Deckhead 2.0

On Monday I was lucky enough to be invited to test out the new DJ Hero game, after playing it for about an hour or so I decided it would be best to share my experiences here in anticipation for the games release. Before I continue I would just like to stress that this review will not follow the procedures of reviewing gameplay, story line etc. it is just my own writing about it.

The game comes with a turntable controller and plays a lot like Guitar Hero. Players hit three coloured buttons to play notes in time with the on-screen prompts, the turntable rotates 360 degrees for “scratching” and there is a cross fader and effects dial that players must use to recreate the mix. There is also an online multiplayer mode and 10 of the game’s tracks support Guitar Hero, allowing those who own both games to go head-to-head in DJ v Guitar mode.

Unlike Guitar Hero the tracks used in the game are tailor made for the game, there are 94 mash ups or original tracks which has been created from more than 100 original tracks.  The selection of artists and genres that were used were aimed to appeal to the masses and create some amazing tracks. There is a broad range of artists used anyone from The Killers, to Eminem and even Marvin Gaye are used. I only heard a few of the tracks used but the ones that are still stuck in my head include

• Somebody Told Me by The Killers vs Pjanno by Eric Prydz
• Robot Rock by Daft Punk vs We Will Rock You By Queen
• Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys vs Rapture By Blondie

The question remains if there will be a soundtrack to accompany the game, because I am sure Djs and music lovers alike will die to get a copy of it.

Another thing that stood out for me was the amound of Djs who have contributed to the game, whether it was the creating of these mash up or allowing them to be a playable character, some artists include; Daft Punk, DJ AM, Grandmaster Flash, Dj Jazzy Jeff, Z-Trip amongst many other famous names.

Now thats enough describing the game and whats it all about, time to give you my opinion about it all.

Over the years I was never a huge fan of guitar hero, I always pictured it as a game where wanna be musicians would be able to be superstars in their own bedroom. When I first heard the concept of a DJ Hero being developed I was a bit apprehensive about how the game would turn out, but once I heard the amount of people who would be helping with the development of the game I believed that the game would turn out alright.

The goal of each level or turn is about creating a live mash up or track rather than playing a traditional DJ set filled with transitions and many tracks. On the earlier levels you will only use two songs that have been specifically created for the level that you are on, one track will start and it is the players job to keep the beat going, after the first song has been playing for a certain period of time its time to bring the next track in, at first you will start sampling sounds from the other song, and then its time to use the cross fader to bring the next song in.

The skill factor comes in when its time to create your own live mash up, at certain points in the track you will have to use the cross fader to bring in samples of the other song or even cutting to the next track, or using the turntable to scratch like a superstar. The more successful players are at emulating the pro DJ performances, the more points they score, you also gain stars for more combinations that you can get. Basically you need to have great awareness of the beat of both songs and the timing of bringing the next song in, seasoned gamers will pick up this game much quicker than DJs as they have experience on similar games. 

A price for DJ Hero has yet to be announced (I think $170, including the turntable) it will be available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and PS2, the game is due to be release by the end of this week (31st October). Overall I would say that it is one of my favorite games that have come out in recent times, you are able to play it by yourself or play it with a bunch of friends, its a game that will get you sucked in for hours of enjoyment. 4/5

Jax