The Beatles: Rock Band

Once the game shifts into the studio at Abbey Road, before each song begins in earnest we're treated to audio of the band tuning up, jamming, commenting to each other from the actual recording sessions for each song. For the Fab Four junkie, it's crack; for everyone else it's a fabulous touch that helps bring the game to life beyond what is otherwise, essentially, a pretty rigid, repetitive structure by design.

The archive is also plundered in more straightforward fashion via unlockables. Complete various score-based requirements and you unlock photos relevant to the song, each accompanied by Beatles trivia checked over by the surviving Beatles themselves to ensure authenticity. On one photo related to "Good Morning, Good Morning", for example, we learn that the Abbey Road effect library was plundered for animal noises, with Lennon insisting they be ordered so that each would scare the previous one.

The lavish detail extends to the animations. Each venue along the path of the Story mode is recreated beautifully, with the unmistakable scream of Beatlemania present during the live gigs, hysteria etched into the faces of fans. The Beatles themselves, after a stylistic, cartoony makeover, move, play and lip-synch with uncanny realism. Which is no surprise, given we're led to believe Yoko Ono insisted Harmonix change the way Lennon moved his eyes, for instance, while Ringo pointed out his elbows were raised too high when playing.

Which is not to say that The Beatles: Rock Band is free from clumsy historical inaccuracies. In the animations for both "Back In The USSR" and "Dear Prudence", Ringo is sat cheerfully in Studio 2 on drums, but Ringo does not play on either track on the recordings that were released on the White Album. With tempers frayed during the sessions, Starr stormed out leaving Macca to pick up sticks and record the percussion parts for both himself.

Now, in Harmonix's defence, they're a bit hamstrung by having to show all of The Beatles on screen playing their respective instruments for game purposes. And yes, I'm also being a picky arse. But, in a game that bends over backwards to offer insight into the way the band created its music, it's a fact worth knowing: not least because the urgency of the beat in "USSR" and the thunderous fills in the outro to "Dear Prudence" stand apart from Ringo's unmistakable clattering - with the latter being, in my humble view, the greatest drum part in the Beatles canon.

Pedantry aside, playing The Beatles: Rock Band offers fresh insight into the unique styles and personalities of each band member. As such, the tracklisting has been carefully assembled to ensure John, Paul, George and Ringo are all well represented. And as back-of-the-hand familiar as many of the songs will be, the opportunity to play through the Beatles catalogue instrument by instrument offers fresh insight into their methods, like McCartney's peerlessly creative basslines. This applies to vocals, too, with a McCartney melody liable to travel - forgive me - Here, There and Everywhere, while Lennon often favoured a static melody, preferring to experiment with harmonic progression. (For the ultimate comparison of these styles side-by-side, listen to "We Can Work It Out".)

That's a lot of words, you may be thinking, without actually talking about what The Beatles: Rock Band is like to play. That's because, to a large extent, it plays exactly like Rock Band 2, with a few tweaks - an already fantastic and refined formula. And there are no hidden surprises across guitar, bass and drums, with even the replica Beatles instruments featuring the same components as before (in other words, the guitars aren't as responsive as Guitar Hero ones).

One important point to make regarding difficulty. This is not a difficult game in the way previous Rock Band and, particularly, Guitar Hero games have offered a challenge. I played through the entire guitar career mode on Expert without failing a single track. I'm pretty good on guitar, but if you're looking for finger-busting fret-wankery, you won't find it here. And if you stopped to think about it for a moment, you could probably have guessed that. Harmonix, quite rightly, has not artificially raised difficulty - the notes you play are the notes The Beatles played. As it should be.