Disclaimer: This game was provided for review by Activision Blizzard.

I have a confession to make: I didn’t get into Guitar Hero until the third game, which surprises everyone I know because I’ve played virtually every iteration of Guitar Hero and Rock Band since I got hooked on it.  Since then I’ve made a vow to keep a closer eye on the rhythm games genre.  Like everybody else, I took note of DJ Hero because it seemed infathomable – a totally new peripheral for a new type of music simulator?  This definitely warranted checking out, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to review it.

Developer: FreeStyleGames
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Genre: Music simulator
Console(s): Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2

The verdict: DJ Hero is absolutely fantastic; it’s imaginative, creative, and easily one of the best rhythm games ever released.  It’s an expensive package, but DJ Hero isn’t something to be missed.

Music simulators have been all the rage ever since Guitar Hero demonstrated what could be done with good peripheral design and the right soundtrack.  Now that Guitar Hero has come out with five games, countless spinoffs and expansion packs for pretty much everything with a screen, isn’t it time for something new?  Lo and behold, FreeStyleGames set to work on a new peripheral for a game designed to simulate what it would be like to be a DJ.  The studio should be very proud of its work: An intuitive turntable, a great soundtrack, and a lot of fan service for DJs characterize this superb, albeit pricey package.

A new member of the peripheral family

DJ Hero comes packaged with the essential turntable, which a lot of effort evidently went into.  The game wins several points immediately for the peripheral’s accessibility: It’s nearly the height of a PS3 Slim, a few inches wider, and extremely light.  It’s also wireless and registration is never an issue whether you put the turntable on your lap, a table, or even on the floor in front of the TV.  There are two halves: The record platter and the mixer, which can be easily adjusted for whether you’re left or right handed.

The idea of adjusting to a newer, more complex peripheral after spending so much time with guitars and drums may sound daunting, but any fears are misplaced.  DJ Hero features several brief tutorials with Grandmaster Flash that walk you through the basics, then some more advanced components of the turntable.  You have three stream buttons similar to the five on guitar peripherals, and you have to tap the buttons whenever their icons enter the hit zone at the bottom.  The turntable can also be used in tandem with stream buttons to “scratch” the track, which is also indicated by an on-screen signal.  On the mixer, the Crossfader is required for streaming moves indicated on the screen.

The turntable peripheral is solid and feels great, incorporating a lot of new elements without making it too complicated. I went into this game expecting to do terrible on my first songs, but after the tutorial I was doing songs on medium and hard scoring four stars.  The controls feel like riding a bike; once you get the basics down you’ll instinctively know what to do.  Everything is responsive and seamless, and the record platter is utilized in a few really creative ways that make the experience much more immersive.  You’ll regularly be scratching, and if you do well enough on a particular section you’ll also be able to use the record platter to “rewind” your song and repeat the section to increase your points.  This is an excellent piece of new hardware that lends itself to a very original music game experience.

The only iffy part of the turntable is the Crossfader, which is a little stodgy in terms of controls.  You can move it seamlessly from the center to the left and right positions, but maybe a little too seamlessly.  Sometimes you’ll just move it from left to right without realizing it, potentially costing you a 50 or 100 hit streak when you make an error.  It requires some extra concentration to not move the Crossfader too heavy-handedly and there will still be a few issues once you do, but getting used to it doesn’t take too long.

Colored notes and crossfading

Gameplay progresses much like the Guitar Hero series – you’ll be able to access set lists, pick characters, outfits, decks, headphones, and customizable sample spins.  You’re given a number of stars based on how well you do on a mix, and the more stars you collect, the more you unlock.  You’ll gain access to new set lists, venues, characters, and more based on how many stars you collect, so the game rewards the player’s skill.  It still feels more accommodating to newcomers since you never fail out of a song; it keeps going even if you’re missing every hit.  Conversely, there are a lot of opportunities for skilled players to show off; Star Power takes the form of Euphoria which can be triggered using a button on the mixer.

A music game is as good as its soundtrack, and DJ Hero really shines here.  There are over 100 licensed master tracks organized into 94 original mixes.  There’s an immense amount of diversity across different music genres: Queen is mixed with Beastie Boys, Dizzee Rascal is mixed with DJ Shadow, Marvin Gaye is mixed with Gorillaz, and that’s only scratching the surface.  For DJ fans there’s also a lot of star power since DJs have lent their artistic talent in avatars and mix recordings to DJ Hero.  Grandmaster Flash, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Daft Punk, and DJ Shadow are among several avatars that appear as DJs you can use.

The turntable, soundtrack, and unlockables blend together to create an immersive and immensely satisfying single player experience in DJ Hero.  Unlike in some previous Guitar Hero games where you mostly powered through the career mode in order to unlock all of the songs, it’s just flat out fun to scratch the record or watch in satisfaction as you pull off several difficult crossfader tricks.  Single player feels much stronger than most music simulators, and don’t be surprised if you find yourself unconsciously moving to the beat or even raising your hand to the imaginary crowd.

A costly DJ session

The downside to this wonderful experience is what everyone has griped about: The price tag.  Admittedly DJ Hero comes packaged with the necessarily peripheral, but $110 is really pushing it, especially since you could get two full priced games for that much money.  Of course, it begs the question: Is it worth $110?  Personally I’d say so, but the price may alienate people regardless.

The other problem is that while some multiplayer options are offered, this isn’t a party game in the vein of Guitar Hero.  A DJ and a guitarist can actually team up locally, which is a really clever idea on paper but your options are severely limited.  You’re only allowed to do this for ten songs so it will get old very quickly.  This issue extends to a lot of areas; DJ Hero has a terrific single player experience, but customization and multiplayer leave a lot to be desired.  There’s no create your own DJ option and making your own set list is unintuitive and cumbersome.

Final mix

DJ Hero breathes innovation into a genre saturated with guitar games and utilizes its own formula to become a wholly engrossing experience.  It may not be the best game to have at a party, but this music simulator will suck up hours of your time as you rack up stars, unlock new setlists, and learn to adapt to the superb turntable.