“License great music” is obviously highlighted and underlined on Page 1 of Harmonix’s Rock Band playbook. In The Beatles: Rock Band they went nuclear by grabbing the catalog of the most celebrated band in the history of music. With a coup like that, the competition probably would have been content to rest on their laurels, but that’s not how Harmonix does things.

From the redesign of the familiar note bars to the trippy interstellar performing environments this game has presentation perfected. The choice to allow up to 3 microphones so you can sing harmonies was the kind of inspired addition that has made this developer the kings of music games.

But for all that’s right with this game, there’s one glaring omission that simply makes this game LESS fun to play than its predecessors… and the blame can doubtless be laid at the feet of licensing.

There I was plucking away to Get Back. The band was firing on all cylinders. Pitch perfect singing. Flawless drumming. We were a sight to behold!

Then I made the mistake that ruined this game for me when I decided I wanted some reverb on my solo. I flicked the effects switch on my guitar…..

..nothing.

The effects switch is one of the most engaging parts of Rock Band. Sure you’re not playing the music, you’re just kind of pushing buttons in rhythm to the song. But the effects switch gives you distinct ownership of the notes you’re keeping time with, and makes you feel like you’re actually playing music. When your game relies so heavily on how it makes the player “feel”, ripping away an expected feature can be all it takes to break the illusion. No more was I George Harrison, unfettered by the bonds of mortals. Now I was just a guy at a friend’s house pushing buttons on a plastic controller.

The whammy bar gets neutered of it’s usefulness as well. A similar issue can be found on the drums, where drum fills are no longer your prerogative. Overdrive on drums is achieved only by hitting a well timed cymbal crash. This is perhaps an even greater omission, and it makes the drumming feel stagnant and unengaging.

It’s hard to say who’s to blame for these issues. My gut tells me it’s a licensing issue, with the rights-holders uncomfortable with the idea of gamers changing the sound of these songs to suit their fancy. Likely it would have been a deal-breaker if Harmonix had tried to stick to their guns, and this game couldn’t have been made any other way.

Later in the night, we swapped out the disc for Rock Band 2. I was immediately aware that I was having more fun playing songs I didn’t like than I was playing the Beatles tracks. Maybe Harmonix needs to rewrite their playbook.