DJ Hero

Activision’s newest title in the music and rhythm genre of gaming is sure to make gamers get their “scratch on” in DJ Hero.  With great tracks and a simple scheme, even a few who didn’t enjoy Guitar Hero can easily get into DJ Hero.

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What’s Good

Scratch on, scratch off – The very first thing anyone is going to want to know about DJ Hero is how the game and controller live up to the mechanics of scratching.  While I’ve never done any actual turntable work in my life, it still seems to me to have a genuine feel to it.  The smooth rotation of the mock turntable allows the player to scratch with very little effort as well as ease the player into the realm of playing on Hard from Medium (I started off on Medium).  Scratching is definitely one of the more fun aspects of DJ Hero and is simulated very well.

Hold up, rewind – A new feature in DJ Hero is the ability to earn a Rewind.  You earn Rewinds (you can only have one at a time) by maintaining the max points multiplier for a certain period of time.  You execute the rewind by rotating the turntable a full 360 degrees in a quick motion.  When it is executed, the music stops for a moment and rewinds for a few measures and you are able to replay a certain section of the song based on where you rewind from.  One application I have utilized this feature for is to extend my streak for extra points otherwise unobtainable by just playing the song all the way through.  This should be a handy feature for you 100%-ers out there that are looking to squeeze out some extra points.

Fading away – Another interesting, albeit difficult to adjust to in harder difficulties, feature is the cross-fader.  Paying attention to the cross-fader is definitely where you will make or break your DJ Hero career.  Mastering the timing and keeping track of where the cross-fader is at all times will mean the difference between a booing crowd or maintaining your score multiplier.  It is absolutely a must before trying to play four- to five-star songs on any difficulty higher than medium, as sliding the cross-fader while scratching or inputting button commands becomes more prevalent in the harder songs.

Scratchin’ to the beat – What would a rhythm game be without music?  The regular edition (as opposed to the Renegade Eminem and Jay-Z Edition) contains a whopping 102 songs, categorized by genre, DJ, or other sorts.  As someone who’s not exactly into rap or hip-hop proper, I can appreciate anything that’s mixed in such a way that the music is accessible or able to transcend its original audience.  DJ Hero has taken several songs that I may not have liked in and of themselves, but the unique mixing as well as the combination of mixed songs is creative and genius and there are some songs I already did enjoy but that I’ll always think of the mix now every time I hear them.  Definitely a good strong mix of music from across most popular genres and artists.

You scratch my back, I’ll strum yours – Aside from two DJ’s being able to battle it out or play co-op, you’re also able to join a friend that’s plugged in with a Guitar Hero controller and play a selection of songs tailored specifically to DJ + Guitar, which are mainly a mash-up of a hip-hop track and a rock track.  It makes for something your friends can do while they’re waiting their turn on the tables.  The track list for DJ + Guitar is smaller than I might have liked, but hopefully downloadable content will fix that, perhaps a purchasable song-list that expands the DJ + Guitar list specifically.

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What’s Bad

This song again? – While it’s nothing that taking a short break from a marathon of DJ simulation won’t cure, it does get somewhat repetitive when you unlock new mix only to see that it’s one new song mixed with another song that you’ve probably already heard ten times.  I suppose it’s more a matter of taste, if one of these songs I’m referring to happens to be a favorite of yours, then perhaps you won’t mind it as much as I do.  Still, repetition is repetition wiki-wiki repetition is repetition.

Help, I’m spinnin’ – As if the controller and five minutes of playing the game couldn’t be intuitive enough, the game forces you to go through a sort of intro or practice mode before you’re able to move on to freeplay.  Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad if they had picked a better, read:  less annoying, song than the one they use in the tutorial.  Also, the announcer happens to sound particularly patronizing especially since a small amount of time jumping right into the game would help one learn how to play it as well, if not better or faster than, as this weak intro tutorial that you’re forced to endure.

Faster than the naked eye –  While this might not apply to every song, the only way I’ve managed to overcome it is by sheer memorization.  There are various points in higher difficulties when you simply cannot just scratch and pray that you got the direction right.  Certain points in songs require you not only to scratch, but to scratch In a specific direction as indicated by an up or down arrow.  The portions where you just have to scratch are easy enough and I understand the challenge of specifying directional scratching, but some parts of songs that these show up in move rather quickly and also occur amidst commands for the cross-fader, further complicating the situation.

Electric slide – Now, it’s time to hate on the cross-fade.  Mastering the cross-fader definitely requires attention to detail in the middle of tens of other grueling things happening on the screen at once, or at least in a rapid succession.  The slider, while easy to move back and forth, is too easy to move back and forth.  There is a hard center for the slider but finding it in the middle of playing or after a part of a mix where you have to move it frantically can be a bit of a crapshoot if you’re not careful.  The hard center that I speak of is the dead-middle of the cross-fader where you can feel the slight click letting you know where the middle is.  Again, while it’s in fact there, it is difficult to find in the heat of dealing with a barrage of notes and scratches.

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Worth Remembering:

While a game like this might never have been able to see the light of day if games like Guitar Hero hadn’t come along, fans of music and particularly mixed and remixed will certainly get a kick out of DJ Hero.

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Worth Forgetting:

Being a niche game, there isn’t much negative to say that would keep anyone that was going to play it from playing it anyway.  While some of the tracks can get repetitive after a time, the feeling goes away after a short break.  Aside from the barrage of arrows in the midst of some extreme cross-fader action, I don’t really have much bad to say about this game.

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DJ Hero is definitely one for the party nights. Anything I’ve listed as “negative” about the game isn’t anything that can’t be overcome with a little bit of practice and familiarity.  I personally didn’t like Guitar Hero simply because I didn’t have the coordination for it, but DJ Hero is the first game that has turned me on to the franchise and genre. What are your impressions of the game? Did you buy it, rent it or go to a Best Buy or Frys to try it? Lets hear your thoughts.

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