The European Rock Band community has been the poor cousin to our American counterparts where  Harmonix, MTV Games and Electronic Arts’ rhythm based Rock Band platform is concerned…Initially released for the United States in November 2007, gamers had an opportunity to buy the full band-in-a-box version with a complete instrument set of guitar, drums and microphone with the solus software following shortly after. The only people outside the country able to join in the rock ‘n’ roll fun were those that took the plunge on importing the boxset from across the ocean. This remained the case until May 2008 at which point Electronic Arts, in their eternal wisdom, and with an impressive piece of forward planning, managed to find a method of packing and distribution where they found themselves unable to put the software and the hardware in the same box, leaving it up to the retailers to create the bundles.

Meanwhile Rock Band 2 had already been announced and set for a worldwide end of year release for 2008, leading to the absurd situation where both the original and sequel would be available within months of each other on these shores. Alongside this Harmonix also revealed a slew of upgrades to the instruments, instruments which so far have failed to materialise in this country and show no sign of ever appearing.

With the announcement of The Beatles: Rock Band and the ensuing special edition band pack worldwide same day release European gamers will have their first chance to see how the improved instruments feel and what, if any, benefit they bring to the experience. 

My colleague Ratso Albion’s review of the game itself can be found here, were now going to give the instruments the same thorough examination. Are they worth taking the plunge on, or will your battered old Stratocaster still leave you feeling like a rock god?

The Paul McCartney Hofner Bass guitar replica has three main changes from the original Stratocaster. The first is the fret and solo buttons have been softened to remove the irritating click-clack sound that occurs when you’re running your fingers up and down the board during the song. The difference is instantly noticeable, if only because you don’t instinctively make a move towards your TV remote in order to bump up the volume by a few notches. The only small sound generated by the guitar is the strum bar being pressed by your fingers for each chord that come flying down the screen at you while the buttons themselves don’t feel any softer or spongier which was always a big concern. Of all the changes this is by far the most welcome and important, it is nothing short of a pure joy to be able to play any song without hearing each fret press giving an unwelcome piece of plastic percussion.

The remainder of the changes are mainly cosmetic. The guitar has been lengthened by a few inches which means the five coloured frets have been nudged slightly further up the neck, a fact your fingers will adapt to quicker than you expect. The finish on the guitar itself is best described as plasticky but the mock wood finish looks surprisingly coo,l while the white spots running up the neck is a small but appreciated detail. 

The guitar body is also a bit bulkier than rock band players will used to now more closely mimicking RedOctane’s Guitar Hero builds. You’re liable to find the position of your strumming arm to be a little less comfortable and with the increased neck there is a definite sensation of being more stretched than before. For most players this will pass with extended use.

Lastly the guitars have a built in calibration tool found at the base of the body. Harmonix claim that this will give an accurate calibration for LCD and Plasma systems, though if you read the reports on the internet they hardly back this up. If you do decide to take the plunge it may provide another option to fine tune your setup if you’re continuing to have problems. As an added bonus the dongle used for the new guitar contains two USB ports built in which should hopefully help those running low on slots.

There is no doubt the buttons and strum bar feel nicer than the original Stratocaster but the bulkier shape makes it slightly more difficult to strum after the previous thin body. The quietness of the instrument is by far its most important draw and makes you wish this was introduced to all the guitars currently being produced for this market. Unfortunately it is only the special editions provided as part of this release that have this functionality. It’s not a reason in itself to buy one but a very very welcome side benefit.

The biggest improvement to the instrument set is with the drums. The originals were wired with no support for cymbal extensions and shipped with a pedal that was hardly renowned for its strength.

The Beatles: Rock Band kit is now fully wireless which means you have another dongle to plug into your ever diminishing amount of USB slots but no more wires running across your floor. At last no more tripping over while in the throes of shredding and the change allows positioning of the unit to not be such a headache when you get a whole band together.

Cymbal support has been added through three ports in the back of the main unit located in the centre of the drum kit (between the yellow and blue heads). There is one for the snare, the hi-hat and ride extensions (a yellow, blue and green coloured input as you would expect) and should you wish to pursue this option the best hardware currently available is provided by Mad Catz who are offering a triple cymbal expansion pack for around £30 online. The difference it makes to the overall experience cannot be underestimated. Suddenly it changes from a fun but two dimensional play style to a multi-tiered drumming extravaganza. There is still no way to determine exactly when it should be a cymbal or a pad that you hit but the pure thrill from running over the cymbals down to the heads and up again feels sublime and more importantly, completely natural. It truly does display how well the note charting has been designed. If you do decide to plump for these drums you owe it to yourself to move onto this, the next stage.

The actual build itself feels more robust than the previous iteration and certainly gives the impression it has been created to stand up to a greater degree of punishment. The material used for the drum head is probably quieter but not by enough that you would truly admit to noticing it while the new pedal provided has a metal plate and not the plastic as used - and broken - many times before. The design provided around the edge of the heads is, quite honestly, pointless. The blurb on the back of the box talks about how it represents the pearl finished used by Ringo Starr but in reality it simply looks like streaks of gray and black smudged together. In many ways if they had stuck with pure black it would have looked far nicer and less tacky. Not that you will notice while playing of course.

There is an optional front plate you can attach to the set as a detail. It’s nice but is a purely for those that want to make their set look a little different. In reality it is simply a trimming on a very good package.

Alongside the two main units purchasers will receive another microphone and stand. Both of these are as you would expect, solid and dependable but basic in execution. But that’s all they need to be, it’s hard to really make a stand be anything more than a stand.

Is it worth the asking price? In reality it simply depends on the drum and how much you want a set of cymbals. If you want to take it to the next stage then £180 is not bad value although you will need to factor in another £30 for the cymbals. For everyone else the simple truth is what is being offered is simply not worth the amount being asked. If this was £150 I would have far less trouble recommending the set as it stands but right now this band in a box is purely for the hardcore only. The build quality for each instrument is very good, all of them look very nice but most players by now will have their instrument of choice sitting in a corner. For that reason the cost is too prohibitive and EA/Harmonix would have been wiser offering each instrument separately. Let’s hope that this is something offered in the near future.