No more pennies to weigh down the needle from skipping, Activision’s DJ Hero is the real deal without scratching your vinyls.  Growing up in the late 80’s to early 90’s everyone either wanted to be a DJ, were friends with a DJ or tried scratching on their grandparents old turntables.  Heck, my older brother, DJ Gonz, mixed it up in the 90’s snatching up every milk crate he knew of within a 10 mile radius.  Fifteen years later, how will this DJ simulation game compare to the real thing?

Hardware worth gaming on. Before even inserting the DJ Hero disc, I examined the turntable controller bundled in with the standard version of DJ Hero.  Amazingly, the turntable controller felt sturdy and the feedback for the wireless connection was spot on.  Included are two AA batteries for the turntable, a wireless USB adapter and game disc including 93 original exclusive mixes.

Last night a DJ saved my game. Everyone knows a DJ can make or break a great party, well it’s no different in DJ Hero. The 93 original exclusive mixes come from none other then the best, Grand Master Flash, DJ AM, DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Shadow are just to name a few. While some of the playable  DJ’s in the game are fictional Activision provides a biography and gives them comical and entertaining personalities. Customizing your turntable, headphones and outfits are all unlockable as you attain more stars upon set-list completion. You can also play as the famous real life DJ’s as well.

If you mix it they will come. It doesn’t get any better in DJ Hero then when you’re asked to mix artists across several decades. My favorite mix has to be Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby”, versus MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This”. Although Black Eye Peas’s “Boom Boom Pow”, versus Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” was pretty hot.  I challenge you to not bob your head while playing — go ahead, I triple challenge you!

Learn to Scratch-n-Mix. By far the most interactive tutorial in the “Hero” series, DJ Hero’s Grandmaster Flash takes you into his recording studio teaching you how to crossfade, scratch and master the effects dial. Using the perfect tutorial song, you’ll practice with Queen’s “Another One Bites The Dust” and Daft Punks “Da Funk”.  DJ Flash’s condescending tone makes you think it’s easier than it is.  Pay him no attention, he’s only a founding father of record mixing.

Attention to detail. Playable track looks like classic vinyl record. When a mistake is made you’ll hear a sound like a needle on a blank record.  Similar to Guitar Hero — playing the track on the neck of the guitar — DJ Hero features a spinning vinyl as your track surface.  Strategically placed advertising has become a stitch in the industry and DJ Hero shows them here as well.  The included “resume countdown” is a nice feature.  If you pause during any set-list song it gives you a “3, 2, 1″ count down before the track resumes.  Clever set list names shows you thought went into them, i.e. Scratching the Surface.  During loading time in between saves and set-lists you will notice the old record insert our parents and grandparents would use to convert their old 33’s to 45’s. The Euphoria button, or as the Guitar Hero people would know as star power feature, blinks red on the turntable controller when ready to be used to double your points in an attempt to get that fifth star!

Merging of two worlds, don’t put your guitar away just yet. You know a “Hero” game would not be the same without the inclusion of the Guitar. While all tracks are not guitar compatible some are which means double the fun. The Activision folks didn’t want Guitar Hero to lose its rock roots so the song selection that’s let’s you rock out with your DJ comrade are strategically selected. Some artists that you can rock out with are:  Foo Fighters, Motorhead, Foreigner and Zakk Wylde.

Party game for home use or clubs. DJ Hero is already getting the popular reception it deserves.  During set lists there’s no break in between songs, just like being at a club the DJ goes right into the next song.  The entire package will cost you $120 for the basic and $200 for the “Renegade Edition” featuring Eminem and Jay-Z.

Spin it back. By far the best feature is the “Rewind”.  When you play enough beats in a row you’ll be able to spin the turntable backwards allowing you to replay the track and getting double points for it.  This is just one more aspect of DJ Hero that brings out the realism in the game.  When I “Rewind”, I tend to spin the wheel similar to a clown with plates.  Let it rip baby!

Pros
Turntable feels solid
Song combination’s
Number of playable tracks
Rewind/Scratching feature

Cons
Long load/save times
PS button access panel
No online lobby

Final Thought: DJ Hero could very well be the next musical instrumented game with the most potential. Thanks to the classic Guitar Hero franchise look, DJ Hero steps in with a solid foundation of gameplay, originality and a fresh re-birth for music games. I was never a fan of the cumbersome hardware for complete band games, but this compact yet sturdy turntable fits the bill. Songs made for parties, I’m confident in saying it’s the most well rounded playlist created in the genre. Believe me, you’ll want to pick up DJ Hero up and work out your carpal tunnel (the good kind). After all, its DJ Gonz approved. Wicka-Wicka, REWIND!

9/10

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OK, so are you ready for some for Karaoke fun? Yeah I thought so, from the creators of the Singstar series the geniuses over at Sony have done it again. Their latest release features the unique voice of none other then Freddy Mercury in Queen.  Everyone knows at least one Queen song or another, there are 25 chart topping songs and music videos by rock legend Queen featured on the disc. Here are a couple of my favorites  that make up the playlist: “Don’t Stop Me Now”, “I Want to Break Free”, “Fat Bottomed Girls”, “Another One Bites the Dusk”, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”.

Trying to imitate Freddy Mercury is no easy task which means… multiple hours of laughing your behinds off at your friends attempting this difficult task! There are only 25 songs in all but hopefully we can all look forward to Singstar to add more Queen songs through the Singstar store.

From the get go this latest Singstar release captivated me with the voice command technology. No controller needed here my friends. Instead you select your track through voice command using your microphone. I mean yeah sure I must sound funny to my neighbors yelling “go left”, “go right” and “select” but come on no controller required! On the other hand your PS3 controller must be connected to your PS3 at all times or you will be interrupted upon disconnection, a bit annoying.

Being a child of the 80’s and remembering the good old days when MTV actually played music videos this is a great feature to this game. While “attempting” to sing I Want To Break Free I was constantly distracted by the video playing in the background. Just to give you a small preview the video features a Freddy Mercury dressed like a woman vacuuming…very odd.

Similar to the other Singstar games this version makes you sing in tune (no easy task) while the video plays in the background. The battle part of the game is pretty fun as you can battle with a second player singing different sections of the song. The more in tune you are the more points you score, or you can just sing a duet with the person you love for a combined score.

Here is a list of all the SingStar Queen tracks via youtube video:

1. Queen – A King of Magic
2. Queen – Another One Bites the Dust
3. Queen – Bicycle Race
4. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Queen – Breakthru
6. Queen – Crazy Little Thing Called Love
7. Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
8. Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
9. Queen – Hammer to Fall
10. Queen – I Want It All
11. Queen – I Want to Break Free
12. Queen – Innuendo
13. Queen – Killer Queen
14. Queen – One Vision
15. Queen – Play the Game
16. Queen – Radio Ga Ga
17. Queen – Somebody to Love
18. Queen – The Show Must Go On
19. Queen – These Are the Days of Our Lives
20. Queen – Tie Your Mother Down
21. Queen – Under Pressure
22. Queen – We Are The Champions
23. Queen – We Will Rock You
24. Queen – Who Wants to Live Forever
25. Queen – You’re My Best Friend

Bottom line, this game is fun for all ages and at a economical cost of just $29.99 this game is just to hard to pass up .  Most may find reaching Freddy Mercury’s vocal range very difficult  but,  if you love Queen music nothing else will matter.

7.5/10

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