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Platform: Xbox 360 Publisher: Activision Developer: FreeStyle Games Rating: PG Players: 2 – 4 Genre: Music Released: October 30, 2009
Website: http://www.djhero.com/
[starreview tpl=16]
Activision have had a healthy run with their ‘Hero’ brand releasing various guitar hero games to sate almost any musical appetite. But for the most part, Guitar Hero as a brand is really about rock/metal music and guitars (with the added expansion of Guitar World Tour). Enter ‘DJ Hero’ – a completely new venture into the world of hip-hop beats and dance music.
DJ Hero differs from Guitar Hero simply because it’s no longer about guitars. The focus has been taken away from the guitar riffs and rock music to the DJ’s turntable and the underground hip-hop dance scene. The music certainly reflects this as the tracklist consists of songs remixed from original tunes taken from bands old and new. It’s a brave move from Activision, taking onboard developer FreeStyle Games to offer a new type of music sim game to the loyal guitar hero masses. But will they like it?
Not to count myself out of that hardcore group(ies) of guitar hero lovers, I’ve certainly found that whilst GH definitely has its appeal and place in the genre of social gaming, there’s plenty of room for new products.
DJ Hero is fundamentally the same as GH apart from the obvious difference where you’re now using a turntable instead of a guitar. And that’s the biggest learning curve you’ll have playing the game. The buttons on the turntable work exactly the same way as the buttons on the guitar. The major exception is when you’re required to ‘crossfade’ the tracks with the crossfader and use the ‘Euphoria’ button (which replaces the Star Power control in GH). There’s also an ‘Effects’ button but that’s largely used when you advance in skill.
Tutorials are pretty much the same as GH so you can learn about the new skills and all about the turntable as you go. You can also try out some songs when you play. But the music is definitely DJ Hero’s defining asset, with tunes that have been remixed and created exclusively for DJ Hero by some very prominent artists including Eminem, Daft Punk, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Grandmaster Flash.
One of the main challenges GH fans may be used to which is now absent in DJ Hero is failing songs as you play them. You’ll never fail a song in DJ Hero so you won’t be penalised exactly the same way. Which is good and bad. Without this challenge to face, it makes it alot easier to advance in skill but on the other hand, there’s quite a lot more to do in DJ Hero than just match coloured buttons to its corresponding button on screen. With the ‘crossfader’ you’ll be using the buttons to scratch as well as crossfading specific sounds in the song. There are also more advanced techniques such as adding ‘effects’ and rewinding the song back to certain parts of the song that give you extra bonuses.
So DJ Hero is still very much like GH in the sense that you’re competing for the highest score you can achieve on any particular song and that competitiveness is a fundamental element that keeps the game interesting. But on the other hand DJ Hero has very different elements not to mention the track list and music style that really does place it in its own unique arena.
The tracklist consists of the following songs remixed (taken from Wikipedia):
You’ll notice that some of the tracks have additional areas where you can jam out with someone else on guitar. This is a very cool addition to the game and is a whole lot of fun, especially if you’re at a party or having friends over.
DJ Hero may not be everyone’s idea of musical fun and there’s a very good chance that Guitar Hero fans won’t take to the product the same way they have with GH expansions. It is however cool to see Activision trying something new and giving gamers the choice to try something unique and refreshingly different rather than expanding the already exhaustive GH stable of games. There will also be DLC for Xbox 360 available as there has been in the past for GH.
Nice one Activision, thumbs up! 
