Four years since
Guitar Hero took the planet by storm, a saturation of incremental sequels, offshoots and competitors' products has made it feel at least twice as long.
How nice, then, that DJ Hero has the gall to freshen up the landscape without trying to please everybody the way its predecessors so often did.
Published by Activision, DJ Hero is a music video/rhythm game created by British developer FreeStyleGames for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
In DJ Hero notes slide towards you down a track and you need to press the correct buttons in time with those notes. Been there, right?
Still, it introduces the fascinating new turntable controller and a more diverse soundtrack.
Gameplay involves mixing two songs from a selection of more than 100 across numerous genres, including hip-hop, pop, rock and dance. Each pair of songs has at least 90 remixes unique to the game.
A player must master various DJ techniques, such as scratching, in which a vinyl record is moved back and forth with the hand while it is playing. Different tracks call for scratching the vinyl on the controller - sometimes indiscriminately, but other times in specific directions. Players also need to slide the crossfader to follow the track - sometimes for a bridge, other times for a single beat and back. (A crossfader allows a DJ to fade one audio source out while fading another in).
The game also offers an effects dial, for free-styling; a "euphoria button", to activate the game's version of star power; and a red button, which players hit at certain points within songs to spice up the track with a sample of their choosing.
When DJ Hero is cruising at full speed - tossing different arrangements of notes and tracks your way while you scramble to precisely manage all the buttons and dials during a frantic four-song set with no break between tracks - it's an exhilarating, exciting challenge that transcends Guitar Hero's simpler game design.
There are five difficulty settings but you'll want to play it on at least medium difficulty - which tests your mettle without feeling unfair. The leaderboards show scores but don't provide which difficulty level gamers are playing.
Lefties can rearrange the button layout on the turntable controller. Some will find the crossfade slider looser than they'd like but that comes in handy once you are used to the layout and need to navigate without hesitation.
The game includes support for two-player, two-turntable local and online play, and in a nod to interoperability, also allows a second player to jam along with a guitar controller.
DJ Hero's soundtrack is as impressive an achievement as the game itself. It includes songs by Jay-Z, Marvin Gaye, David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Eminem, Blondie, Gwen Stefani and Herbie Hancock. Some songs are used multiple times but the sheer technique employed in constructing these mixes makes that a non-issue.
Pros: Challenging yet exhilarating gameplay with the best soundtrack among music games.
Cons: Leaderboards lack some detail.
GAME ON
