It’s hard to believe but the first Guitar Hero title arrived in stores almost exactly four years ago on November 7th. Exploding onto the gaming scene Guitar Hero took inspiration from the proven rhythm formula of Dance Dance Revolution and created an entirely new genre built on plastic guitars and rock n roll music. Wildly successful, the game went on to sell millions and spawned literally dozens of sequels. New music peripherals ranging from drum sets to bass guitars, to karaoke microphones were introduced into the genre, yet the vast majority of music games remained locked in the guitar oriented rock n roll music genre.

As we fast forward to 2009 music games are firmly established in both the hardcore and mainstream consciousness, yet at the same time we started to wonder how many more successful selling 'Hero' sequels we could possibly see? While Guitar Hero titles still remain just as fun today as they were yesteryear, we have long felt the genre as a whole seemed to be stagnating, desperately needing a fresh injection of new ideas.

It’s with great pleasure then we first heard about DJ Hero. Sporting an entirely new peripheral based on the revered DJ turntable and music pulled from mainstream hip hop, dance, house and break beats, DJ Hero represented a bold new direction for music games. While a shift in direction music wise was entirely welcome it still remained a big question whether or not gamers would embrace this entirely new and unfamiliar peripheral. In many ways Activision took a big gamble allowing developer FreeStyleGames to reinvent the wheel while still keeping the wheel … a wheel!

DJ Hero is out now hitting stores last week on October 27th 2009. Having had a chance to play through the single player campaign, MSBOX-WORLD is happy to announce that Activision’s gamble and faith in FreeStyleGames is very likely going to pay off. Not only is DJ Hero fun to play, the game is in our opinion one of the freshest takes on the music game genre since Rock Band arrived to challenge Guitar Hero several years ago.

Gameplay:

We were slightly worried that DJ Hero would take the gameplay mechanics of Guitar Hero and add very little to the formula. Thankfully this is not the case as DJ Hero introduces entirely new gameplay mechanics that perfectly match the peripheral that comes packaged with the game. While the game still has the comfortably familiar coloured music beats that scroll down the screen, DJ Hero switches things up with the introduction of crossfades, crossfade spikes, effects dial, and freestyle samples. As the music lines scroll down the screen often the line on the left and right side of the screen will jolt even further to the right or left. Players have a crossfader control on their turntable that allows them to follow the music line as it hits the hit zone at the bottom of the screen. The effects dial allows players to tweak certain beat sections and can result in bonus point multipliers. Individual beats are still present just as in Guitar Hero, however, the game also introduces scratches to the mix. The Turntable features a record platter which needs to be shifted back and forth, scratching in time to scratches that scroll down the screen while holding the appropriate stream button.

Like Guitar Hero, DJ Hero allows for score multipliers based on how long you can go without making a mistake. There is a Euphoria button on the turntable which is the DJ Hero equivalent of Star Power, allowing for mega points when used properly. Euphoria is earned by hitting perfectly certain segments of beats that will scroll down in a brightly lit colour. DJ Hero also features an entirely new gameplay mechanic called “rewind” that rewards players who play perfectly over an extended period of time. Rewind is activated by spinning the record platter backwards once, which then rewinds a section of the song. This lengthens the song and allows the player to score even higher than they would be able to normally by increasing the amount of beats in the mix.

Graphics:

The game features multiple unlockable venues each which have their own unique art design. Graphically the game feels similar to the Guitar Hero aesthetic while still clearing, giving a vibe appropriate to the music genre the game represents. The record on which beat lines (called streams in game), stream down are clearly marked, although we did find some of the flashing lights on some venues were distracting at times. We certainly don’t recommend anyone with epilepsy giving the game a spin, however, for the vast majority of people the graphical representation of the venues is pretty close to what one would find at a nightclub.

The reality is that graphics really aren’t what’s important in DJ Hero, however, they do what they are designed to do … support the music and support the player in executing in game mechanics.

Sound:

DJ Hero dishes up an unbelievable 93 exclusive mixes and 24 different set lists. While some of these mixes have repeats of various artists, each and every one of these mixes are completely brand new and they are very very good. They are so good in fact, we fully expect to see some of these mixes eventually make it into mainstream clubs across North America and Europe, possibly even a potential soundtrack release in the future. Make no mistake the amount of music talent in DJ Hero is dizzying. This list includes Jay-Z, Rihanna, Daft Punk, DJ Jazzy Jeff, 2Pac, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, The Jackson Five, Paul Van Dyk, Gwen Stafani, Eminem and many others. In terms of value, not only is there an amazing amount of content, but all of this content is completely fresh and new. We think this is probably one of the most exciting things about DJ Hero, is that although players will recognize various artists, the mixes themselves are completely new. Unlocking a new set list represents an entirely different feeling from Guitar Hero, as one really doesn’t know what to expect with each new set list. The mixes are entirely new imaginings of classic and new music. This makes the game extremely exciting, creates a very real reward system that goes above and beyond anything we’ve experienced before in a music title. FreeStyleGames literally threw everything in except the kitchen sink when throwing it all together and it shows. It’s also obvious that Activision put a lot of money down on licensing and we’re glad that they didn’t cheap out on an untested new product. The music reeks of quality and it shows.

If we have any complaints at all about the set lists, the music list is obviously geared towards mainstream sensibilities designed to appeal to North American club goers. We are entirely sure that there will be some grumblings from Europe about the very minimal set lists dedicated to house, trance, jungle, happy hardcore and other niche within niche music genres in the electronic scene, however, we believe that DLC may represent an answer to these grumblings down the road.

Despite these small quibbles we can’t help but feel that players are getting a real bang for their buck with DJ Hero. If the game does well at retail we could potentially see a new revenue stream for the record labels, one based on creating entirely new mixes in games and then be marketed commercially separate from the game they ship with. The mixes in the game are THAT good.

Longevity:

The single player campaign features 24 different set lists most which contain an average of four mixes. New set lists are opened by earning stars during performances. How many stars a player earns per set list is entirely dependant on how well they perform each mix. A maximum of 5 stars can be earned per set list. In addition, the game features a whole slew of unlockable venues, DJs, turntables, deck skins, outfits, and headphones. While most of these unlockables are purely cosmetic, we found it addicting constantly oohing and ahhing at each new trinket we opened. DJ Hero does a good job at providing players with rewards to keep them coming back. The biggest reward of course is every time a new set list is opened up. In the end DJ Hero is all about the music, as it should be.

Online play is a prominent feature of DJ Hero allowing for ranked or player matches based on in game set lists or completely custom set lists players set up from mixes they have unlocked. Players that have a Guitar Hero (guitar) peripheral can also join the fun as some songs feature a second player on electric guitar. Custom set lists are not limited to online play either as players can set up their own custom set lists to be enjoyed at anytime once unlocked.

In terms of difficulty players can choose from beginner, easy, medium, hard or expert which allows players of all skill levels to get in on the fun, while also allowing one to scale up the difficulty as their skills improve. This also means that multiple play throughs won’t become boring as players can crank up the difficulty as they get better.

The biggest strength of DJ Hero from a longevity standpoint is that like Guitar Hero before it, the game begs to be pulled out at parties. We can entirely see players firing up DJ Hero even a year from now to show their friends their “mad skillz” on the turntable. Yes the initial investment is somewhat expensive, but expect to get a ton of mileage out of the title. Additionally DLC featuring new set lists will further extend the shelf life of the game for months down the road.

Overall:

DJ Hero is a breath of fresh air in the music game genre and we really feel FreeStyleGames has done a great job. Between Rock Band and the constant stream of Guitar Hero releases, music games were starting to lose their lustre. DJ Hero is a step in the right direction being different enough mechanics and music wise from most other music games out there to deserve some serious consideration.

Value wise, players are getting a good bang for their buck (or Euro). The amount of mixes (93!!) stuffed into the game is mind blowing considering these mixes were created entirely from scratch for DJ Hero. While some licensed music is used in more than one mix, no two mixes are alike and almost all the mixes are extremely well done. The artists in the game are top notch, a who's who of top urban music talent and many of these new mixes we won't be surprised to hear on the radio and in clubs down the road.

The game with turntable is somewhat expensive, however, there really is a lot of content stuffed into the package. If you have even the remotest interest in urban music and/or music games then you need to check DJ Hero out.