I’ve made it no secret that I love the music game genre; Guitar Hero and Rock Band have been staples in my house for nearly as long as colorfully-buttoned plastic guitar replica game controllers have been around. Lately, though, there has been talk of “oversaturation”, that the market has peaked. DJ Hero challenges that assumption, and stretches the genre into a new direction. My initial impressions of the game were very good, but I couldn’t wait to dig in and experience it on my own terms. From my review:
Set lists in the first half of the game primarily consist of the more popular familiar tunes such as “Another One Bites The Dust” vs. “Brass Monkey” and “Hollaback Girl” vs. “Give it to Me Baby”, adhering more to the mashup style of mixing and cutting. The really good stuff comes later on when you unlock the DJ set pieces- Daft Punk, DJ AM, DJ Shadow, Z-Trip, etc. It is in these sets that a gradual shift can be noticed towards more experimental raw turntablism, climaxing in a final glorious set provided by notable DJ group the Scratch Perverts; their mix based on NOSIA’s “Groundhog (Beat Juggle)” is altered so much from the original via cutting and scratching that it is virtually unrecognizable, and brilliantly demonstrates how far two turntables and a microphone can really go.
Put simply, I had a blast with this game. What am I hoping for in a sequel? Drum support would be a perfect fit, for one. Being able to drum along in a co-op mode seems like a no-brainer. A true freestyle mode where you can pick the individual tracks for your own mix and scratch and cut away on the fly sounds like fun. And speaking of co-op modes, two players on turntables swapping off or contributing their own elements to the mix rather than the current multiplayer mode where both players play the exact same thing would be a good addition as well. I am definitely hoping sales warrant a sequel.
