Up too scratch!
If that's the case than DJ Hero is definitely the game for you. This game won't make you a DJ but in the privacy of your own home you'll definitely feel like one.
DJ hero is an off shoot of the much loved Guitar Hero franchise, developed by free style games, a developer with a history in hip hop themed rhythm games such as B-boy on the PSP and published by Activision Blizzard.
The biggest difference between this and the other games in the hero series is the addition of a new peripheral, the DJ turn table. The turntable is a sturdy plastic controller which no doubt should stand up too constant play and like the other hero peripherals breaks down into two parts for easy storage.
The controller has numerous buttons, sliders and knobs which are all used to control the game. On the turntable there are 3 buttons, green, red and blue which respectively control the left record, percussion and the right record. On the mixing desk side of the peripheral you have a button to activate euphoria which is DJ hero's version of star power, a Slider which acts as a cross fader and a knob which at certain parts of the track can change the pitch and in others select a which sample you would like to play.
The gameplay will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played either the Guitar Hero games or its competitor Rockband. In the middle of the screen is a note highway in which multicoloured notes move down in time to the music. The Game however does add a few unique features which add enough variety to the game to keep it fresh, for instance at intervals you will see extended notes with arrows on them and during these the player must hold down the corresponding coloured button and move the Turntable wheel in an imitation of scratching. At other times the highway will shift left or right meaning that the player needs to adjust the cross fader to continue scoring points. All of these actions are quite simple by themselves, but at later difficulties the game will mix any combination of these and even makes the scratching harder by making you scratch in complex patterns.
DJ Hero's party piece is that it also supports the guitar peripheral, in certain songs such as somebody told me by the killers a second player can play the guitar track alongside you while you mix the tracks this adds in a local multiplayer for anyone that doesn't own a second turntable, it also gives you a great reason to break out your Digital axe again.
Overall the game does a great job of accommodating all skill levels, early tutorial levels introduce you gradually to all the gameplay elements found in the game and each track/set list can be played on various difficulty levels. Less experienced players won't find themselves punished by the game either, everything can be unlocked on the lowest difficulty level with only a handful of achievements requiring you too play the harder settings.
The sound in the game is fantastic, there are 93 mixes in the game which in turn is made up of 105 songs and features a wide range of artists from rock classics such as Blondie, hip hop artists such as 50 Cent and even in one song at least a live orchestra playing bittersweet symphony. The one thing I really enjoyed about the game music is that every mix in the game sounds amazing I don't recall at anytime in the game disliking one particular mix.
Graphics in the game are similar to previous titles, they have a slightly over exaggerated look about them from the whacky looking DJ's to the venues all of the game is well modelled, the in game lighting is noticeably different from previous titles gone are the explosive sets replaced by glow sticks, neon lights and strobe lighting which fits into the games night club settings. Although you might find it hard to look at anything other than the highway when you're playing the games graphics do a good job of entertaining those watching you play.
I would recommend this game to anyone looking for a rhythm game this Christmas, fans of the series will be instantly at home with it and newcomers will enjoy it's easy to learn, hard to master gameplay and with downloadable track packs too add to your music collection you should be playing for a long time.