A splendid time is guaranteed for all

If you’ve ever listened to our podcast, you might know I’ve never been a particular fan of all this plastic guitar business, preferring instead to “do it properly” and strum the six or seven chords I know on my own busted-up acoustic, when spare time allows.

However, I couldn’t help but be a little bit tempted when the first snippets of news surfaced about a Beatles Rock Band package a few months back. I figured this was just the kind of offering we’d need to turn guitar games from being largely the stomping grounds of heavy rocker wannabes and metal heads, and open it out to those of us who prefer our music a little more sedate and lyrical.

Sure enough, Harmonix has absolutely run away with that idea. While obviously the visual appeal of the thing should play second fiddle (or should that be rhythm guitar?) to the music on offer, there’s something about how this game’s graphically pitching itself, both from its in-game psychedelic music videos that accompany the performances, and the utterly amazing, atmosphere-loaded trailer that’s been doing the rounds today, that makes me just immediately excited indeed.

While a few people have been moaning that it’s not going to the true standalone game that had been hinted at, and is in fact just ‘yet another’ Rock Band title, if it successfully puts across the crazy, jet-setting career progression and, dare I say, general mythos surrounding the Fab Four, I think it’s going to tick everybody’s boxes in and of itself.

Already comments are popping up on forums from so many people declaring this will be ‘the one that gets me into guitar games’, and I feel almost certain, at this stage, I’ll be joining them.