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! 
Xbox 360 gamers in NZ are hard at it already with the release of MW2 today. If you like your shooters, you’d be kinda silly to miss out on one seriously cool game.
We’ve only played a little bit into the campaign (which by the way, picks up where you left off in ‘Modern Warfare’ ) but already we can tell you that the game is SERIOUSLY kick ass! Graphics are beautifully fluid, sound is amazing as usual but the gameplay is hardcore. We’ll be featuring our review later this week (once we’ve picked it apart for you tee hee), but rest assured, if you’re thinking of buying this game or just sitting on the fence – take it from me, it’s a game you SHOULD definitely own… like, now!!
Press release details for all you MW2 nuts:
It’s time to gear up for all-out, high-speed action and epic combat, as Activision Publishing, Inc. announced today that the most anticipated game of the year, developer Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now available at retail stores everywhere. Following a number of midnight store openings, Modern Warfare 2 has begun to unleash a new threat upon the world, putting gamers on the front lines of an epic, global battle that has advanced onto American soil, proving that no one is safe from an impending invasion.
“From day one the goal was to bring our fans around the world the most riveting and authentic experience we’ve ever created in Modern Warfare 2,” said Vince Zampella, CEO of Infinity Ward. “Every design from the smallest detail was crafted to place gamers in the centre of their own epic, action movie – with the suspense, excitement and adrenaline as if they were starring themselves.”
Following an unprecedented number of pre-order reservations across the globe, the sequel to the best selling first person action game in history kicked-off its worldwide invasion earlier today with a series of midnight celebrations from Sydney to London, Paris to New York.
Picking up following the historic events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Modern Warfare 2 completely immerses players in one of the most intense storylines, filled with unexpected plot twists and death-defying battles set in exotic locales across the globe. As gamers fight to save the world from annihilation, the soundtrack of Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Grammy Award and Tony winning composer Hans Zimmer sets the dark and ominous tone for a truly cinematic gaming experience. Modern Warfare 2 marks the first time that the legendary artist has scored a video game.
Delivering the complete package, in addition to the heart-racing intensity of the single player campaign, Modern Warfare 2 also offers an entirely new gameplay mode, “Special Ops,” which supports 2-player co-operative play via online or split screen dropping gamers into a surplus of time-trial and objective-based missions. As players rank-up, ever challenging missions are unlocked, including highlights from the single player campaign, fan favourites from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and all new, exclusive missions. While, the all-new Multiplayer mode raises the bar even higher from the world-record setting online play from its predecessor delivering new capabilities, customization, gamestates and modes, including customizable killstreaks, accolades and new create-a-class features.
Modern Warfare 2 is rated “ R18 ” contains violence and content that may disturb by the Classification Board and is available now for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.
Gamers have numerous options to enhance the Modern Warfare 2 experience with the Xbox 360 Limited Edition Console featuring a 250GB hard drive, Xbox 360 headset, two wireless controllers and a standard edition copy of the game. Also available now for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 system are the Modern Warfare 2 Collector’s Edition packages, including the Hardened Edition, which contains a token to download Call of Duty Classic, a limited edition SteelBook™ case and the “Behind the Lines” collector’s artbook, and the individually numbered, one-time only limited quantity Prestige Edition, which includes the Hardened Edition plus a pair of fully functioning night vision goggles and an individually numbered “Soap MacTavish” night vision goggles collectors’ stand.
Also available today for Nintendo DS is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized. Developed exclusively by n-Space, the DS title delivers a unique storyline and an arsenal of handheld features. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized is rated “M” by the Classification Board.
Additionally, for Wii fans Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex Edition is also now available. A port by Treyarch of the record-setting and award-winning, original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the title is rated R18 Contains violence and content that may disturb.
Modern Warfare 2 press kit assets are available for download at http://www.activision.com/index.html#presscenter|en_US. Players anxious to answer the call can visit www.modernwarfare2.com for more information and updates.
As mentioned in our previous post, Game Culture was invited to cruise along to the Armageddon 09 Expo on the weekend held at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Auckland. If you’ve never attended an Armageddon in Auckland before, you’re definitely in for a treat. For fans of pop culture in general, there’s plenty to see and do at the expo. But if you’re a gamer, there’s usually a whole bunch of cool new games you can check out.
But before we get into the games, lets talk about the history of gaming’s involvement in Army and a little background on the venue. In previous years, the Armageddon expo has been successfully held at the Aotea Centre. If you’re a gamer that has attended Army before, you’ll certainly remember the event because it also used to be the venue for the BBS (Black Box Session) gaming LAN. The gaming LAN was held in conjunction with the Armageddon expo and was always a huge success with console gamers. There doesn’t seem to be too many decent console gaming LANs around these days, so the retirement of the BBS event was a very sad day for gamers. However, that said, this year there was another gaming LAN held for gamers which was sponsored by a relatively new outfit on the LAN circuit called ‘Gameplayer.’ Unfortunately, we didn’t seem to notice anything truly LAN gaming related happening in that corner of the expo when we checked it out:
Dude, where's my Xbox?
There didn’t seem to be any Xboxes, Playstation’s or even a Wii for that matter… one must ask, ‘Is this a gaming LAN at all?’ Needless to say, the gamers at the tables looked extremely caught up in something... and after further investigation, it turns out that Gameplayer are big sponsors/supporters of Yugi-Oh in New Zealand. OK then… moving on.
While we have nothing in particular against Yugi-Oh (admittedly, I’ve never played the game nor do I have any inclination to do so in the future), we’re pretty sure the dudes in the photo appreciate what Gameplayer do on that side of things, but clearly, it’s no BBS. There’s a good chance we missed some of the ‘real’ gaming action (as we could only attend on one day of the event), so if you’re reading this and you know we’re wrong, feel free to let us know.
The next best thing for gamers had to be the display areas sponsored by various gaming distributors such as Sony, EA, Madman and Total Interactive. And I have to say, all of the distributors put on some great displays, Total Interactive especially with two stages! In the TI area various games were showcased including the upcoming ‘DJ Hero’ which looks and sounds totally fantastic, and also Guitar Hero 5 (which has already released).
DJ Hero was setup on a stage where you could get up and try it out for yourself. Although I was asked very nicely by Teresa to get up and strut my mixing/DJ skills, I thankfully declined to wait until I could embarrass myself in the comfort of my own home 
DJ Teresa in the house, yo!
There was also a stage setup for the guitar hero fans where you could do the same thing if you really wanted to… and some of the people that got up and played were actually pretty good!
Buckethead started out the same way, I'm sure...
Sony had two separate areas setup for their games due to the R18 restriction on games such as ‘God of War III’. And there’s no way you could miss the Sony area with their big, bright Sony symbols pointing the way.
I'm really young looking for 18, honest!
Now that would look uber cool at my place...
We talked about the full list of games that were on offer at Armageddon here and if you attended on the second day, you could probably get close enough to even touch the consoles the games were being played on!
By all accounts Saturday was the busiest day for Armageddon where it was literally back-to-back with people. So if you ever plan to go for the gaming, it’s better to go on the second day when there’s less people fighting over console time.
In general, it seemed like there was alot of space at the event that could have been filled by other things. Although there was more on display this year than last (due to the increased floor capacity), the Aotea Centre venue seemed a whole lot better to me. You could wander around and not get lost in empty spaces with arrows telling you that ‘You Are Here’.
I think on a personal note the loss of the BBS event for gamers is a big blow to the Armageddon event because without it, it’s not really a true gamers event to attend. The game distributors are great for organising their games on display to give gamers (and the general public) a taste of what’s to come which is awesome, but Armageddon just doesn’t seem like the same place for a gamer to hang out. It’s lost some of the atmosphere that made it exciting.
There’s no doubt that Armageddon is a great event for people to get out and see what’s happening in the world of pop culture and credit must go where it’s due. Kudos to Bill for organising the event every year and to all the distributors and sponsors for putting in so much effort to setup stages and consoles for everyone to play on.
Thanks to the Armageddon PR people from Paul Blomfield and to Sony for the media passes.
Hot off the press we’ve just received the latest Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 trailer courtesy of Gametrailers.
The game is released on the 10th of November in New Zealand and we have every reason to believe it’s going to kick all kinds of butt. Our local Call of Duty clan of choice Grand Tour will probably be salivating at the mouth for another glimpse of the game.
Well, here you are lads… countdown to 10.11.09 has officially begun!
Various sources around the internet have been gossiping about the potential move towards a Call of Duty movie by Activision. This was prompted by website Trademork when they confirmed the following on their website:
“On September 21, 2009, American video game developer and publisher Activision filed to protect the trademark Call Of Duty in relation to “pre-recorded movies featuring comedy, drama, action, adventure, music, theatrical performances and/or animation”.
Nothing substantial has been verified either way but the filing of such a trademark is a strong indication that a movie for Call of Duty may be the next big project on the horizon for the game publisher.
What do ya’ll think? Nazi Zombies ftw? I guess we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed that if there is a movie being planned, it doesn’t end up like so many other game to movie adaptations… as fail on an epic scale. Lest we forget – Far Cry anyone?
If you haven’t heard about all the controversy surrounding the Courtney Love/Kurt Cobain Guitar Hero 5 dispute, you must be hiding under a rock. It’s BIG news on pretty much every social media website on the net.
The latest news is that Bon Jovi has joined the ex-members of Nirvana in saying ‘”No” to an appearance in the game. Problems began when Courtney Love said that Kurt Cobain’s appearance in Guitar Hero 5 was a “breach of contract”.
Activision has responded to this saying that they:
“Secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero 5.”
