Review: DJ Hero

Richard Chow, Dose.ca
November 13, 2009

Avatars of stars such as Eminem, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, the late DJ AM and Daft Punk can be throughout DJ Hero.

Photo by: Handout

Developer: FreeStyleGames

Publisher: Activision

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2

Played on: PS3

Rating: 8.5

Rated: T (for Teen)

The Deal:

If you still haven’t figured out where to store all those plastic guitars, drums and microphones you’ve accumulated over the years, Activision wants you to add one more piece to your cluttered living room: a new turntable peripheral. Essentially an extension of the Guitar Hero brand, DJ Hero is the latest addition to the over-crowded music game genre, only this time you get to try your hand at turntablism.

Gamers can spin awesome hip hop, pop, dance, R&B and rock tracks. When you pick up the bundle, you’ll get a wireless turntable (for scratching) that has three coloured buttons placed on top of it (each corresponds to a different track). You’ll also notice the turntable comes with a crossfader to mix the two songs, an effects dial (for pluggin’ in samples) and a Euphoria button (which mimics “star power" from Guitar Hero). Altogether, it will certainly get you into a DJ-ing groove.

Quite frankly, DJ Hero is one the most refreshing games we’ve played all year.

The Good:

-The turntable is well made and makes it easy for you to scratch and mix tracks. Not only that, but it is designed to accommodate both left and right handed players. Overall, the scratching works well with the very tight controls.

-The star of DJ Hero is, without a doubt, the tracklist, which consists of more than 100 songs mixed together into 93 original and unique tracks. You’ll be surprised how well certain songs mix together (who knew Rihanna’s “Disturbia” would blend well with The Killers’ “Somebody Told Me?”). You’ll hear hip-hop tracks from Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Eminem; pop beats from Gwen Stefani and Black Eyed Peas; and dance tracks from Daft Punk and Benny Benassi -- and the list of major artists continues.

-Of course there are a lot of elements similar to Guitar Hero. As you progress, you can unlock new venues, characters, accessories and new DJ decks. Also, there are character avatars of Eminem, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, the late DJ AM and Daft Punk found throughout the game.

-There are plenty of ways to play the game differently with a variety of competitive modes (played locally or online). You can compete in multiplayer modes through ranked matches, or online party sessions. And you can go head-to-head in DJ vs. DJ competitions, or spin tracks together in DJ + DJ mixes. You can even use your Guitar Hero/Rock Band guitar for a DJ + guitar combo -- although disappointingly, this feature is limited to a mere 11 tracks.

The Bad:

-If we have one minor complaint about the turntable, it’s that the crossfader may be a little too sensitive when changing tracks. When you change to the middle from either the left or right side of the crossfader, it’s easy to overshoot the middle index -- which is a pain as the difficulty gets higher. However, we did get used to it after a while, so it’s not a dealbreaker.

-This game could be more party friendly. Tracks need to be unlocked at the beginning by accumulating enough stars. You’re given 15 tracks to start, which is hardly enough for a party. But of course, you can always search the net for cheat codes to unlock everything.

Final Word:

DJ Hero is a game that will certainly spin you “Around the World,” and we recommend that you “Bust a Move” to pick it up.