E3 2009: Preview: DJ Hero - Preview

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DJ Hero has a similar concept to the familiar Guitar Hero formula. Colored symbols fall down the screen, and the player performs certain actions in time with the symbols and the music in order to score points. A whole bunch of songs are included (over 100 in DJ Hero), with more to be offered for sale as downloadable content. The difference is, instead of strumming on a guitar, you're manipulating a turntable as a would-be DJ, and mixing dance club music together instead of playing rock music.

The new spin on the franchise of course comes with a new peripheral. There are three buttons on the wheel itself to be tapped, and the wheel can be rotated back and forth for an additional effect. A slider on the left acts as the mixer to blend the two tracks together, with a knob for special effects and a simple button to activate "Euphoria", the game's version of star power. The very top left corner of the device conceals a panel for regular controller buttons (and on the Wii version, a slot in which to place the Wii Remote).

Gameplay was a bit difficult to follow at first. There are three lines of notes coming down the screen (slightly angled, as if coming around on a wheel). With both the left and right lines close to the middle line, the slider should be placed in the center. When either outside line moves to the side, the slider should be positioned to that side. Another on-screen indicator is used to wiggle the wheel back and forth to simulate scratching the disc, basically replacing the held notes on the guitar. On easy and medium difficulty, you can scratch however you like, but on hard and higher, you'll have to follow specific on-screen prompts. The special effects from the turntable's knob can be put it at any time, giving the player a little freedom to freestyle.

The game will also support head-to-head and co-op play using two turntables, or you can plug in a mic to "sing" along or a guitar controller to play some of the exclusive DJ-guitar mixes. There are venues that you can play at that are "reminiscent of real-world locales," including a Hollywood Hills mansion and an open-air beach club in Ibiza. There's also the possibility of using the turntable in Guitar Hero games in the future.

The track list revealed so far:

• Benni Benassi "Satisfaction" vs. Black Eyed Peas "Boom Boom Pow"
• Gwen Stefani "Hollaback Girl" vs. Rick James "Give it to Me"
• Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc." vs. Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
• Chuck Brown & The Souls Searchers' "Bustin' Loose" vs. The Zombies' "Time of the Season" (DJ Shadow Mix)
• David Bowie's "Let's Dance" vs. KRS-One's "Jack of Spades" (DJ Shadow Mix)
• Nirvana's "All Apologies" vs. Rick James' "Give It to Me Baby" (DJ Shadow Mix)
• Jurassic 5's "Jayou" vs. Herbie Hancock's "Rockit"
• Tears for Fears' "Shout" vs. Eric Prydz' "Pjanoo"

There will also be tracks from Beastie Boys, Beck, Blondie, Billy Squire, 50 Cent, Justice, Marvin Gaye, and N.E.R.D, plus more from Eminem and Jay-Z in the special edition, with Jay-Z contributing "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." The three DJs confirmed to appear in the game so far are DJ Shadow, DJ AM, and Z-Trip.

FreeStyleGames is handling development on DJ Hero, with Activision and Red Octane co-publishing. Last September, Activision Blizzard acquired FreeStyleGames, previously responsible for the break-dancing game B-Boy on the Playstation Portable and Playstation 2. I'm not totally convinced that there's as a big a market dreaming of being a club DJ as there are of being a guitar star, but we'll find out when DJ Hero launches this fall for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, and Playstation 2.

Check out the screenshots available below:

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