment has evolved into “The Beatles Rock Band,” a masterwork from Harmonix, the developers behind the original “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band,” that will catch the attention of gamers of all ages. Whether you know the difference between “Rock Band” and a real rock band, or can tell a Höfner from a Hasslehoff, and even if you’ve never picked up a video game controller, ever, you know who The Beatles are, and you know their songs, and that’s why this game works so well. [Continue Reading]

Rock Band Unplugged Review: Who Needs Strings?

The “Rock Band” franchise has cemented itself as one of the best multiplayer party games ever released for a console. The proposition of being able to create a “band” with three other peopled, and be “famous” in under thirty minutes is unquestionably appealing, no matter how you feel about the music included in the game. So, what happens if you take the three friends out of that equation, and substitute the console for a portable system … can “Rock Band” still retain its entertainment value? Surprisingly… it can, and the release of “Rock Band Unplugged” proves that Harmonix can recreate an addictive “Rock Band” experience on the PSP just as well as they can on an Xbox 360, Wii, or a PS3. [Continue Reading]

Before Rock Band and Guitar Hero… There was Amplitude

Exciting news from the weekend kids, “Amplitude” may be coming back! Now, if you consider yourself a huge fan of music games, and own every “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero” game ever made, but have never heard of either “Frequency” or “Amplitude,” consider yourself a poser. Those were two, very original games developed by Harmonix, for the PS2, way back in 2001 and 2003 respectively.

Each game had the player controlling a small ship that would “blast” beats from various instruments off a preset track by using the L1, R1 and R2 buttons. The inspiration for Harmonix’s later rhythm games is blatantly apparent here, and both games were praised for their originality and addictive gameplay by gamers and critics alike. [Continue Reading]

Rock Band 2 Review: Keep On A Rockin’

“Rock Band” may have not been the most innovative rhythm game on the market, since it basically was just a combination of three other games, but, the end product was truly something special. Once the game was released, one of the questions that was on a lot of gamers’ minds was whether or not there was going to be a sequel, since the game was described as a “platform.” Well, with the release of “Rock Band 2” there’s little doubt about how the series will be continuing on, but a very different question remains – is “RB2” a worthy successor, or will we be rocking out to a sophomore slump?

A quick look at “Rock Band 2” will reveal that not a whole lot has changed. The basic gameplay, graphics, and music styles, are all pretty much the same. However, when you dig a little deeper, you see that there are a lot of changes that needed to happen, as well as, and more importantly, changes that fans wanted to see happen. Fortunately, the team up at Harmonix listened very closely to their audience (they had to after all that loud music and little ear protection) and put the polish on “Rock Band 2″ that it deserved. [Continue Reading]