"The Beatles: Rock Band" is more than just a game. It's also perfect for adding ambience to house parties, even if you're not willing to break out the miniature plastic instruments. By combining "Rock Band"'s Performance Mode (turns off the HUD) and No-Fail Mode (pretty self-explanatory) with the Make A Setlist option in Quickplay, you can essentially build your own Beatles video playlist.
This is especially appealing because of all of the work Harmonix put into crafting virtual counterparts for the legendary quartet. The Beatles stopped performing live concerts after their 1966 United States tour, focusing instead on studio work. A large chunk of their catalog, including classics like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The Beatles" (aka the "White" album, for its distinctive cover art), was never performed in front of a crowd. Since this was also before the age of the short-form music video, fans have never had a visual aid for the later psychedelic work and its evocative lyrics.
That's why it's such a pleasure to simply watch the videos play out in "The Beatles: Rock Band." Free of gameplay demands, you get a chance to fully appreciate the ridiculous level of fan service at work in the visual accompaniments. I've been playing the game for a couple of weeks now, and I've already got a few hands-down favorites:
"I Want To Hold Your Hand"
The Beatles' performance of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964 is one of those legendary pop culture moments. It's a collection of images which have endured to this day, and it will continue to be associated with the band for generations to come. Elvis Presley shook his hips, Bob Dylan plugged in and The Beatles... they sent young women into orgasmic shrieks of joy long before "Twilight" and Edward Cullen were even an idea. The "Rock Band" video is just what you'd expect: the band and their screaming fans. It's perfect.
"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band / With A Little Help From My Friends"
As I played through "The Beatles: Rock Band," one of the things I constantly watched for was some overt reference to the classic movie, "Yellow Submarine." This two-song medley falls the closest. In the first half, the band -- dressed in the colorful pseudo-military uniforms seen in the movie and on the cover of the album -- performs in an open-topped gazebo for a crowd of what appear, based on the backgrounds and the color schemes, to be Pepperland residents. There's not a Blue Meanie in sight, but I suppose that wouldn't fit anyway. For second half of the medley, the band is transported to some sort of clockwork floating platform, with the song's key lyrics materializing in the sky around them.
"Come Together"
This one, from the Abbey Road Studios Dreamscapes sets, makes the list mostly because it's such a kickass song. The video accompaniment isn't going to drop jaws, but it fits the music perfectly. "Shot" in a tasteful, slightly stylized black & white, the "Come Together" video highlights each band member in action. Splashes of color enter the background during the chorus and bridge, a sort of disco-y light show, throwing the individual black & white band members into stark relief.
"I Am The Walrus"
Another Abbey Road Studios Dreamscape, "I Am The Walrus" drops us right into the wacky, with no glimpse of the studio until the very end. The Beatles are arrayed out with their instruments on some kind of large, stone platform suspended in the sky. The video cuts back and forth between that and shots of the band members in animal costumes -- John is indeed the walrus -- while kaleidoscopic effects spiral through the background. LSD is illegal, but this video definitely takes you on the same kind of trip.
"Get Back"
The video for the Apple Corps rooftop performance of "Get Back" -- The Beatles' farewell show -- holds the same appeal as the video from the "Ed Sullivan Show" theater. Simply, we see the band at a significant moment in their careers, one which is well-documented. The footage, which cuts between the band and the simultaneously surprised and elated crowd on the street far below, is pretty much what you expect to see. It's great, and it makes me want to dig out my old VHS of "Let It Be" again.