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DJ Hero 2

by Karl Castaneda - September 27, 2010, 12:18 pm EDT
Total comments: 15

Is two turntables and a microphone really where it's at? Read on to find out.

Last week, Nintendo World Report was invited to preview DJ Hero 2. In addition to an interview (which will be attached to the next episode of Radio Free Nintendo), we were also able to get some extensive hands-on time with the game.

It seems that with the new release, a great deal of the attention is on multiplayer. Party Play's made its way over from Guitar Hero, so at any point, an additional DJ or singer can drop in and out as they choose, or alter the difficulty at any point. As for playing head to head, the Battle mode has a plethora of options, from call-and-response set-ups (where you'll play a section, and then pass it off to your opponent, and vice versa) to playing the entire song in checkpoints, and then awarding points based on how accurate each player is in a given section. These cooperative and competitive modes are fully online compatible, and really do a lot to add a fun atmosphere to the core gameplay.

And speaking of core gameplay, arguably the biggest addition is adding freestyle scratching and cross-fading. While you're still required to scratch and fade a certain way, at certain parts, you're able to do so in any direction or method you'd like. It adds a lot more improvisation to the mix, and really does make each play-through just a little bit different.

If you've read anything at all on this game, you've undoubtedly seen the phrase "two turntables and a microphone" branded about. I've already touched on the bit about two turntables, but how is the singing? Well, I think it's important to note that it isn't really like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, where you can use the song itself to guide you through the rhythm. Since two songs are being played simultaneously, it can be a little difficult at first to find the beat, especially if you're not familiar with the songs beforehand. The on-screen text definitely helps, but it still took a while to get used to.

As for the music itself, I've never been much of a fan of synth pop or house or this particular brand of hip hop, which makes up a large portion of the set list, but it's hard to argue with how suited they are to this game, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't fun to mix and match them around. There are some ridiculously unlikely mixes in DJ Hero 2, and I've got to commend the development team for thinking outside the box.

I'd never played the franchise until that night, and honestly, I went in with some serious reservations about whether or not I was even in the demographic to enjoy it. Having said that, I had a great time with DJ Hero 2. It certainly takes a little while to get used to the controls if you're new to the series, but it's absolutely worth the learning curve.

Be sure to listen to the next episode of Radio Free Nintendo to hear me talk to Doug Grutzmacher, an Associate Producer at Activision about more of what's new in the game as well as a short tease concerning what we can expect next year.

Talkback

TJ SpykeSeptember 27, 2010

I didn't like the controls in the first game, they didn't work a lot. If they have demos in stores again, I will check it out to see if they have been fixed. The first game sold pretty terribly, so I was surprised when they announced a sequel.

I played DJ Hero in stores when it came out and hated it.

I got it for $20 last month and had a ball with it. It is an amazing game. I cannot wait for the sequel.
I don't really like DJs. I'm not even really into most of the music. It's just fun.

NWR_KarlKarl Castaneda, Contributing EditorSeptember 27, 2010

Quote from: TJ

I didn't like the controls in the first game, they didn't work a lot. If they have demos in stores again, I will check it out to see if they have been fixed. The first game sold pretty terribly, so I was surprised when they announced a sequel.

I didn't play the first game, so I can't really comment on how precise they were, but what I played on Thursday (and what I've played since in the demo they sent me home with) is very snappy. It takes some getting used to, but I never felt like the game wasn't detecting my scratches or what have you.

yoshi1001September 27, 2010

One problem with the first game is that since you didn't know what the songs were supposed to sound like beforehand, sometimes it was hard to tell if you made a mistake or the song was just like that. I never really played on the higher difficulty levels (I just really loved the music), so I'm not sure if things broke down more on those settings.

I agree with yoshi. My impression from playing the first game is that there wasn't strong enough audio/visual feedback on whether you are playing the song right or wrong.

Killer_Man_JaroTom Malina, Associate Editor (Europe)September 28, 2010

I concur, TJ Spyke, this is a weird sequel - the original was only moderately successful at best. In fact, putting together a set-list for DJ Hero is in many ways more difficult than doing the same for Guitar Hero, considering that these mash-ups are mostly made by the developer, and I imagine it takes a lot of experimenting to get the two songs in each one to meld together well.

NWR_KarlKarl Castaneda, Contributing EditorSeptember 28, 2010

Quote from: Jonnyboy117

I agree with yoshi. My impression from playing the first game is that there wasn't strong enough audio/visual feedback on whether you are playing the song right or wrong.

Again, I didn't play DJ 1, so I don't know if it's different in this year's release, but in DJ 2, if you miss a beat/scratch, the track goes gray. If you miss a crossfade, then it sort of seizures. It wasn't hard at all for me to tell.

PlugabugzSeptember 28, 2010

*continues waiting*

vuduSeptember 29, 2010

Quote from: TJ

The first game sold pretty terribly, so I was surprised when they announced a sequel.

DJ Hero not a flop after all; 1.2 million sales since launch

Quote:

"DJ Hero was dubbed a flop on its release... but what it needed was time for its audience to find it, a price break, and positive word from both friends and reviews to circulate," Activision's Dan Amrich wrote on his blog. Helped along by retail discounts, the game went on to sell 800,000 units at retail during the 2009 holiday season. To date the game has sold a very impressive 1.2 million units. "That's not a flop; that’s the long tail at work."

Seems the game sold better than a lot of you think.  Granted, I'm sure a large chunk of those sales were at heavily discounted prices, but if that many people bought the first game then any sequels will have a sizable built-in audience who might be willing to buy a new, improved game at full price.

TJ SpykeSeptember 29, 2010

Those numbers are not that impressive since it bombed when it released, most of those sales came after the game had already been knocked down to $50 or less in most stores. The "long tail" is only successful if the price remains relatively the same. If most of the sales come at a price where the company is probably struggling to just break even, I would consider it a failure. If Activision dropped the price of Tony Hawk: Ride to $10 and managed to sell another 2 million copies, would that be considered a "success"?

vuduSeptember 29, 2010

Did you read anything I typed or just the title of the link?

I'm sure a large chunk of those sales were at heavily discounted prices, but if that many people bought the first game then any sequels will have a sizable built-in audience who might be willing to buy a new, improved game at full price.

TJ SpykeSeptember 29, 2010

If they didn't like the game, then it will not convince them to buy the sequel. I hated the first game, getting it at a cheap price wouldn't change that. If I don't like a game, then it doesn't matter if the publisher claims the sequel is better.

And yes, I did read what you wrote. I just don't think you are correct. I think Amrich is wrong in thinking word of mouth had anything to do with it. I saw stores sell the bundle for as little as $30, and at that price people are willing to take a chance. The game got a lot of negative reception from fans, so I doubt many of those people who bought the first would be willing to buy its sequel.

vuduSeptember 29, 2010

Obviously if you bought the first game and hated it you're not likely to buy a sequel.

My point is 1.2 million people played the first game because they had enough interested in it to buy it (even at a discounted price).  The series now has a built-in audience.

For what it's worth, the original Guitar Hero sold about 1.5 million copies.  The sequel sold half that amount in the first month alone.  Sure, not everyone who bought GH liked it enough to buy the sequel, but enough did that the sales of the second game were much stronger out of the gate (and therefore, sold more copies at full price).

Also, the sales of DJ Hero weren't abysmal at launch, if I recall correctly. Did it sell well? Not really. Did it sell what was expected? Kind of, yea.

Let's see how the sequel does before we put the nail in the series' coffin.

As I'll be saying for a long while, I'm excited as all hell for the new game. DJ Hero is the shit, and anyone who blindly writes it off without playing the game under the right settings (like say...not standing up in front of a giant TV screen at a Best Buy) shouldn't be allowed to comment about how it sold like crap or is a waste of plastic. If you honestly played the game and didn't like it, you can bitch all you want about the game.

P.S. We don't need to go into the utter failure on Activision's part of the awful in-store demos. However, I think Sony trumped them with nonexistent Move demos. Seriously, I've been to multiple stores and I've seen signs for Move at best.

NWR_KarlKarl Castaneda, Contributing EditorSeptember 29, 2010

Funny story regarding Move. While I was out in San Fran, on the way back to the hotel after the event, I saw some dude holding Move-motes, and he couldn't have looked less happy to be holding them.

Also, the next morning, I was walking around on Market Street and happened across a dilapidated PlayStation Store that was proclaiming itself "Home of the Move!" while also looking like the right place to score some China White.

As for all of this business over sales and whatnot, all I know is, I had a great time with the game, so how much DJ 1 sold is kind of moot.

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Genre Rhythm
Developer
OnlineYes

Worldwide Releases

na: DJ Hero 2
Release Q4 2010
PublisherActivision

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