As a child born in the mid-seventies, I grew up listening to the music of my parents, aunts, and uncles. It was a time when cruising, and keggers were still the in thing. I remember being dragged to late night parties, and someone would have to show off their new stereo, and inevitably Zep, Heart, or Floyd would come blasting out. This is the music I still hold most dear. When I was in the third grade, we moved to an area of Seattle, that was a little closer to my parents’ place of business. It was a crazy time in my life. Instead of being at a school where my life long friends were at, I transfered to a school where I was the only white kid. It was a crazy place. It was a giant warehouse that they put carpet and office style cubicles. The gym teacher looked like Alice from the Brady Bunch, but she would come to class rocking a Fila track suit. We spent most of our PE classes break dancing. With me already being a fish out of water, I had to adapt my musical tastes to fit in. My Van Halen and Rolling Stones shirts, would certainly get me mocked. That is about the time Run DMC , hit with Rock Box, and I was hooked ever since. I always enjoyed music, and I even tried playing a few different instruments, but my parents gave me an ultimatum. I had to make a choice, it was either sports or music. I chose cheerleaders. My teenage years were spent listening to rap music. I loved the anger and ferocity that came out of the mouths of NWA, Ice Cube, and Public Enemy. It became the soundtrack of my teen angst, and also a motivator for sports. I always had my Walkman fully stocked with new batteries, and some fresh beats. To this day I still have two milk crates full of those memories. Damn, there was some bad gangsta rap.
Fast forward to November 2007. I helped some friends move, and I was given a $100 gift card to store near my house. The store was a pharmacy type store, but it had a video game section. I ended picking up a major curiosity to me, a Guitar Hero III bundle for my PS3. I didn’t really know much about Guitar Hero at the time, but I loved the set list that was listed on the back. I got it home, and after figuring it out, I got to rocking. My family loved it, but there was only one guitar. A few weeks later Rock Band hit the scene, and it was an ever bigger hit in my house, thanks to the family getting to play. A bunch of DLC and RB 2 purchased, and Rock Band became the music game franchise in my household. We purchased Guitar Hero World Tour, just to check out their whole band mechanics, and for the Tool songs. It wasn’t very good, and was quickly traded while it still had value. From that point on I swore I would NEVER purchase another “Hero” game.
Last year, Activision released a new genre to the “Hero” franchise. They launched a new IP called DJ Hero, along with a new turn table peripheral. I was doing some Christmas shopping last winter, and I came across a DJ Hero set-up. I messed around with it for a few minutes, it was a demo unit so kids had it almost destroyed. I thought it was interesting, and I liked the music, but not at the price it was going for. A few different times I have seen it for a cheaper price, but there was usually another game I wanted more. I kept passing over it, until last Thursday. My family and I had to make a run to the local Toys ‘R’ Us, to pick up a present for a niece’s birthday. While sauntering through the video game section, I noticed that the DJ Hero bundle was on the last day of a 2 day sale. It carried a price of $19.99, and to the register I went. I thought if it sucked I could always trade it in. Off I went, to scratch my way through some tracks.
Upon un-boxing, I was pleasantly surprised. With my living room already cluttered with enough plastic instruments to start a few bands, I was happy that the scratch pad was no bigger around than my PS3, and it slid easily under my entertainment center. The controller is built very sturdy, but the buttons and knobs feel real cheap.The controller is wireless, and it actually pretty easy to use sitting down. Some days after a long hot day of work I like to unwind with some Rock Band, but with this I don’t have to jump around on my sore feet. The 93 song track list is pretty strong with some songs providing awesome surprises. One thing that annoyed me was, the fact that Activision used so many of the same songs. Not just the songs but different variations of the same mix.
The game play is what caught me the most. It really is a fun take on the way to play a music game. Game play is almost a cross between a racing game, Guitar Hero, and disc golf. Anyone who has played a guitar based game will pick this up fairly easy. There are only 3 buttons, and a cross-fader to worry about. I found hitting the buttons were not a problem at all, it was trying to keep the cross-fader on the right track, that raised the difficulty bar. As you go up in difficulty, the fades come at you faster and in short bursts. It will have you switching tracks very quickly, and it will feel like you are driving down a steep, windy hill, without brakes. Once you get the groove it all falls into place, and you will actually develop a relaxed smile. That last phrase is one thing I never thought I would say, about playing an Activision game. It is true though, the game is really damn fun. It was worth every penny and I wish I had bought a second, so my family and I could play some co-op. With the announcement of DJ Hero 2, up until last week, I couldn’t have cared less. What was an afterthought, has turned into a blip on my radar. Might have to pick up a bundle though, so I can scratch with the fam, or use the new feature to link two decks together. If you like music games or this kind of music, you should check it out. I am sure with a little looking around, you can get it at a good price.
