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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Music Developer: FreeStyleGames Publisher: Activision |
For many, the work that a DJ does in his both is a mystery, but now gamers are about to find out what it is like to be a master of the
mixer in “DJ Hero,” the latest in the line of Hero games from Activision. Since this is a new type of music game there is a lot to learn,
but in the end gamers are offered a fun and exciting game. Players are going to want to make room for another gaming peripheral
because they are going to want to have DJ Hero available for their next party.
“DJ Hero” takes players back to the time of music games before there were world tours and fans to earn. Players work through tiers of
songs and unlock new mixes, characters and costumes by earning stars. The design is simple and focuses on the music. The game
undoubtedly has one of the best and certainly most diverse track lists of any music game. Players will be able to find at least one song
to enjoy, unless they are fans of country music.
The game offers players 102 licensed tracks that have been mashed together to create 93 original songs that won’t be able to be found
anywhere else. Players will combinations of Beastie Boys/Blondie, Vanilla Ice/MC Hammer, 50 Cent/David Bowie, and many more.
Many of the mixes are created by the DJs at Freestyle Games, but a number of the mixes are produced by well-known DJs. The entire
soundtrack is great and could easily stand on its own outside of the game. For those who want to simply listen to the music, players
can enable Party Play and listen to the music without have to play.
A new type of music game means that players are going to have to learn how to use a new controller. “DJ Hero” comes with the new
turntable controller. Half of the controller is the recorder platter with three face buttons and the other half is the mixer that includes the
cross fader, effects knob, a euphoria button that enables players to access the game’s version of star power, and the native controls for
the gaming system that they are playing the game on. The two halves of the controller can be separated and flipped around for left-
handed players.
When playing a song, players will find the familiar colored symbols moving towards the bottom of the screen as players tap the face
buttons on the turntable with the music. When it is time to scratch the track, players have to hold down the correct button and move the
turntable back and forth. On lower difficulty settings players can move the turntable in any direction, but the more difficult settings
require the player to follow the arrows that correspond with the note, determining whether they need to scratch forward or back. Like the
games in the Guitar Hero series, “DJ Hero” becomes more fun and rewarding as players move into the harder difficulties.
Along with the turntable, players will have to work the cross fader, which they will have to push left and right as directed by the onscreen
audio stream. It works like an audio gate. When the cross fader is in the center position the audio is streaming from both record A and
B. However, when pushed to one side or the other, the audio comes from a single record and closes the gate on the other record,
keeping it silent.
The one mechanic of the game that doesn’t work very well is the freestyle mode that allows players to play samples at will during
specific parts of a mix. Before players start a song they are able to choose which set they want to use, the list of samples range from
classic DJ samples to two Flavor Flav sets. When prompted players are able to press the red turntable button to use the samples in
the chosen set. The main problem is the fact that none of these samples count toward the players score, making it fairly pointless to
include in the game. Players can also spin the effects dial to cycle through the samples, something players probably won’t have
enough time to look at during the frenzy of all of the other controls, especially during an advanced song. Players will find themselves
eventually ignoring the feature altogether.
“DJ Hero” offers a variety of challenges. The easiest settings and songs allow anyone to jump into the game, but the later tracks on
expert are near impossible. For those players who have been around the music genre or have a good sense of rhythm, getting the
hang of the controls will be extremely easy. Playing “DJ Hero” has about as much in common with really using a turntable and mixer as
playing games in the Guitar Hero series does with playing a guitar. That really doesn’t matter though, this is a game and it is only
required to be fun, which it certainly is.
In an overcrowded genre of music games, “DJ Hero” is at the top with the best. The original mixes are awesome and scratching the
turntable is as fun as it looks. It is not as fully functional as some of the more recent guitar games, but the simpler presentation works
well. Like arcade games of the past, players will be aiming to get the high score on the leader boards. There is room for improvement
with the game, especially the head-to-head battles and leader board displays. “DJ Hero” is one of the better music games to come out
this year and is sure to make any party more exciting.
mixer in “DJ Hero,” the latest in the line of Hero games from Activision. Since this is a new type of music game there is a lot to learn,
but in the end gamers are offered a fun and exciting game. Players are going to want to make room for another gaming peripheral
because they are going to want to have DJ Hero available for their next party.
“DJ Hero” takes players back to the time of music games before there were world tours and fans to earn. Players work through tiers of
songs and unlock new mixes, characters and costumes by earning stars. The design is simple and focuses on the music. The game
undoubtedly has one of the best and certainly most diverse track lists of any music game. Players will be able to find at least one song
to enjoy, unless they are fans of country music.
The game offers players 102 licensed tracks that have been mashed together to create 93 original songs that won’t be able to be found
anywhere else. Players will combinations of Beastie Boys/Blondie, Vanilla Ice/MC Hammer, 50 Cent/David Bowie, and many more.
Many of the mixes are created by the DJs at Freestyle Games, but a number of the mixes are produced by well-known DJs. The entire
soundtrack is great and could easily stand on its own outside of the game. For those who want to simply listen to the music, players
can enable Party Play and listen to the music without have to play.
A new type of music game means that players are going to have to learn how to use a new controller. “DJ Hero” comes with the new
turntable controller. Half of the controller is the recorder platter with three face buttons and the other half is the mixer that includes the
cross fader, effects knob, a euphoria button that enables players to access the game’s version of star power, and the native controls for
the gaming system that they are playing the game on. The two halves of the controller can be separated and flipped around for left-
handed players.
When playing a song, players will find the familiar colored symbols moving towards the bottom of the screen as players tap the face
buttons on the turntable with the music. When it is time to scratch the track, players have to hold down the correct button and move the
turntable back and forth. On lower difficulty settings players can move the turntable in any direction, but the more difficult settings
require the player to follow the arrows that correspond with the note, determining whether they need to scratch forward or back. Like the
games in the Guitar Hero series, “DJ Hero” becomes more fun and rewarding as players move into the harder difficulties.
Along with the turntable, players will have to work the cross fader, which they will have to push left and right as directed by the onscreen
audio stream. It works like an audio gate. When the cross fader is in the center position the audio is streaming from both record A and
B. However, when pushed to one side or the other, the audio comes from a single record and closes the gate on the other record,
keeping it silent.
The one mechanic of the game that doesn’t work very well is the freestyle mode that allows players to play samples at will during
specific parts of a mix. Before players start a song they are able to choose which set they want to use, the list of samples range from
classic DJ samples to two Flavor Flav sets. When prompted players are able to press the red turntable button to use the samples in
the chosen set. The main problem is the fact that none of these samples count toward the players score, making it fairly pointless to
include in the game. Players can also spin the effects dial to cycle through the samples, something players probably won’t have
enough time to look at during the frenzy of all of the other controls, especially during an advanced song. Players will find themselves
eventually ignoring the feature altogether.
“DJ Hero” offers a variety of challenges. The easiest settings and songs allow anyone to jump into the game, but the later tracks on
expert are near impossible. For those players who have been around the music genre or have a good sense of rhythm, getting the
hang of the controls will be extremely easy. Playing “DJ Hero” has about as much in common with really using a turntable and mixer as
playing games in the Guitar Hero series does with playing a guitar. That really doesn’t matter though, this is a game and it is only
required to be fun, which it certainly is.
In an overcrowded genre of music games, “DJ Hero” is at the top with the best. The original mixes are awesome and scratching the
turntable is as fun as it looks. It is not as fully functional as some of the more recent guitar games, but the simpler presentation works
well. Like arcade games of the past, players will be aiming to get the high score on the leader boards. There is room for improvement
with the game, especially the head-to-head battles and leader board displays. “DJ Hero” is one of the better music games to come out
this year and is sure to make any party more exciting.
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