Nobody can say that Harmonix doesn’t do whatever it can to get new content into its fans’ hands. Sure, they’ve been great about consistently pumping new music into the game’s Music Store, but what about the large number of Rock Band players lacking a Live-connected 360? With these gamers in mind Harmonix has been releasing disc-based “track packs,” each featuring a selection of new songs. After their last release focused on just one band (the AC/DC Live Track Pack), their newest disc instead centers on one genre, classic rock.

Actually, calling this collection “classic rock” isn’t entirely accurate. Sure, most of the songs on the disc are the sort of thing you’d hear on an oldies rock station – The Who, Rush, and Boston are all featured heavily. But there’s also a healthy amount of 80s punk from bands like Dead Kennedys and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and some 80s pop rock hits like The Police and Pat Benatar. There’s even a dash of 90s alternative from the Stone Roses. Genre quibbles aside, the disc provides a healthy mix of rock from decades past.

Obviously, the series’ basic gameplay hasn’t changed – if you’ve ever played previous Rock Band or Guitar Hero games then you know what to do when the multi-colored gems start coming down the track. And if you’ve tried any of the other Rock Band track packs, I don’t have to tell you that the presentation is bare-bones. It’s a stand-alone release, so you don’t have to own any other Rock Band games to play (though you’ll need some kind of instrument controller), but it’s built on the original Rock Band’s technology, so forget about the improvements in features and graphics they’ve since delivered in Rock Band 2. Tour Mode, for instance, is as linear as choosing songs from a list – beat the first five to unlock the second five, and so on until you’ve beaten them all. There’s no intro video, just a title screen, and you can’t choose a character, let alone create and customize your own. This game lets you play its songs, and that’s about it.

It’s a good thing, then, that the songs featured are a pretty diverse and fun mix. Between the 20 tracks on the disc, you’ve got fast-paced strum-athons (Steve Miller’s classic Take the Money and Run is an endurance run that you’ll feel in your strumming wrist), epic progressive masterpieces like Rush’s Red Barchetta (complex guitar riffs are a blast to play, but singer Geddy Lee’s incredible vocal range is tough for living room singers to recreate), and quirky obscure tracks like Kiss Them For Me by Siouxsie and the Banshees (with its ethereal vocals and a very tricky syncopated main guitar riff). Throw in the party appeal of crowd-pleasers like George Thorogood’s Bad To The Bone, Boston’s Peace of Mind, and Baba O’Riley by the Who, and you’ve got a package bound to appeal to most rock fans.

As I mentioned, the track pack is fully playable with no other Rock Band games, but you do have the option to export the tracks to your hard drive, making them playable in either Rock Band or Rock Band 2. You have to connect to Live to do so, so internet-less 360 owners will be forced to play from the disc. It’s also worth mentioning that every song on the disc is already available as a download. At $30 for 20 songs, it is cheaper to buy the track pack than to download each track individually, but if you’ve already got some of these songs on your hard drive then the disc’s value diminishes.

At the end of the day, Rock Band Classic Rock Track Pack is a solid mix, offering good music that’s fun to play. If you’ve already invested money and hard drive space downloading some or all of these tracks, then sure, you don’t really need it. But if you’d like to play some great tracks from yesteryear and can’t get them any other way then it’s a great set and well worth the asking price.

Gameplay: 8.7
It’s the standard rhythm game action: play your instrument controller in time with gems coming down a track. It’s just as fun as ever, especially considering the fairly impressive collection of tracks.

Graphics: 7.8
Your band, fans, and concert venue look awesome as always, but since the disc is built on the original Rock Band, it doesn’t look quite as nice as Rock Band 2.

Sound: 8.8
The audio quality is exemplary as always, and the songs chosen are a good mix that pretty well represents the diversity of classic rock. Sure, some aren’t quite my personal taste, but there aren’t any real stinkers on the disc, and that’s not something I could have said for the previous track packs.

Difficulty: Medium
As always, you can scale the difficulty from Easy to Expert, so rockers of any skill level should be able to play these tracks. Classic rock’s often epic style and complex music can make for some pretty tough tracks, though; no matter what instrument you play, you’ll find a challenge here if you’re looking for one.

Concept: 8.0
The track packs are a great concession to the vast numbers of people who can’t download new content for Rock Band. Releasing a track pack centered on one genre is a good balance between the hit-and-miss selections of the standard track packs and the narrow focus of the AC/DC collection.

Overall: 8.3
It’s new, fun music for Rock Band fans who either can’t access downloads or want to pick up all these tracks for a reduced price. If you’re a classic rock fan and you haven’t already bought these songs, the set is definitely worth picking up.