DJ Hero Review | Reviews | GamePlasma - Gaming to the Next Level

DJ Hero | Xbox 360 | Rythm-Music | October 27th, 2009

Score
Gameplay:	8
Graphics:	8
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	8
PlasmaFactor:	8
Overall:	8.2

DJ Hero Review
November 9, 2009 by Jereme Puik

It was only a matter of time before the Hip-Hop and Reggae genres were tapped by Activision for the video game treatment. DJ Hero is the latest peripheral driven music game set to take up more space in your living room. This time around you’re asked to master the art of the turntable. Activision believes the genres have potential, so is the title a club hit or a broken record?

Gameplay

There are over 20 gigs to take part in but nothing is without the tutorial mode for first time players to get you in touch with your inner DJ. There are plenty of stages, characters, and gigs too unlock as the game progresses and you earn more stars during each completed song. There are plenty of guest appearances as well by Daft Punk, Grand Master Flash, Cut Chemist and many more. There is always new content available for you to dabble in and keep you busy after you finish each set. A wide variety of music fills up DJ Hero and there is music from across all genres with some interesting mixes thrown in. Although there are a large amount of mixes to choose from the actual number of unique tracks is dwindled down to a small number, there is still something for everyone.

The game works just the same way as you would play in Guitar Hero. You use the fret buttons while keeping up with a seemingly endless note stream as you play through the song. You have to press three buttons as they fly across at the bottom of the screen depending on their coordination. However, it gets harder as you move on, any arrow blocks you see you have to hold down the designated colored button and turn the tray, until the block is finished thus initiating a “scratch”. The cross fader is a slider on the turntable allowing you to fade the song in and out. There will be times when the note stream stretches in and out and you’ll have to keep the cross fader positioned that way. The scoring system is the same once again as Guitar Hero. If you hit enough notes you gain Euphoria (Star Power), which allows you to gain even more points to your score. If you keep up your note streak you’ll be treated with a “Rewind”, which gives you the chance to spin the tray back, “rewinding” the song. After doing so you’ll play the same section of the song you just rewound. With enough practice you’ll be able to master the “Rewind” and activate it without even looking. While it may sound difficult, it will be for the first few tracks but once you get in touch with your inner DJ, you’ll be scratching your way to the top.

The peripheral itself is well built and even designed to accommodate lefties. By now you’ve probably seen what it looks like and thus why we add the saying “what you see is what you get”. The turntable is comparable to that of the expensive CD trays you see in the night clubs today. The cross fader buttons and knobs have held up pretty well under use for this review. There are three, blue, red, and green fret buttons on the top of the CD tray for gameplay. You can flip the mixing console to accommodate any lefty in the house. Although you can play through the career mode solo, you can pair up with a friend for a DJ battle using the same tablet or plug in a guitar to strum along while you rip it up. It wouldn’t be surprising if DJ Hero ended up casually moving in with the Guitar Hero series one way or another. When you take the game online there is player matches with duels as well as party play and leaderboards. However, the online modes for DJ Hero are rather bare when compared to its brother. Luckily the unique track list is able to pull you in for a ride.

There are all sorts of learning curves in the game and thankfully with the help of those tutorials you’ll be able to master even the most advanced techniques like cross fader spikes to make the songs even more challenging. One weird situation is having an awkward silence in between songs and it would’ve been nice if there was flow between each track to keep things moving. One other item to mention is that you should remember the turntable peripheral is not an actual CD deck and shouldn’t be treated like one, so no freestyling mixes unfortunately. The game is certainly a challenge, but it’s a welcomed change in a market saturated with rock band related material. With DJ Hero you’ll be feeling more like a DJ artist then you ever would feel like a rock star in Guitar Hero.

Graphics and Sound

While the graphics in music rhythm games like this are pretty much irrelevant, DJ Hero still manages to get the atmosphere just right. The presentation represents itself almost as if you’re in a night club during gameplay. All the dance moves, dancing girls with batons as well as the infamous light show make you feel like you’re in the club. The atmosphere puts you right in the front row at your DJ table. There are a couple of nice touches in regards too authenticity such as Daft Punks stage look alike when you go see the show live. The audio is nicely done as well and manages to keep you sucked into the song with stereo quality music. The club sound effects and bass beats help bring you into the atmosphere and almost get you right in the mood to bring you into a real club itself.

Plasma Factor

What makes DJ Hero appealing is that it’s fresh and a nice break from the continuing milking of the Rock genre. R&B and Hip Hop are genres that while do have wide appeal, aren’t completely known to the casual audience. With DJ Hero, casual players should be able to pick up the skills for the game with some trial and error. It would surely mean a whole new level of popularity for the genres as well for the music industry. The music industry itself must be getting some kind of profit when music rhythm games like this hit the national retail market.

Conclusion

It’s unfortunate that the pricing structure for the game is a steep hill to climb, but you won’t go wrong with the quality put into the product itself. It’s certainly a game at least worth trying, and renting. I don’t’ believe I would recommend buying it without doing some research and trying it out first. You never know what could happen, seeing and feelings are two completely different things. Thanks to the quality of the game it’s something everyone should be able to enjoy whether you’re into the genres or not. So, while it’s light on extra content there is certainly room for expanding and with Activision at the helm, don’t be surprised with the downloadable content already starting to pour down the streams. DJ Hero is a good start on a new road for music gaming.