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DJ Hero
A refreshing take on the music game genre.
November 1, 2009 | 7:13 PM PSTKombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What the Game's About
DJ Hero is the newest member of the "Hero" family. This time around you can clear your living room space for a plastic turntable that allows you to interact with music in another way. Instead of trying to emulate a song like "Freebird," DJ Hero presents you with mixes of two songs and you play the track by cross fading and scratching. There is a definite slant towards the hip-hop crowd, but there are a lot of different tracks that appeal to a broader audience. Get ready for a whole new resurgence of the popularity of the music genre with this brand new twist on what you've come to expect.
What's Hot
It is hard to find a gamer who hasn't tried Guitar Hero or Rock Band. With DJ Hero, it is like having the experience when you first held a plastic guitar in your hands for the first time. The turntable is a simple instrument because of the fact there aren't many buttons to press but don't let the looks fool you. DJ Hero is going to provide a ton of challenge because when you first start out, you'll feel like you are rubbing your head and patting your stomach at the same time. The learning curve is part of the fun because you feel more involved with making music by cross fading between tracks and scratching and tapping out some beats to add to the audio mix. Some games with steep learning curves might not be fun but with DJ Hero, you get better quickly and you'll be spinning along with the tracks in no time. The unit itself is a solidly built and will stand up to the constant scratching abuse you can dish out. On the same note, the turntable facilitates a better gameplay experience because you feel like you are interacting with the music more than some other DJ games in the past, like BeatMania.
The available track list is very impressive (even if some songs are recycled). There are 93 tracks standard on the disc and you can bust right into the game after you complete a tutorial that teaches you some basic moves and how to play. There is relatively a low barrier to play these songs. You aren't given the entire list right off the bat, so you have to do a little bit of work to unlock all the potential in DJ Hero. Like other Hero games, you can achieve up to 5-stars in a song. For DJ Hero, those stars translate into unlockables. With the past few music games not really offering much of a progression and just allowing all the content to be accessed right from day one, it is nice to see a return to some rewards for playing the game well. Along with more access to songs, you get additional sound samples, DJ avatars, decks and other gear that goes with being a DJ. The majority of the tracks are outstanding with relatively a few clunkers polluting the otherwise incredible list of songs.
DJ Hero wisely employs the help of Guitar Hero mechanics for a joint collaboration. There are a handful of tracks you can get DJ Hero hold-outs involved with so they eventually cave in and try out the turntable. You also have the option to plug in a microphone and rap over the tracks or do your best to follow along. It isn't scored but adds another layer on the game that is there to explore if you have a rhyming prodigy in your circle of friends. If you don't have any friends, the game will put you in good company with a roster of actual DJ heroes like Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash, Daft Punk and the late DJ AM.
What's Not
The developers took a big risk with including a no fail mode in DJ Hero. Unfortunately, the game suffers because of it. The logic is sound on paper, a song doesn't quit if it sounds bad, but, in practice, it doesn't work according to plan. It defies one of the most sacred video game doctrines that makes sense, "risk vs. reward." The easiest way to think about it is the reverse of the punishment fitting the crime. There isn't a risk to playing a song just out of your skill range because you can fumble your way through and still feel like you accomplished something. Inherently, it isn't a terrible thing but it doesn't feel as satisfying as sweating it out during hard segments to a track.
Since DJ Hero is still figuring out how gamers are going to react, everything isn't as polished and streamlined in terms of hardware. The turntable is solid, however, there is one problem. The blue button on the controller is hard to scratch with. It might seem like a petty gripe to have with the game but the truth is it makes a difference. If you play with DJ Hero for extended periods of time, your entire forearm starts to "feel the burn" in part because the blue button is too close to the center to make scratching the device more difficult.
Final Word
The big takeaway is that DJ Hero reinvents how music games are defined by the innovation brought forward and, in the same stroke, revitalizes the genre with a fresh approach. DJ Hero shows its infancy in certain areas, which will most likely mature with the inevitable next in the series. DJ Hero is a great addition to your music game collection that is going to provide you more hours of entertainment listening to some stellar mash-ups of songs new and old. This is one experience you cannot miss.
What the Game's About
DJ Hero is the newest member of the "Hero" family. This time around you can clear your living room space for a plastic turntable that allows you to interact with music in another way. Instead of trying to emulate a song like "Freebird," DJ Hero presents you with mixes of two songs and you play the track by cross fading and scratching. There is a definite slant towards the hip-hop crowd, but there are a lot of different tracks that appeal to a broader audience. Get ready for a whole new resurgence of the popularity of the music genre with this brand new twist on what you've come to expect.
What's Hot
It is hard to find a gamer who hasn't tried Guitar Hero or Rock Band. With DJ Hero, it is like having the experience when you first held a plastic guitar in your hands for the first time. The turntable is a simple instrument because of the fact there aren't many buttons to press but don't let the looks fool you. DJ Hero is going to provide a ton of challenge because when you first start out, you'll feel like you are rubbing your head and patting your stomach at the same time. The learning curve is part of the fun because you feel more involved with making music by cross fading between tracks and scratching and tapping out some beats to add to the audio mix. Some games with steep learning curves might not be fun but with DJ Hero, you get better quickly and you'll be spinning along with the tracks in no time. The unit itself is a solidly built and will stand up to the constant scratching abuse you can dish out. On the same note, the turntable facilitates a better gameplay experience because you feel like you are interacting with the music more than some other DJ games in the past, like BeatMania.
The available track list is very impressive (even if some songs are recycled). There are 93 tracks standard on the disc and you can bust right into the game after you complete a tutorial that teaches you some basic moves and how to play. There is relatively a low barrier to play these songs. You aren't given the entire list right off the bat, so you have to do a little bit of work to unlock all the potential in DJ Hero. Like other Hero games, you can achieve up to 5-stars in a song. For DJ Hero, those stars translate into unlockables. With the past few music games not really offering much of a progression and just allowing all the content to be accessed right from day one, it is nice to see a return to some rewards for playing the game well. Along with more access to songs, you get additional sound samples, DJ avatars, decks and other gear that goes with being a DJ. The majority of the tracks are outstanding with relatively a few clunkers polluting the otherwise incredible list of songs.
DJ Hero wisely employs the help of Guitar Hero mechanics for a joint collaboration. There are a handful of tracks you can get DJ Hero hold-outs involved with so they eventually cave in and try out the turntable. You also have the option to plug in a microphone and rap over the tracks or do your best to follow along. It isn't scored but adds another layer on the game that is there to explore if you have a rhyming prodigy in your circle of friends. If you don't have any friends, the game will put you in good company with a roster of actual DJ heroes like Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash, Daft Punk and the late DJ AM.
What's Not
The developers took a big risk with including a no fail mode in DJ Hero. Unfortunately, the game suffers because of it. The logic is sound on paper, a song doesn't quit if it sounds bad, but, in practice, it doesn't work according to plan. It defies one of the most sacred video game doctrines that makes sense, "risk vs. reward." The easiest way to think about it is the reverse of the punishment fitting the crime. There isn't a risk to playing a song just out of your skill range because you can fumble your way through and still feel like you accomplished something. Inherently, it isn't a terrible thing but it doesn't feel as satisfying as sweating it out during hard segments to a track.
Since DJ Hero is still figuring out how gamers are going to react, everything isn't as polished and streamlined in terms of hardware. The turntable is solid, however, there is one problem. The blue button on the controller is hard to scratch with. It might seem like a petty gripe to have with the game but the truth is it makes a difference. If you play with DJ Hero for extended periods of time, your entire forearm starts to "feel the burn" in part because the blue button is too close to the center to make scratching the device more difficult.
Final Word
The big takeaway is that DJ Hero reinvents how music games are defined by the innovation brought forward and, in the same stroke, revitalizes the genre with a fresh approach. DJ Hero shows its infancy in certain areas, which will most likely mature with the inevitable next in the series. DJ Hero is a great addition to your music game collection that is going to provide you more hours of entertainment listening to some stellar mash-ups of songs new and old. This is one experience you cannot miss.
November 20, 2009
