With all the rhythm games out there now that use those little plastic guitars, it is getting easier to become disenchanted with the whole experience. Activision and Red Octane in particular have been milking the Guitar Hero franchise ever since they ripped it from the bosom of its original programmers at Harmonix.

So when Harmonix (you know, the guys that took Konami’s original “Guitar Freaks” concept and improved on it by leaps and bounds?) themselves announced that they would be releasing not one, but two off-shoots of their popular Rock Band franchise, the eyebrow began to raise. “Lego Rock Band” is still a few months off and will have to prove itself when it does finally release. But in the here and now, we have “The Beatles: Rock Band”, a game that, unlike Guitar Hero: Has-been Metal Band, features the songs and performances of only one band.

Many have asked the question; Are the songs of a single band, even one as influential and well known as The Beatles, enough to sustain a quality gaming experience?

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I am a sucker for shiny things that I do not need. When I saw the first pictures of the special edition “The Beatles: Rock Band” guitars, I decided that I needed one. I ended up picking up the John Lennon Rickenbacker 325 because its design was the closest to the Rock Band 2 Stratocaster that I was already comfortable using.

The Rickenbacker 325 was one of the most recognizable guitars played by John Lennon, and MadCatz totally nailed the look and feel of the classic axe. From the faux-wood neck to the chrome plating around the whammy bar, this is by far the most detailed Rock Band peripheral out there.

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On a very special eleventh episode of “Barrel Roll! – A Video Game Podcast”, Jesse and Jonah tells us the wonders of “Excite Bots: Trick Racing” for the Wii. It’s not just racing, it’s sandwich making. “Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time” turns out not to just have a ludicrously long title, but to be the FFCC game we’ve been waiting for. As it turns out “Rock Revolution” is not worth the $10 price point it has been discounted to. Orange Box and Steam are both awesome, but you already knew that, and it turns out we like the PSP… in theory.

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"Stock Up on Oxen and Save!"

On a very special sixth episode of “Barrel Roll!”, special guests Colin Panetta and Wesley Johnson, along with the regular crew, bring us up to speed on what they’ve been playing. This includes such gems as “Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad”, “Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer”, “Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades” and “Wii Fit”. Colin, showing us all up, talks about “5 Days A Stranger“.

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