Hardware & Software Review
Being a long time RB fan as well as growing up with the Beatles - had to have the new kit. Here are our thoughts after playing the whole game - only took about 2 hours with all of us playing on Expert. I'm mainly hoping to help anyone trying to decide if it's worth coughing up the cash for the new instruments.
DRUM KIT (WIRELESS)
If you have a Rock Band 2 drum kit already - don't bother with this one. If you are still using a wired set or none at all, then this is definitely a cool addition/upgrade. The only complaint I have is that the pads are much harder and LOUDER than previous kits - I had to stop after the first set and go get some silencer pads. I highly suggest this accessory, especially if you hit your drums a little hard like I do. One nice feature is the pedal has a metal reinforcement already. Other than the white color, it's a RB2 drum set (you can add the cymbol extensions). There is a 'kick drum head', which is a flimsy wire circle with wrinkled up nylon that looks absolutely terrible. I highly recommend getting some hickory 7A sticks at a music store (light ones).
HöFNER VIOLIN BASS (WIRELESS)
To me, this is what I was pumped for, Paul's replica bass. It does look very cool, and is much quiter than the Fender guitar, but the neck is really long (as a bass should be) and it strains your hand in no time. If you are a couch-player (like my son), you may find that the lower side button can be pressed by accident a lot. Other than that, it's a really nice addition to any set, and I always suggest using a real guitar strap instead of the punk strap that they give you. $10 at any music store and you're pimpin'!
Of course it's right-handed, which I understand, and ironically it's not very lefty-friendly. I have a hard time finding my way back on the frets when playing, the original Fender has easy to feel ridges that keep you on track, on this bass however they've smoothed out the frets a bit and stiffened the buttons so hard & expert players may have a little trouble. Easy & medium players should have no problems.
MICROPHONE
Same as previous mikes, nothing new here. And yes it is wired. I've seen all over that this kit is supposed to have a mike stand. Mine did not have it.
*Update - thanks to a user comment, I did find the microphone stand buried in the package, it was in an unmarked small box that looked like packing material.
GAME
The screen is much busier, but the images and actual sound clips from the studio & concerts is very cool. If you are a Beatles fan, definitely go for the Story mode, it goes in chronilogical order of their career. The drumming fill 'tunnel' to activate your star power has been replaced with a one-note shot to the green pad. I miss the fills already, but the game does seem much more generous with the star power for drums. Guitar & bass is about the same in that regard.
There are several enhancements to the game play & options, too many to list but know that you can't play RB/RB2 songs with this game, and you can't play Beatles songs with older RB editions. The volume drives me crazy - the menu part is twice as loud as when the songs play. I think the graphics and extra enhancements are great though, glad to see improvements there.
DIFFICULTY
If you're an expert player, or even hard, you won't find any challenges here other than singing. Our resident singer found herself out of breath after several songs. #2 in difficulty is the bass section surprisingly. I have a whole new respecRead full review
