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When the original DJ Hero was announced last year, it was met with mixed expectations from press and gamers alike. That was, of course, until it was in everyone’s hands. Activision’s new franchise IP was a hit. After just a few hours with the new turntable peripheral it was clear that the often scrutinized publisher had delivered a refreshing breeze to the stagnating rhythm game genre. DJ Hero 2 extends the turntable experience in some subtle, but game fundamental, ways to avoid the expected ‘cash in’ and provides a true sequel that warrants a place on store shelves.
When I first booted up the game I was met by a drop-in-and-play screen allowing players to get started without even entering a menu system. Mixes will play on loop and players can chose to get started or select the menu screen which has been extremely streamlined in DJ Hero 2. No clutter, just the essentials. Players can then start the new Empire mode, go online or just play some mixes. One feature that seemed a bit out of place in DJ Hero 1 was the guitar coop mode which has been dropped and replaced with a singing / rapping vocal mode that unfortunately disappoints. While I would have liked a ‘hype man’ type mode in cooperation with freestyle sections, a full on singing mode where I am required to sing and rap while being interrupted by rewind is not something enjoyable.
What is enjoyable however, are all the other new features FreeStyleGames incorporated into DJ Hero 2. Freestyle sections are no longer generic samples players choose from a list and execute by button mashing whenever prompted but integrated song specific samples. Button mashing will no longer score you points either as those sections need to be performed in sync with the mix. Having a feel for the song and rhythm is important and satisfying when pulled off. Another new feature are the cross fade freestyle sections where players really get to mix the two tracks at will and have fun being creative. This may be the strongest and most requested new item in DJ Hero 2 – it allows for players to actually ‘feel’ like a DJ. In addition to the cross fade freestyle parts, there are now freestyle scratching sections, allowing players to create their own sound. The final new major gameplay element I got to enjoy are the held notes. In addition to tapping buttons, players are now required to press and hold notes which can also be modified during gameplay.
As I have mentioned before, DJ Hero 2 has a new career mode called Empire. Players chose a generic DJ template, create their label and hit the road while stopping at venues like Ibiza and Las Vegas. When performing in clubs around the world, gone are the upgradable venues and equipment from DJ Hero 1, players will either perform a series of mixes between 3 and 5 or battle other famous DJs. A nice touch when playing all the different mixes is that one will transition into the next creating a seamless change with hints of the next mix during the end of the first as it would be done in a real club. This is another nice piece of detail which adds to the overall experience.
I really feel that FreeStyleGames has put a lot of effort into creating a proper sequel to DJ Hero 1. The game is polished and feels very intuitive with some of the best mixes we have heard in a rhythm game to date. Players who are into competition will not only be able to battle AI and real players in the Versus mode but are automatically competing against players on their friends list as the game keeps track of the score for each mix. This competitive feature had me going back to many mixes more than once.
There aren’t really many bad things I can say about DJ Hero 2. The new features are well implemented and improved fun factor and gameplay experience alike. The game has great music, friends list leaderboard integration and iterated on its predecessor in a way that makes me want to come back for more. The vocal implementation was really the only thing I can ding DJ Hero 2 on but my tip is to simply ignore it. In the coming weeks we can also expect a patch which will allow players to import all their DJ Hero 1 mixes which will add tons of songs and elevate DJ Hero 2 to a platform similar to Rock Band. If you were a fan of the first game then this is a definite purchase and players getting into the genre have a perfect starting point in DJ Hero 2.
Score: 8.5 / 10
DJ Hero 2 was developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii on October 19th. A copy of the game, mic and 2 turntables of the Xbox 360 version were provided to us by Activision for reviewing purposes.
