Los Angeles, Sep 9 (DPA) They revolutionised the rock world almost 50 years ago. Now the Fab Four, or what remains of them, are set to do it again.
Their new release, 'The Beatles: Rock Band', is in the video-game arena and hit stores around the world Wednesday, reaching out to a new generation of music fans while simultaneously luring baby boomers into the addictive waters of gaming.
Meanwhile, Beatles purists can spend their hard-earned cash on remastered stereo and mono versions of The Beatles catalogue, which also go on sale Wednesday and are likely to put the legendary quartet back atop the music charts.
But many other fans of the legendary band, and even those youngsters who never really understood The Beatles' appeal, might prefer an experience that's more interactive than merely sitting around and listening to Beatles music. For them, there's the video game.
Made through a collaboration between The Beatles, MTV and Harmonic Music Systems, the game ingeniously welds the song list into a living history of The Beatles and offers players many more options than previous Rock Band iterations.
From the intimacy of the Cavern Club to the screaming apotheosis of Beatlemania at New York's Shea Stadium, the Beatles simulation game allows players to become John, Paul, George or Ringo and embark on some of the seminal moments and songs that defined the band's career and elevated them to the status of rock gods.
The game uses on-screen indicators that players must follow to reproduce The Beatles' legendary music. If a green gem appears on screen, players must press a green gem key on their controllers to score points and eventually win awards.
Compared to other versions of Rock Band and the rival music game Guitar Hero, where missed cues are punished by screeching feedback and painful dissonance, there are fewer penalties for botching the notes on The Beatles: Rock Band. That's a gesture to the legions of boomers who are expected to take their first baby steps into the otherwise dizzying world of new-fangled video games.