The Beatles Rock Band: The End
[ Company: Harmonix | Year: 2009 | Grade: A+ ]
The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360)
We're fourteen days into the 32 Game Endings of Christmas. Are you ready for something completely different? For today's episode we are taking a trip all the way back to ... 2009? It's time for The Beatles: Rock Band, featuring one of the single best game endings of all time. You don't expect great game endings from rhythm games, but this is one release that bucks that trend. The 32 Game Endings of Christmas are always keeping you on your toes!
Previously On The Beatles Rock Band:
John, Paul, George, Stu and Pete got together and formed The Beatles, a Liverpool-based quintet that took the UK by storm. Then they promptly fired Stu and Pete, opting instead for a flamboyant drummer that went by the name Ringo Starr. Of course, none of this is in The Beatles: Rock Band. Instead we see the foursome we know and love doing what they do best -- playing their greatest hits.
The Beatles: Rock Band takes us on the journey of rock's most influential band. We start in the smoky recesses of the Cavern Club, go live on TV at the Ed Sullivan Theater, rock the masses at the Shea Stadium, fly to the Nippon Budokan and, right before (spoiler alert) breaking up, we give a live concert on the top of the Abbey Road Studio. And let me tell you, we rocked it! We played dozens of The Beatles' biggest hits, including Twist and Shout, Can't Buy Me Love, Day Tripper, Yellow Submarine, Paperback Writer, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Back in the U.S.S.R., Get Back and Helter Skelter.
How It Ended:
In real life The Beatles ended up hating each other, splitting up, moving on to solo projects, getting married and badmouthing the rest of the band to the press. Then, out of nowhere, John Lennon died. Decades later
And they say drugs are bad for you!
George Harrison died of cancer. Paul and Ringo continue to play music and tour the world, though both have been hammered by ugly stories in the media. Eventually the surviving members and family help Harmonix to create one of the best music games of all time.
The game decides to gloss right over all of that, for pretty obvious reasons. Instead of divorces and back-alley shootings, The Beatles: Rock
If you think this is trippy, just imagine what Harmonix would have done with Pink Floyd!
Band ending opts for acid-inspired visuals and more music. We see the quartet rock for the last time, each at the top of their game. In the background a blue elephant stomps through London, leaving flowers wherever it walks. Peace reigns over the UK and everybody is happy. It's the perfect ending. It's a wholly unrealistic ending, but a perfect one nonetheless. After the animation fades, we're left to watch an hour-long scroll of credits. I saved you from the endless list of names.
How It Should Have Ended:
From the gorgeous animation to the perfect choice in song, the ending cinema is as magnificent as a finale can be. However, there's one thing that would have made it even better. Instead of the flowers fading into darkness, I suggest Harmonix attach a note to all of their fans. That note would read: "Thank you for playing The Beatles: Rock Band. Over the next year we are going to release every single Beatles song ever made into this game, so start saving your money now. Also, look forward to Pink Floyd: Rock Band. You've been warned." And in a perfect world, that ending would have come true.
