Wal-Mart Clears Way for Highway To Hell

Not too long ago, there was this little rumor about an AC/DC expansion coming for Rock Band 2. As everyone knows: believe everything you read on the internet, because it's apparently all true!

An official Harmonix press release, signed in blood and kissed by the rock gods, states that AC/DC will be coming exclusively to Rock Band this November. Dubbed AC/DC LIVE: Rock Band Track Pack by the release, the pack will contain songs from "AC/DC's Live at Donnington."

Before I list out the tracks, and it's a pretty damn good list, there's more news! According to an interview with the NY Times, the pack won't be available for download, but will rather be sold exclusively through Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and walmart.com. Personally, the link between Wal-Mart and AC/DC begins and ends with them both having punctuated names, but who am I? At least Sam's Club has like 800lb boxes of Capt'n Crunch, and that's pretty RAWK. According to Columbia Records chairman Steve Barnett: “If you want to be a physical band, you better make an alliance with a strong physical retailer...” Oh yeah Mr. THE MAN? I bet AC/DC is older than you...I'm just saying. As for Europe, Australia and New Zealand, apparently the pack will be available at "most major retailers" in early December.

So here's the skinny on those tracks:

• "Thunderstruck"
• "Shoot to Thrill"
• "Back in Black"
• "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
• "Heatseeker"
• "Fire Your Guns"
• "Jailbreak"
• "The Jack"
• "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
• "Moneytalks"
• "Hells Bells"
• "High Voltage"
• "Whole Lotta Rosie"
• "You Shook Me All Night Long"
• "T.N.T."
• "Let There Be Rock”
• "Highway To Hell”
• "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”

The official word is that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners will also get a code with the game that will let them copy the songs to their console, a la the original Rock Band content, so the disc won't be required to play. Yay!

According to the press release, the US prices and dates break out like this:

• $39.88 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on 11/02/08
• $39.88 for the Wii on 11/16/08
• $29.88 for the PlayStation 2 on 11/02/08

So there you go. If you want it reasonably priced, you'll have to do the dirty deed and grab a physical copy at the local Wal-Mart. Considering most Rock Band DLC goes for about $2 a track, $40 for 18 songs seems pretty ballpark. Factor in that it's also a full game and you're ready to rock...just like Wal-Mart!