Concept:
You are a make believe DJ and play pre-set song mixes.
Keep:
The music. DJ Hero features over ninety unique song mixes. For the most part, they are all pretty good. All the mixes are sorted by genre and DJ artist. The menu system looks similar to an iTunes library browser: scroll to the left or right to pick a list. In particular, my favorites are a DJ Jazzy Jeff list and of course, Daft Punk. The majority of the lists are playable with two DJs (multiplayer) with the exception of one; a rock genre list containing ten song mixes that allow for a DJ and guitar collaboration.
The party function. At any moment, you can decide to ditch the game and put it on auto-play. Of course, you'll be able to hop in at any given time as well.
The functionality of the DJ Hero peripheral. The three main buttons are located on the turntable and while you're required to press them on command, you'll also hold a button down to scratch from time to time. You can easily swap the turntable around, detaching the controls and making the turntable accessible to left or right handed users.
The auto-play mode. DJ Hero works as a game you'll leave on at a party, much like Lips. Jump in at any time to continue playing.
Game customization. There are a variety of options to customize pre-set
charcaters of your choice: hair, costumes, and accessories are a few
examples.
Correct:
The cross fader. There isn't enough resistance to know exactly where
you're situating it during gameplay. This becomes a problem when you're
attempting a song on Hard or Expert.
The lack of a freestyle mode. It'd be great if you could make your own
mixes with the songs available in the game. Playing the preset songs
are fun, but they can lose their appeal after a while. It just
seems fitting to customize a track of your own in a DJ game.
Difficulty. There is a large difference between normal and hard modes. Veteran Guitar Hero or Rock Band gamers won't find much enjoyment out
of this game without attempting to play on hard at all times.
Cut:
The Gwen Stefani mix. Hearing "Hollaback Girl" and the constant drone
of "bananas" more than once isn't necessary for any human being.
Conclusion:
If you're familiar with other music games, it wont be hard to pick up
on how DJ Hero functions. It requires the same synchronized button use
as Guitar Hero with the addition of maneuvering a cross fader and
turntable.
