Yesterday we began our countdown of your favourite music videogame of all time. Today we bring you the third most voted title and tomorrow you’ll find out what was voted in at two. On Bank Holiday Monday we’ll have our winner.
The expensive price tag aside, DJ Hero has charted extremely well considering its lack of uptake from launch when the game was released in October 2009.
Developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a spin-off from the popular Guitar Hero series, the development into DJ Hero was especially unique.
Unlike other music games, all 93 mixes featured on the disc were specially created for the game from famous DJ’s and artists including DJ Shadow, Z-Trip, Eminem, Grandmaster Flash and Jazzy Jeff. That might explain the hefty £99.99 retail price which was met with criticism from its announcement in early 2009. Bundled with a turntable which would act like the real thing, many thought music games were now becoming out-of-touch with the casual gamer and inaccessible due to price.
However, DJ Hero was met with some superb reviews including our very own. The turntable was a solid piece of kit which included the ability to spin and rewind as well as cross fading and pressing buttons to act as beats within a mix.
Two songs are generally mixed together and that includes a great variety of genres from 80s and 90s music through to Dance, RnB and Rap. Just about everything is covered for music fans and despite some initial bizarre sounding mixes, each and everyone pretty much works extremely well.
The difficulty curve was also welcomed with seasoned Guitar Hero players seemingly confused by the layout and cross fading which needed to be expertly undertaken.Failing songs was not an option, but being rewarded for receiving more stars meant that you’d unlock more songs and characters as well as outfits. Those with a guitar however could strum along to the particularly weak DJ vs. Guitar songs, a low-point for the title.
Game modes are lacking however but the artistic interface and bright neon buzz from nightclubs is fully captured in the home. The online mode is poorly implemented and has no ranking system as such. The strongpoint for DJ Hero though is its superb mixes and peripheral which is sturdy and well designed.
Like its brother, Guitar Hero, the game offers DLC from the likes of Eminem and Jay Z as well, however it comes at a hefty price-tag of around £6 for three mixes. With little support in this area, it looks unlikely to grow further before the sequel arrives later this year.
The game won various videogame awards for innovation in 2009 and is probably has the single-best playlist of any music game ever.
Tomorrow we’ll find out what you voted in at two. Will it be Guitar Hero or Rock Band? Comment below on the vote.
