Unless you are a serious fan of the band, pass on this Walmart-exclusive track pack.
Following the same structure as Rock Band Track Pack Volume 2, AC/DC Live features a number of live AC/DC performances. For those familiar with the band's discography, the game is simply a playable version of the Live at Donington album recorded mid-1991. As such, all of the titles on the disc are performed by Brian Johnson, including songs that were first performed by the original AC/DC front man, the late Bon Scott.
I must divulge that I am a fairly large AC/DC fan. That being said, I was quite upset when I discovered that all of this disc's tracks are from live performances. As I played through the title, I found myself enjoying the live renditions of the songs far less than their original recordings. Listening to Johnson perform numbers such as "Jailbreak," "T.N.T.," and "Whole Lotta Rosie" only makes me pine for the original Bon Scott versions of the songs.
Regardless, AC/DC Live is a competent enough track pack for fans of the band, covering all of their major songs. For players not fond of the band, there is not much to enjoy. Due to the band's simple song structures and similar-sounding tunes, these players will likely grow bored of the guitar, bass, and drum note charts, and will completely give up on Johnson's painfully hard vocals.
The game's sound quality is as good as a live recording gets, and the slight variations from the original recordings make the pack feel newer than if Harmonix had used the more well-known renditions. Like the other track packs, this one has no frills, is based on Rock Band 1, and includes no online play whatsoever.
Additionally, unlike its Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts, the Wii version does not offer a way to download the tracks and play them within Rock Band 2. This is unfortunate, because the game suffers from the same calibration issues found in the other two track packs, and its tracks are not available through the Rock Band 2 online store. Of course, having to switch discs to play an AC/DC song is also an inconvenience.
Not much can be said about the AC/DC Live Track Pack. If you are a huge fan of AC/DC, don't mind live versions of their songs (all performed by Brian Johnson), and are fine with swapping out your Rock Band 1 or 2 disc, AC/DC Live is a worthy addition to your game collection. Players with only a passing interest in the band will likely want to skip the track pack due to the extremely simple note charts, limited song variety, and difficult vocals.
