If you’re anything like me then you don’t play many video games. I actually kind of hate video games to be honest. In my view they are a waste of time. So then why am I spending my time writing about this video game? Because in my opinion Beatles Rock Band Video Game (and to a lesser extent the other Rock Band games) is something well beyond just a video game, it is a great interactive musical experience.

I am not talking about the guitar and bass guitar part of the game. In fact, in my opinion that part of the game is really lame because it has next to nothing to do with playing real guitar and very little to do with the songs you’re playing. It has zilch to do with playing guitar because playing a real guitar is about fifty times more complex than simply pressing a few buttons and it has very little to do with the songs because I’ve noticed that the changes in the game rarely change in time with any musical changes in the music.

So what am I talking about? The singing and the drumming. These aspects are directly related to really doing these things “in real life” and the relationship to the music is also far more direct.

If you sing a song in tune and with the right timing then you will get a good score. It’s true that you do not have to sing the real lyrics (you can simply hum the melody if you want to) but so what? Musically what is important is hitting the right notes at the right time. I think The Beatles Rock Band is really an excellent to improve your singing ability.

When you do the drumming on the highest level you you have to hit every drum hit that’s in the actual song! No, it’s not exactly like playing a real drum set, but it’s close enough to be very effective for practicing. Some people move easily from playing Rock Band drums to playing a real drum set.

The Beatles Rock Band is recommended an excellent purchase for any big Beatles lover along with (of course) The Beatles in Stereo and The Beatles in Mono box sets.