To make your experience with DJ Hero more enjoyable run through the introduction and tutorial stages before jumping into any other gameplay mode. It is actually quite entertaining and the completely original lead-ins by Grandmaster Flash himself are worth the price of admission. Each one of the somewhat 100 songs in DJ Hero have two tracks, one controlled by the green button and the other by the blue button; the red button in the middle is used for unique in-song additions and tweaks. This three-button setup is the basis for all gameplay throughout the title; that being said there is so much more to learn for the advanced player. There is a large range of difficulty stages available in DJ Hero, thankfully, and with each step-up the game ads another level of complexity. That’s where the real high scope of replayability is, reminding me of Guitar Hero II; it’s something super difficult to attain but so worth the effort and practice it takes to get there.
DJ Hero is one of those games that can be used to impress your friends, or totally smash your enemies in; based on how much effort you put into building your turntable skills. Because all the games released in the music genre recently revolve around a “band” atmosphere, it’s been a long time since a game has given us that unique “practice til your fingers bleed” feeling. DJ Hero somehow manages to captures that yet be totally accessible to a twenty-something year-old female that spends more time in the mirror than with an Xbox 360 controller in her hand. Because the development team were creating something brand new with DJ, they decided to keep the game modes simple; basically the only thing to do in the game is have fun. As I said earlier there is no campaign mode so the meat and potatoes consists of different set lists, broken up by artist and other styles. There is also a free-play mode and your standard music-genre multiplayer options, including the ability to join turntable and guitar for some co-op insanity.
As if there wasn’t enough content on the disc already – being a music video game there is sure to be downloadable content (DLC) making the rounds on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace very soon. DJ Hero is not a cheap investment, but considering the unique perspective it takes on music entertainment and how much fun it is to just sit down a spin a couple digital records I have to fully recommend this game to anyone who is interested. Since it came into the office it has taken over as the number one requested “party game” when people stop by, even if those gamers are not what most would consider hardcore. It has the ability to reach into the core of nearly anyone and bring out that experience that games of this type should result in. DJ Hero is in stores around the world today – my advice is to save up and make the investment, as the hardware, gameplay, and actual content are all top-notch.
