Up to scratch?
I love Oxford street. I must say that when in London it has to be one of my all time favorite places to spend a lazy saturday. The shops, the people watching and of course who could forget the massive HMV, which is always kind enough to provide some little gem of new entertainment. This week my personal treasure chest has once again bestowed its bounty upon me, giving me my first taste of DJ Hero.
First off I feel that I must explain where I stand on DJ Hero. Being a true Guitar hero girl I have awaited DJ hero with both curiosity and a little distain. Personally I have never dreamed of becoming a hit DJ, and have not liked the idea of the guitar based games being interfered with. Therefore the idea of this game has generally been causing me a little distress. This aside I have decided to review this game as If i DID dream of becoming a hit DJ. For the sake of this article the next few paragraphs will be as without bias as I can manage, with all of the fading, scratching, techno, dance, hip hop and drum and bass action you can handle. Which could be difficult seeing as I sit here in my leather and lace. Please bear with me.
To state the obvious, DJ hero is basically guitar hero for wannabe DJ’s. The game uses settings and graphics similar to those of the GH series to transport you, the world famous DJ into increasingly cool, clubs, parties gig’s and raves. DJ hero is just as vibrant and creative as the GH series, with a very similar layout and feel. When the game loaded I instantly recognized the graphics from GH world tour/5 and from what I could see the character creation looks similar too (except with a fair bit more bling). Though the look of the game is the same as GH, the feel when played is actually quite a bit different.The objective of the game is to use the three fingers of your right hand to keep the beat using three colored buttons, whilst keeping your left hand on the slider, fading one of the three colored ‘beat lines’ in and out in time with the music. The game also replicates the classic DJ motion by getting you to scratch the mock record along with the beat, which has to be the most fun part of the DJ hero experience. In addition to this you can use the euphoria button to instantly whip up the crowd, increasing your score potential or saving you from an angry crowd should your DJ-ing not quite be up to scratch.
Though all of this may seem very similar to the actin of using a traditional guitar controller, I found that the feeling of the turntable controller gave a very different feeling to the gameplay. Whereas the guitar controller gives a sense of free spirited, reckless power, the Turntable feels much more fiddley and somehow quieter. To me the feel of this game was much more like playing an old style arcade machine, all buttons and switches and compulsion to make it to the last level. The sliding motion of the turntable was a lot of fun, but to me It didn’t really feel as much like playing an instrument as using a controller. I think that though this is perhaps a bit of a shame, it is a little unavoidable as the action of DJ-ing is very different to any of the other plastic instruments. One thing I think could have improved this though is if the decks were a little bigger. Everything feels a little too close together, which to me, when combined with a low table makes it seem as if you are fiddling about your waist doing something secretive and perhaps even quite naughty. If the decks were made larger (as the guitar controllers were) then the experience would become more proud and powerful which I think would certainly improve the gaming experience. Now it may seem like I am being a little harsh on Dj Hero, but honestly, I’m not just saying this because I like the guitar controller. I actually think that this game is very addictive, it is just a lot different and perhaps aimed at a different kind of person. The turntable action is fluid and smooth, and the setup works very well. In fact I would definitely recommend this title to anyone who has ever fancied having a go at being a DJ, so please don’t be put off. It is also worth noting at this point that it is also possible to incorporate a Guitar controller into the game, and though I did not get a chance to try this I am still interested to see how this will bear up to the beloved full rock-band experience.
Though I had mixed feelings about the decks, the music choices were much more pleasing. The game has over 102 songs, presented as 93 mixes, which to anyones standards is quite a generous amount of content. With genres boated including Hip-hop, pop dance and rock, the music you can scratch along to is a little random but surprisingly varied. Though when selecting my set-list I barely recognized any of the song titles, when I started to play it soon became apparent that the selection of songs actually consists of some really good songs. I ended up playing re-mixes of the gorillaz, the jackson five and Rhianna, all of which were (and I am slightly shocked to hear myself saying this) quite good. With more hits from artists such as Queen, The killers, N.E.R.D., Dizzy rascal, Daft punk, 50 cent and Eminem I am sure that the selection of songs will be enough to keep even the fussiest of potential DJ’s happy. Though personally I was a little disappointed there was no prodigy, I suppose you can’t always have everything.
Overall I would say that DJ Hero is a must for anyone who has dreamed of ruling the decks but never had the time, money, energy or commitment to buy the right gear. The controller felt small to me, but other than that the gameplay is very addictive and promises to be a lot of fun when mastered. Though I was playing through the easier levels, this game obviously has the potential to become extremely in depth and complicated, something which can only work to its advantage. Oh and for the true fans also be sure to look out for the renegade edition. This premium edition not only features a useful case which folds out into a portable table, but also promises to include Jay-z and Eminem. I don’t know how they plan to fit them both in the box, but its always nice to get added extras.
On a final note to me the plastic instruments seem to be growing ever closer to the real ones. First the Gh drum kit which basically teaches you how to drum, and now plastic decks which take up almost as much time and energy as real ones. I love my plastic instruments more than so many things, but to me they will always be in addition to learning the real thing, not as a substitute. To me the main value of my plastic friends will always be in party play, and I think it is a shame that the decks were not introduced alongside more of the existing instruments to make what I would consider to be a FULL band. I have a lot of friends who would like to use the decks to do the DJ-ing, effects, mixing, beat or Synth and though it would obviously be very complicated to work into the existing game structure it seems a shame that it has not yet been attempted. Perhaps this is one for the future, who knows. Until then I will silently await the day when a DJ can join my band, perhaps even like an equil. Perhaps.
Until next time
GuitarGirl24
