UK, October 26, 2009 - Apart from that one time we got drunk at a party and kept trying to play Erasure on iTunes, none of us in the office ever really had much experience DJing. Certainly not the kind that involves turntables, cross-faders and a near infinite number of beguiling yet utterly inexplicable twinkling knobs.
That's the joy of the 'Hero' franchise, and its ilk though; deftly conjuring the illusion of musicianship through the perfect marriage of music, game mechanics and small, wobbly plastic peripherals so that even tone-deaf buffoons can live the life of musical messiah, albeit fleetingly. And, just as Rock Band and Guitar Hero before it bought the swagger of power chords and groupies to the masses, DJ Hero does the same for decks.
In some ways though, it's misleading to link the franchises together. While similar in basic concept - from overarching intentions right down to interface - DJ Hero offers an experience that differs considerably from current, all-too-familiar peripheral-based fare. Indeed, while the façade may remain the same, DJ Hero demands a total reset for rhythm-action aficionados with a whole host of new tricks to explore.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/103/1038894/dj-hero-20091026091326432-000.jpg)
FreeStyleGames knows it though and even the cockiest genre fans would do well to sit through DJ Hero's comprehensive tutorial, hosted by Grand Master Flash himself. Here, you're guided gently through the game's five core mechanics - simple button taps, cross-fading, scratching, effects and, DJ Hero's equivalent of Star Power, Euphoria. It's an expertly-judged start to the game and puts you through your paces before you're let loose on DJ Hero proper.
From the outset, DJ Hero is intuitive enough so that all but the most fearful player is likely to plump for 'Medium' difficulty, with lower levels hacking out core mechanics and significantly underselling the DJ Hero experience. That said, it takes some time to turn your early lessons into practical proficiency as you fumble through your initial sets, honing your coordination to keep up with the shifting track paths, gems and scratch lines, not to mention effect and sample opportunities.
In fact, for the first hour or so, DJ Hero is somewhat underwhelming, particularly if you're familiar with the often punishing requirements of progress in Guitar Hero. You see, FreeStyleGames has completely overhauled the notion of progression in its game and it takes a while to grasp the method in its madness.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/103/1038894/dj-hero-20091026091330244-000.jpg)
For a start, and brace yourself here, you can't fail in DJ Hero. The game is grouped into 24 sets of songs, the majority locked at the start, each consisting of anywhere between three and five tracks. Once a set begins though, you're going to see it through to the end, with DJ Hero preferring to punish your ears than test your patience with endless retries. At the end of each set, all its songs are unlocked across the various quick play modes and your performance is graded by stars, acting as currency to unlock new sets, characters, stadiums, decks, outfits and more.
At first, DJ Hero practically lobs fists of the things at you, meaning you'll quickly unlock an enormous number of tracks to dip in and out of. Gradually though, those all-important stars become more elusive. It's no longer simply a case of playing the game to progress; instead you'll need to learn its intricacies and learn them well.
Whereas other games prefer to use increased difficulty levels to thrust you into a world of ambidextrous pain, each step up DJ Hero's ladder merely adds an extra layer of complexity to proceedings. So while every basic mechanic is available at 'Medium' difficulty, the stabilisers are on with simplified cross-fading and auto-scratching. It's surprisingly easy to rise through the ranks to Expert and, it seems, deliberately so, with FreeStyleGames clearly keen to nudge everyone up to the full game experience as quickly as possible.
Here, cross-fading between tracks is more devious and directional scratching is introduced but, more importantly, it's in 'Expert' that the correlation between the music and your actions is clearest. That plastic peripheral stops feeling like a plastic peripheral and more like the gateway to fearsome musical empowerment.
While reaching 'Expert' is often the end-point in other music games, it's only the beginning in DJ Hero. Those elusive four- and five-star ratings are tied inextricably to DJ Hero's multiplier system, which in turn is bound directly to your own abilities, Suddenly, what seemed like arbitrary features earlier are crucial to progression. With each gem hit, your multiplier builds, and nailing a 'perfect' track segment activates your Euphoria button.
Build your multiplier enough and you'll gain access to the rewind feature meaning you can spin the turntable back to ace the same section of the song again. Used in conjunction with Euphoria - which thrusts your multiplier up to eight - everything suddenly slots into place, your hands perfectly synchronised with the music and your points eking out those upper rankings. Amazingly too, because of the way DJ Hero is structured, there's still a massive number of - much, much trickier - songs to unlock. Sensibly, it's in these upper echelons of sets that DJ Hero hides its heavier, all-stars mixes, meaning dedicated DJ fans have plenty of reason to keep the platters spinning.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/103/1038894/dj-hero-20091026091333822-000.jpg)
Of course, unlike its bedfellows, DJ Hero is predominantly a single-player experience, largely due to the prohibitive cost of its turntable peripheral. Two-player modes, whether against a second turntable or even guitar peripheral are fun but, truthfully, slightly anaemic. Turntable to turntable sees two combatants playing the same track to maximise their final score tally but there isn't the compulsive interplay of similar modes we've seen elsewhere - although the inspired dash to reach the effect dial first and rack up the points is far, far more hilarious than it has any right to be. Likewise, turntable and guitar battles, while adding variety to the package, are limited by necessarily repetitive guitar notations.
However, while designed primarily as a single-player experience, that doesn't mean it doesn't work in a social environment. And, for that, you can thank the music. With 93 mash-ups at hand, you could assume some offerings would fare better than others. It's testament to FreeStyleGames' supremely talented London studio - made entirely of professional DJs - that there simply isn't a duff track on the disc. In-house mixes stand tall alongside all-star offerings from the likes of DJ Shadow, Daft Punk and DJ Jazzy Jeff, making for a supremely cohesive, consistently high-quality package.
Each mix is deftly assembled from two, often hugely diverse, genre-spanning tracks and fashioned with such commanding skill that all but the most curmudgeonly party pooper is likely to be tapping along in no time. It means that DJ Hero is the very definition of a party game and, even though you might be taking it in turn to get on the decks, there's still plenty of dancing to be done in the interim. In fact, one of the very best things about DJ Hero is how refreshingly inclusive the whole thing is. Unlike Guitar Hero, which increasingly alienates with its obscure rock pretentions and awkward concessions to overly US-ccentric mainstream appeal, DJ Hero isn't scared to be frivolous and fun - say hello, Paula Abdul vs. Vanilla Ice - simply because it has faith in the astonishing quality of its music.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/103/1038894/dj-hero-20091026091322823-000.jpg)
In truth, quibbles with the game are relatively minor. While there's certainly room for improvement in multiplayer modes come the inevitable DJ Hero 2, the only other minor blemish comes from the peripheral itself. By and large, the accompanying turntable is impressive; it's compact, light and yet reassuringly sturdy. Buttons have just the right amount of give, turntable traction is more or less spot-on and flourishes such as outer grip and hide-away console-specific controls hit the right balance between practical and aesthetically sound.
It's the cross-fader that's likely to irk the most with a distinct lack of snap when it reaches the centre point. It's all too easy to overshoot and screw up your perfect run, particularly in the game's more testing sequences. However, while it's sensitive enough to recognise minimal nudges, negating the issue slightly as you become more familiar with its quirks, complex quick-fade sequences later in the game still cause problems, and it's likely to frustrate more cack-handed participants who aren't obsessive perfectionists.
Closing Comments
Those quibbles aside though, we're full of praise for FreeStyleGames' sterling work on its inaugural franchise debut. DJ Hero is a beautifully structured experience that understands the rhythm-action genre thoroughly enough to appeal directly to progression-obsessed fans, yet knows how to juggle its goods to offer a music experience that's never frustrating and wears its unpretentious accessibility with pride. Its perfectly-judged difficulty curve ensures there's a richly rewarding sense of accomplishment as you hone your turntable skills and, even if you're just looking for a quick spin, the quality of the game's audio is compelling in itself. Hands-down, it's the most exciting, refreshing music game we've played in ages and, whether on or off the decks, DJ Hero succeeds admirably in its goal to bring people together to party - and isn't that what music's all about?
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