For the past six days, I’ve been playing DJ Hero a lot.  Not non-stop, but a lot.  Anytime I’ve had a chance between my busy work schedule and the two Halloween parties, I would be playing DJ Hero.  For the people that are still on the fence on this new music rhythm game, go past the break for my review.

Gameplay

If you’ve played with the toy “Bop It”, you’ll instantly love this game. because it’s just like it.  “Bop It” is a spin off of Simon.  But instead of repeating a pattern of colored lights, you would need to follow the instructions of what the announcer says. You either bop it, flick it, spin it, pull it, or twist it.  For DJ Hero, you’re either tapping a color button, “scratching” the turntable, flicking the crossfader, or twisting the effects knob. So, just imagine the toy Bop It, but with a beat and with 93 mash-ups.

Unlike Rock Band, where your hands are just pushing buttons and strumming and are essentially in one position, you’re hands on the DJ Hero controller are everywhere. The big learning curve for this game is the crossfader.  It’s easy to forget what position your crossfader is in at the time.  But, just like any game, with practice it’ll come naturally.

One thing I found rather odd is that there isn’t a full list of songs you can scroll up and down on like Guitar Hero or Rock Band.  To find songs you need to go through several “set lists”.  Each set list has it’s own genre and number of mashed-up songs. And even worse, you need to unlock every set list in order to play the songs in them.

When playing, you’ll notice that there is no such thing as failing. There isn’t a meter that tells you how good or bad you are doing. The crowd never boos at you and the only point of the game is to play for points and stars.  Gaining stars will help you unlock more songs, characters, DJ decks, locations, and outfits.

Also, one last thing about the gameplay isn’t really gameplay at all.  The awesome feature that you can let the game music play on its own like a party jukebox without having to play it is really awesome.

Graphics

With any rhythm game, graphics aren’t really the point of the game and isn’t really focused on during development.  As long as the player can easily see what he/she has to do to “play” the song, graphics are not really a factor. But of course, something flashy will always make the game more pleasing. From the dancers, DJs, stages, and crowds, everything looked very basic to today’s standards in life-like looking graphics.

Sound

93 mashed-up songs is what pulled me into the game.  10 original Daft Punk remixes is what led me to my local GameStop and pre-order my first toy turntable.  If you’re a fan of old school hip hop, real rap, techno beats, and some rock and roll mashed-up, then you’ll definitely love the sounds from this game. If you’re into only country music, keep waiting for that country hero game. There hasn’t been a song I didn’t want to play.  Usually, when I play Rock Band, I always have a set number of songs that I like to play mainly because I know and like those songs. The rest, I couldn’t care less about. But, with DJ Hero, each song was unique.  A mash-up of 2 different genres or songs just makes one awesome song.

Overall

If you liked Bop It, the toy, then get this game.  It’ll keep you busy and entertained with it’s 93 songs. There is somewhat of a learning curve with the crossfader, but keep at it. DJ Hero is out in stores now and is $119.