Let There Be Rock – Better Late than Never

The AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack -- The boys take a look at the numbers to tell you if the "expansion pack" is worth your hard-earned money, or just another waste of cash.

Forty years, AC/DC has been topping charts and selling out arenas. Nearly all of those years they’ve used a simple formula; a straight-forward driving drum beat, pulsating bass, Bon Scott and Brian Johnson’s screaming vocals and Angus Young crafting some of the most memorable guitar riffs in the history of rock. They have survived deaths, divorces, lineup changes, drug abuse, producer changes, alcoholism and nearly everything else 40 years of living a rock 'n' roll lifestyle throws at you.

Along the way they’ve created a catalogue of songs that would be the envy of any aspiring rocker. Admittedly, it's not the most complex assortment of songs. They’ve been criticized at times for not “growing” as a band. Their legions of fans don’t seem to mind. What they do, they do better than anyone else. Frankly, it doesn’t seem like they’ve cared much what critics think anyway. They just make rock songs.

October of 2008, AC/DC released its 16th studio album, Black Ice. Along with the album, Harmonix released “AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack.” The powers that be decided to release both exclusively at the very un-rock ‘n’ roll Wal-Mart. When you think balls-to-the-walls rock 'n' roll, you think Wal-Mart, right? Actually, the reason was pretty obvious -- Moneytalks. The Rock Band Track Pack sold for $40 on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and included 18 tracks.

Is it worth the price of admission? That depends on your taste in music. The first thing to consider is whether or not you like AC/DC. If you don’t then stop here and go listen to some Yanni. If you do, then it’s safe to say the 18 songs selected for the game are probably the best collection of songs from their catalogue possible. We could think of only one or two songs that didn’t make the cut but should have, “Who Made Who” and “Big Balls.” We’re not going to bash an otherwise excellent collection for a couple of slight oversights.

So we’ve concluded that you like AC/DC. You’ve got your credit card out and you are contemplating making the purchase, but you need some more information. Let’s look at the numbers and see if the “expansion pack” is worth your hard earned money, or if it’s just another way waste of cash.

The price point of the game/expansion pack/downloadable content brings up a great question, (it cost $40 when released, and has dropped to $30 recently). Is AC/DC Live: Rock Band Track Pack really a track pack or is it a standalone game? There are only 18 songs in the game, much less than the original Rock Band (58 songs) let alone Rock Band 2 (84 songs).

The Track Pack is a full-fledged game that can be played on its own. You don't need Rock Bandor 1 or 2 to play the game, but let's face it, if you don't have either of these titles by now, you probably aren't reading this in the first place. Fortunately, for the rest of us cool kids, there's a code inside the packaging that allows you to download all of the songs from the Track Pack to your hard drive for use with the other Rock Band games. That said, you gain access to the 250 achievement points if you play the game from the original disc.

So when does an “expansion pack” become a full fledged game? AC/DC live: Rock Band Track Pack treads as close to the thin line as possible. If you are a huge fan of AC/DC, you’ll probably say that by the songs alone this “track pack” deserves the prestige of being called a fully fledged game, but it you are more a fan of the rhythm game genre in general you might be a little skeptical. The only way to really decide is to purchase the game, or borrow your friend's copy and decide for yourself.

The Game Play

The game itself is based on the Rock Band 1 game engine. It has a linear Guitar, Drum and Vocal career mode. As for online offerings you’ll be looking at the same that were available in RB1. The game does not use the likenesses of the band members in the way that Guitar Hero: Metallica promises to, but instead gives you the standard selection of characters from Rock Band 1.

Where the game really stands out (and where it fails in transferring to Rock Band 2) is in the stage presentation of the songs. The way in which Harmonix implemented the flash pots and other pyrotechnics into the game gives it a great feel while you’re playing along. These same effects become generalized when you play the songs in RB2 and you lose a bit of that “live” feel the Track Pack provides.

As far as playability goes, it’s a mixed bag. Many of the bass lines are predictably repetitive and you’ll find yourself going mad strumming the same note over and over, but that’s the AC/DC style. However, there are a few songs that feature some nice movement to keep you on your toes. I found myself pining for one of those Mad Catz Bass controllers after awhile. Overall though I don’t think there’s anything for the bass over a three on the difficulty scale. Then again, we all know that if you’re a bass player, that’s about all the brain power you can afford to use at any given time anyway.

Q. What's the difference between a bass player and a pizza?
A. A pizza can feed a family of four.

Drums are much the same. Don’t expect a lot of fills and off beat cadences to learn. It’s all straight forward stuff here. The most difficult task will be keeping up your stamina. For instance, if you find yourself tiring out on the RB2 version of “Let There Be Rock” prepare yourself for the live version. It’s faster and longer. The drums can be quite satisfying to play even if they aren’t the most difficult parts you’ll ever learn. I probably pound the drum heads harder on these songs than any other in the game because it’s so easy to get caught up in the joy of playing along to them. My steering wheel appreciates me redirecting that energy.

Vocals are, well…. let’s face it, trying to recreate the Brian Johnson sound is something that can only be achieved by a lifetime of pot smoking and slamming one’s genitals into a car door. Even if you can get yourself to make those noises, you’ll also have to overcome the live renditions of the songs and all the nuances that come along with it. The vocal portion of the Rock Band games in general is probably my strongest area, and I can tell you that when I’m on vocals, I do my best to try and voice a veto when I see one of these songs come up.

I’ll readily admit that when it comes to the guitar parts, I’m probably not the best judge of playability here. I’m still learning to use that orange button and find pulling off the HO/PO’s is as difficult for me as explaining NoGame’s love for Clay Aiken (Ass, LOL. -- NG). On a 0 to 5 difficulty scale, the 12 of the 18 songs range as tier 3 or 4 tracks. The songs aren’t the most challenging for the advanced players, but they are interesting enough to keep your attention. What self-described axe man could pass up a chance to hammer through "Thunderstruck"?

Recently the price has dropped to around $30 and there’s probably some limited trade value for it at Gamestop, which would drive down the price/song average if you just wanted to import the songs to your hard drive. Even at $30.00, that's only $1.67/song. That's less than the normal DLC price point and includes all of the content and achievements that come with the game. Plus, you've probably actually heard all of these songs before. If you’re thinking you’ll hold out for a DLC pack of the songs, don’t.

Quoting HMXHenry on Rockband.com
“Furthermore, it's no secret that AC/DC is not a big fan of making their music available via download. There will be AC/DC tracks on Rock Band before there are AC/DC tracks on iTunes. That's huge. So, working with AC/DC and with respect to their feelings about digital downloads, we cooked up this Track Pack. I think that once people get the Track Pack and start playing these EPIC songs, it's not going to matter that they came on a separate disc.”

In this case, you’ll either have to bite the bullet and buy them all, or you can wait to waste your money on a Jonas Bros. pack. I would caution against buying the disc used. The code to import the songs is inside the original discs new and has probably already been used by the original purchaser. Overall, if you’re a diehard AC/DC fan you’ve probably already bought the game. If you’re more of a casual fan I’d recommend picking it up. Sure you may not like every single song on the disc but I can just about guarantee that you’ll be more familiar with the songs on this game than anything you’ll get for DLC for the next six weeks.

Other News/Rumors

Don't want to keep your skills confined to just your living room anymore? Tired of not getting the recognition you deserve? Head out to a Harrah's Casino near you for their latest Rock Band Nights.

The Silversun Pickups look to be working in partnership with Guitar Hero to help promote two songs from their forthcoming release, Swoon. Story

This Guy likes Rock Band better than you do.

This Week's DLC

Guitar Hero: World Tour

Wings Track Pack:
Jet
Hi Hi Hi
Junior's Farm

Rock Band

"Wasted Again" - Turbonegro
"Black Sunshine" - White Zombie
"More Human Than Human" - White Zombie

Lips

"Buttons" - Pussy Cat Dolls feat. Snoop Dogg
"Magic" - Olivia Newton John
"My Happy Ending"- Avril Lavigne

*Note - We here at Plastic Rockers do not acknowledge "Rock Revolution" as a legitimate game and therefore refuse to waste any of our precious words on that steaming puddle of cat diarrhea. If you want updates for it check here.