I’ve been incredibly excited to tear into DJ Hero, the same company that is responsible for Guitar Hero. Today I received my game in the mail and opened it up for everyone to see then began putting it through the paces. The result? This is a fantastic game! It may take a little more coordination and concentration than Guitar Hero but the result is an entire game full of club bangers and party pumpers that will keep you entertained for a LONG time. I put together a little review/demo/unboxing for you here:
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Disclaimer: I was in no way compensated for this review of DJ Hero. This was purchased, reviewed and published all on my own dime. So yes, I am simply just this excited about a video game.
So here’s my new favorite toy, DJ Hero. I have been following DJ Hero since day one and was so excited when the people at Activision (the shop behind the famous Guitar Hero) picked it up. It has some incredible DJ’s who have worked on this game, each creating brand new mixes that you won’t hear anywhere else but in DJ Hero. Overall I think DJ Hero has a great shot to be come the next big “plastic instrument” game since Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
I filmed an unboxing earlier where you can see me unpack the game. It is pretty simple packaging. There is the turntable/mixer combo and the game, that’s it. What more do you need though? When I filmed the unboxing, you may have noticed that the flap that covers the Wiimote snapped off. I contacted Activision about this and they say that the flap is designed to come off to better accommodate the Wiimote so apparently a hinged door that snaps off was in the design. Watch out for that. (you may want to take off the lanyard strap on your Wiimote to help it fit better)
The controller is laid out incredibly well. I didn’t feel like I was reaching for any buttons or sliders. I did find that you have to be right in the middle of the buttons to make sure they register with the game so be careful with that. Also, the turntable has a lot of inertia. It takes a bit of a push to get it started. The best trick I learned to get around that is to rest your thumb on the platter as well to get a bit more leverage on a scratch. The fader takes a bit of getting used to as well. The addition of the switchable mixer locations was a really nice detail that Activision thought of. Being able to scratch with either hand is a major convenience and will help it appeal to a large audience.
You start off just like Guitar Hero does in a training mode. It starts you from “this is a turntable” all the way through forward and reverse scratching, effects knob and euphoria button. The tutorial was exactly what it should be and brought me up to speed quickly on the things I needed to know. I was a DJ Hero Apprentice in no time.
In the actual playing of the set lists, I noticed a few things. One was that it is more difficult than I thought. I have a DJ’ing background, I used to spin on Pioneer CDJ-800’s with no problem. This game however, took me a while to get used to. I think having a DJ’ing mindset actually is a handicap when playing this game. I’d have a pattern in my head for what the mix should sound like and felt myself scratching to that but being penalized in the game because I wasn’t on the same wavelength as their DJ’s and following along with the colored buttons.
The second thing I noticed is that Easy, is easy. There are just a few button pushes to do and a couple free scratch zones. Medium steps it up to include a few fader movements and Hard is exactly that, hard. I’m starting to get the hang of it and can manage more than one star after the mix.
There are many, many cool features but two stand above the rest. Ever fail a song in Guitar Hero? How annoying. DJ Hero differs from Guitar Hero because in Guitar Hero, if you are doing horrible at a song, it will fail you out of the song and you have to start over. With DJ Hero, if you mess up, the tracks keep going but the track you messed up on goes silent for a few seconds and you continue on. THE SHOW MUST GO ON! Even if you suck.
The second excellent feature is Party Mode. To activate party mode, you hold down the Euphoria button in any setlist for about 5 seconds. After that you’ll see “Press the Euphoria button to exit party mode” and the mixes will play themselves without your input. This is great for throwing a party with DJ Hero as your music for the night. It serves two purposes, you get amazing party jams and can also have people step in and play the game for some entertainment. Excellent idea, Activision.
Absolutely, incredible game that will keep you entertained for a long time trying to get each setlist mastered at 5 stars. I’m very impressed. To get your own, you can find the cheapest price here and there will also be a $5 off coupon for any Guitar Hero series game in the box.
Let me know your thoughts on the game in the comments and if you’re feeling up to the challenge, leave your internet name so we can have an online DJ battle.
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Hey, can you play online using Nintendo Wi-Fi?
You absolutely can. I personally have yet to try it but yes, there is a selection within the main menu for Nintendo WFC. I know they are about to release some downloadable content that is available only through the WFC as well.
Brad, I’m wandering how the game looks on the Wii. I’m also wandering if you bought the renegade edtion as well?
Chris,
The game looks great on the Wii! The graphics are not an issue for a game like this. If we were talking about modern warfare or something similar than I would say avoid Wii and go for a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 but for DJ Hero, it looks fantastic.
I did not buy the Renegade edition. The extras included with the renegade edition are a carrying case that converts into a stand for the turntable, metal knobs and fader (with a gold look) and a CD with exclusive Eminem and Jay-Z content. (there may be more, someone feel free to correct me) I didn’t feel that I needed these extras and chose to go with the standard edition.
Thanks, and now Rocketfish sells a stand seperately, for $30.
Hi all this may sound stupid,but ive just purchased a wii and dj hero,but how do i find my friend code so i can start adding people 2 play with??? many thanks.
This post should help you find it… http://www.croncast.com/rss/624/How-to-add-a-Wii-friend-code_How-to-find-your-Wii-friend-code_wii-screencast.php
Good luck.
Thanks 4 that,it really helped.
Yo Brad
Good review by the way. Pretty useful actually, so I’ll probs give the game a go.
Im just wondering, I heard you could play some songs by themselves without mixes, but not get any points. I dont really care about the points, but is this actually true
Thanks
Phil,
Absolutely you can do that. DJ Hero calls that “party play”. To activate this mode, press and hold the euphoria button for about 5 seconds during any song or set. The music will then play with no input needed. If you want to jump in and play, you can simply press the euphoria button again and you’re in the action. Hope that helps. -Brad
alright, thanks Brad.
Also, I have another question. Obviously, you’ve had DJ Hero for a few weeks now. Has it started to get boring/ lost its charm yet? See, I’ve never brought a ‘Hero’ game before, but I dont know whether this will probably get boring for me quickly. What you reckon: is it still as good as when you brought it?
Thanks
It has only gotten better. Now that I’ve unlocked all the songs, I’m trying to go back through them and play them on hard, which is more difficult than you think. Your motivation is to get more stars to unlock more characters/venues/equipment. I can’t even imagine how difficult the expert mode is going to be.
The short answer is yes, it is still fun.
-Brad
hey brad i was wondering if you get dj hero for wii how do you go 2 player and if you do can the second player use a regular wii remote
please hurry
You get the option of two player when you make your own custom setlist and I’m pretty sure you can do two player in any premade set they have as well. You can not play with another wiimote, you have to have another turntable/mixer combo for this to work.
There is no “battle” mode or competition mode. You just play to see who can get more points.
You can also hook up a Guitar Hero guitar and play along side the DJ for a few select songs that you can see in the “Custom Guitar Setlist” available.
Hope that helps!
-Brad
so brad can i use an xbox 360 guitar hero remoe with a usb cable for dj hero wii
Highly doubt that you can do that. If there is a way, I don’t know it.
please elp
i mean help
kris c
no you cant. the xbox has a button specified for only xbox. I think the ps3 might work, but i dont think you can use a guitar from guitar hero xbox 360
Dear Brad,
Great review1 I was wondering if we can battle sometime, my internet name is RAKATTACK and my friend coode is 2443 9179 0872 4361. Thanks!