The good people at Kotaku.com weigh in on the DJ version of Guitar Hero:
Loved
The Music: DJ Hero features 93 tracks that are completely original, yet immediately familiar. I am a huge fan of song mashups, to the point where genre’s and artists I normally wouldn’t listen to are fine as long as they are mixed with something I enjoy. Fortunately, the original tracks employed by DJ Hero’s various mix-masters are tunes that I enjoyed in the first place. I realize that taste in music is a very personal thing, but no one can deny the brilliance of mixing together Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby” with MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” This game is filled with clever combinations like this, to the point where I’d say you could easily have the game running on auto-pilot in the background at a party and no one would complain.The Machine: The DJ Hero turntable is a daunting device when you first get your hands on it, and it certainly takes some getting used to. I tried several different finger positions on the disc itself before finding one that allowed me to comfortably manage scratching without my fingers slipping. Once I found the right position I began burning through the set list at a rapid pace, tweaking the effects knob and managing the crossfader like a pro would if he or she was working with a plastic facsimile of a turntable.
Easing Up: FreeStyleGames has done an excellent job of creating a game that is accessible to players of all skill levels. There are five different difficulty levels in the game, each ramping up the challenge level, adding in new game mechanics leading up to expert mode, where the game pulls out all of its tricks. Beginner mode has the player simply pressing any button, holding it down to scratch, while expert has you scratching to match directional arrows while crossfading like some sort of maniac. The difficulty range makes the game much more approachable to new players, while allowing more experienced players to show off their mad DJ skills.
Guitar VS. DJ: DJ Hero would have been fine without the inclusion of tracks specifically tailored toward a combination of turntable and guitar controller, but the addition is quite welcome, especially for folks who scraped up every last penny they had to afford the $119.99 price tag for the bundled version of the game. As the turntable currently isn’t available for purchase as a separate unit, giving players another way to play DJ Hero with their friends is a nice touch.
DJ Style: DJ Hero oozes DJ style, or at least DJ style as far as I am familiar with it. The presentation is light on words and big on images, using a pseudo-graffiti style to depict the options as you navigate through a simple sliding menu. The venues you perform in are vibrant and full of life, ensuring that onlookers have something to keep them occupied while you stare at the DJ highway. You unlock decks, headphones, and outfits as you progress through the game, as well as DJs, from original characters with their own fictional biographies to some of the biggest names ever to touch a turntable. Of course if you’re like me, as soon as Daft Punk is unlocked you never go back. Overall, the game presents a rather well put-together package.
Party Play: As mentioned previous, DJ Hero’s track listing is definitely party-worthy. Fortunately the game contains a Party Play option, which lets the player choose from a custom or premade playlist, which will run on its own with but a touch of a button. Unfortunately the game flashes a message on the screen during Party Play to keep players from using the automatic play as false examples of how good they are at the game, but it’s a small price to pay for some excellent party music.
Hated
Re-Remix: Perhaps a result of having to go through all 93 tracks in the game in quick succession, I found myself growing weary of the repeat songs in DJ Hero’s playlist. It isn’t that the songs themselves repeat, but you’ll find certain songs used in multiple mashups, like Tears for Fears’ “Shout” and Rihanna’s “Disturbia,” to the point where I sighed every time I saw the song names come up. Again, possibly not an issue if you are playing in short bursts - just be ready for it if you plan any marathon sessions.One-Track Multiplayer: DJ Hero’s online multiplayer is a plain vanilla affair, lacking any real sense of competition outside of simply trying to complete the song better than the other player. Two DJs take the stage, playing the same song, with the reverse option turned off as to not interrupt the flow of things. Simply leaving the reverse option on and having it affect both tables would have been enough, adding an element of strategy to the gameplay by allowing the other player to force their opponent to replay parts of the song they stumbled over previously. Hopefully FreeStyleGames will spice up multiplayer in the inevitable sequels.
Can I Just Play A Song Please?: For some strange reason, FreeStyleGames omitted to include any sort of quick play option in DJ Hero. In order to play one song, you have to either find the pre-created playlist the song is in or edit out the other tunes, or create your own custom playlist with only that one song in it. It seems completely silly to me that you can’t just look at the complete track listing, choose one song, and hit play, but there you go. Strange.
Final Thoughts:
There’s definitely room for improvement, but even a flawed DJ Hero is a breath of fresh air for fans of music games.
Sometimes you just know when something is going to be a hit… This one is pretty much a no brainer. On one hand it rides the wave of Guitar Hero and Rock Band and on the other it has Daft Punk involved. May as well start working on DJ Hero 3 while your at it… Read more from GameFocus.ca:
The first DJ Hero hasn’t been released yet that Activision has already plans for a sequel.
GamesIndustry.biz reports that “at least one independent UK games developer” is already in discussions with developer FreeStyleGames about working on DJ Hero 2. Additionally, one of the most famous DJs (Qbert) has been approached.
Featuring 93 exclusive on-disc mixes from some of the biggest acts in hip-hop, pop, rock and dance, DJ Hero allows players to test their DJing chops as virtual recreations of the renowned twosome and experience their iconic sounds in eleven original mixes, including two signature “Megamixes,” using their music.
DJ Hero will hit store shelves on October 27 for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2 and Wii.
The latest from E3… Nice,
Assassin’s Creed II - Trailer:
Game play:
Mario heads back to space for more gravity defying adventures:
This looks badass:
From Kotaku.com:
The official Assassin’s Creed web site gives us a brief taste of the second entry in the series and clues us in on when we can expect concrete details on Assassin’s Creed 2—next Thursday.
The teaser consists of little more than a short Flash animation, rendered in a hand drawn style noticeably similar to that of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions—focusing on the concealed blade Altair used in the original—and his Vitruvian Man. The final drawing hints at some sort of winged contraption that may indicate we’ll be doing some flying (or at least some floating/humming of the Batman theme song) in the sequel.
The teaser also notes that we’ll see more in the upcoming issue of Game Informer, with the date April 16, 2009 presumably indicating when the games mag is allowed to lift the veil on Ubisoft’s sequel.
Given the Italian pedigree of the teaser, we’d think those rumored details of Assassin’s Creed 2 taking place in Venice are sounding more and more likely. We’re sure to know by next Thursday. Keep an eye peeled!
From our sister site WatchMojo.com:
Our sister site WatchMojo.com gets the lowdown on the new Viva Pinata:Trouble in Paradise game:
PLAY
