DJ Hero: The Next Big Thing?
A look at the newest craze…
I bought my 11 year old son the DJ Hero game today. All $120.00 worth. And of course, I couldn’t get him to bed fast enough… so I could give it a shot. Which I did, for several hours. Like Guitar Hero and Rock Band before it, this is a game as much for the parents as it was for the kids; with some notable exceptions.
First of all, the dimensions of the equipment are more specifically designed for small people. I have fairly large hands, and it was, at times, rather awkward for me. The music will also be an obvious issue in the crossing of generational boundaries. With the guitar and band games, a parent had the option of musical selections from different eras. Games focusing on the Beatles, Metallica, and Aerosmith are of course going to appeal as much to a 40 year old as a 14 year old. The music from DJ Hero is obviously far more oriented toward a younger demographic.
But on to the game itself… Having never even seen a turntable up close, most people will not have the same frame of reference they did with a guitar or drums… everyone has played air guitar at some point, but has anyone air turntabled? The controls aren’t hard to grasp, at least concept wise, and once you have, the game is fun. I do like the brand of music offered, so that wasn’t an issue for me. Most of it was, in fact, rather good.
But after scratching for an hour or two, you realize that the same problem rears its head here that does with the other games. Guitar Hero: Metallica was rather exciting (being a huge Metallica fan) until I realized It was still just Guitar Hero with different songs. Same with the Beatles, Aerosmith, and other assorted songs. Eventually, you realize that there is only so much room for growth. The turntable does inject a bit of freshness into an already slowing genre, but in the end it’s just another instrument, and the end result will be the same.
There will no doubt be improvements made to the table itself over the next year or two, and it will, I imagine, be incorporated into the other games so that we can all play our favorite Linkin Park songs. But it is still just a temporary band aid on a bleeding brand.
It will be popular for awhile; in today’s ‘Gotta have the newest toy’ culture, it will make money. But I don’t expect it will have much of a shelf life.
Liked it
I was actually surprised at the music on this game. I didnt think I would like it at all as I am not a hip hop kind of guy but there are some great sounds in that game. It was kind of like Dance dance revolution for your hands. Maybe I am a hip hop kind of guy and just didn’t realize it yet. I haven’t actually played this one but I watched a demo and saw someone doing it at a best buy and for a brief moment I considered buying it. then I remembered I like wearing my hat forward I can’t dance and really I just am not that cool. Bring me a shooter!!!
excellent
I love dance/house music and hip hop as much as I love rock and pop so I think that DJ Hero is the perfect addition to the ‘Hero’ range as if it were… Not everyone like hip hop but then not everyone likes rock so I think they are right on the money with that idea. I do agree with the bit that both DJ and Guitar Hero could do with different songs etc. so maybe that’s more scope for improvement however, I do believe that DJ Hero will last a long long time and it’s shelf life isn’t that tiny because it’s going to be a massive hit with the younger generation (the more Eminem and Soulja Boy generation)…Good review all in all – can’t wait to try that thing out!
i never knew they made a game like this. This seems interesting from watching the video but it’ll have to be something i pass on. GH and RB are very repetivite and I just didnt like it. But great write.