DJ Hero

Guitar Hero isn’t huge because it slavishly replicates every nuance of skillfully strumming a six-string — it’s a hit because it nails the perceived feeling of shredding like a guitar god. DJ Hero, the first series spin-off, similarly distills the actual experience of creating on-the-spot mash-ups to a set of simple actions and button presses — and it again evokes the sensation behind the act, making you feel like you can command a crowd with your scratching skills.

Rather than simply include a slew of licensed tracks for players to tap along to, the developers at FreeStyleGames and their notable DJ partners (including Daft Punk and Grandmaster Flash) concocted 93 exclusive mixes, pairing together diverse hit singles to create original, playable compositions. Though recorded just for the game, mash-ups like the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” vs. Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” vs. Rick James’ “Give it to Me Baby” sound club-ready, and not a single track seems like a throwaway.

And while DJ Hero certainly takes cues from its progenitor, the game isn’t just Guitar Hero for the hip-hop set. What gives the game its unique flavor is the included turntable controller, which features three colored buttons set atop a fully rotating platter, as well as a side panel containing a crossfader slider, effects dial, and Euphoria (similar to Star Power) button. Aside from an occasionally finicky crossfader and no standard Xbox 360 headset input, the controller is very well done for a first attempt, and manages to simultaneously be stylish, functional, and relatively compact.

The turntable sports a more complex arrangement than your average guitar controller, and while the number of distinct inputs may seem intimidating at first, the tutorials help a great deal. After a couple hours of play, you’ll likely find it easy to move about the controller without looking down — which is a very good thing as DJ Hero exhibits one of the busiest interfaces we’ve seen in a music game. While actions still stream down the screen in a lane, you’ll have to contend with button presses, scratching segments (in which you hold a button and move the platter), and left and right crossfader movements…and that’s not even including optional sound effects and Rewind moves!

However, after overcoming that initial learning curve, the game’s many disparate actions click amazingly well, offering up the kind of harmonious rhythm experience we expect from the genre’s best. Between the original mash-ups, licensed artists and gear, and flashy visual aesthetic, DJ Hero makes a great case for a complete rhythm package, but it does fall short in one respect. Those seeking a robust multiplayer suite like that of Guitar Hero 5 will be sorely disappointed; the game features only straightforward two-player matches and the ability to play co-op with a guitar controller on 10 tracks.

Remedying that oversight should be the first entry on the to-do list for the inevitable sequel, but even without robust multiplayer, DJ Hero remains a thoroughly engaging new experience that is well-deserving of its heroic namesake.