Video Game of the Week – DJ Hero

If you're a video gamer and a music fan but the idea of holding a fake guitar or banging on fake drums doesn't appeal to you, then DJ Hero from Activision might be just the game you're looking for! Instead of turning you into a rock star, DJ Hero puts you in the DJ booth, transforming you into Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow or another of the legendary masters of the turntable.

However, the game comes at a steep price. The DJ Hero bundle, consisting of a game disc, a wireless turntable and a mixer-controller, costs $119.99, which is basically twice the cost of a regular video game.

In DJ Hero, the mixer can be attached to either side of the turntable, so lefties and righties can scratch and fade as they choose. The turntable spins freely in either direction and a row of three colored buttons sits on the platter, similar to the buttons on the guitars in Guitar Hero.

On the screen, one side of a vinyl LP spins toward you with three brightly colored tracks (green, red and blue) to coincide with the physical buttons on the platter. When a hit point appears along the grooves on the screen, you have to tap the corresponding button. Easy right?

Hold on to your hoodie, there's a bit more to it than that!

There are also long paths of arrows that appear on the screen, indicating that you'll need to hold down the correct button and move the turntable back and forth to "scratch" the track. Let up off the scratching too soon and you'll lose the groove, the music will grow quieter, and the club crowd will start to grow restless.

After getting the basics down, you can hit the nightclub circuit. As you work your way through the different club venues and set lists, you acquire "stars", which in turn unlock new set lists, new venues and new DJ gear, such as headphones and turntables. Variety is never an issue – you have a choice of adopting multiple characters and there are over 90 songs included in the game.

Although there are a multitude of single-player options, players can add a second controller for head-to-head DJ action with a friend, or jump online for multi-player action. You can even connect a Guitar Hero controller and blend in a little bit of guitar.

For those music fans that have always aspired to rule over the dance club rather than become a rock star, DJ Hero is a must. For everyone else, if you can afford the price, it's a great variation on the established music beat games and comes with an all-new song list.  

DJ Hero is rated "T" for Teen and includes female avatars in revealing clothing and some song lyrics with sex and drugs references.

Publisher: Activision
Genre: Music
Platforms: PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii
RRP: $120 for the DJ Hero Bundle with Turntable
ESRB Rating: "T" for Teen