Thursday, June 11, 2009
DJ HERO VS SCRATCH
on Hip Hop Gamer Show
Submitted: June 11, 2009
Two DJ games are coming out. Which one is really the best one for you? Well let’s break it down and see what each has to offer.
Make sure to watch the videos below for “visual aids”
Gameplay
DJ Hero is basically Guitar Hero meets the world of DJing. You have only 3 buttons to really focus on where guitar hero has 5. What makes the game more difficult is the scratching and crossfading. At particular times in the mix you will be flicking the crossfader left or right based on the on screen prompt. You also can scratch in the game, but you are not really scratching the song. Instead, you hear the scratch that the game wants you to hear. An interesting feature is that the game allows you to rewind to an earlier section of the song to either redo a part you messed up on, or to just play through your favorite part of the song.
Scratch however is completely different. It is trying to be a DJ simulator without taking away the fun. A developer said that if you give it to a grandmaster, he can literally tear up the game. Unlike DJ Hero, you get 5 buttons to hit. These buttons represents certain parts of the song (drums, cello, saxophone, etc.). You also get a full 360 degree vinyl, but in this game, you have free control over the scratching. You can scratch and you literally scratch the song. What I liked is that the game teaches you how to scratch. If you scratch with the song and do it so that it matches the song, you get more points. It really teaches you how to become a DJ.
Presentations
DJ: Hero looks like Guitar Hero with a DJ atmosphere. That is the basic gist. The flashing lights, dance floor, and environment in general are much better than that of Guitar Hero. It is not some DJ on stage dishing out music to cheering fans. Instead, you get a DJ in a night club filled with lights, fog, breakdancers, and more jamming to the mix you are playing. It was nice to see the game in action. There is so much happening in the background of the game that you want to take some time a look at it. That is something nice at the same time distracting.
Scratch has a similar feel to DJ Hero. The difference is the art style. Scratch uses a cell shaded art style that has a graffiti feeling to it, which matches the hip hop theme perfectly. Scratch does not have fleshly effects such as lighting, smoke, etc. Instead it puts you in normal situations (for a DJ). For example, playing in a backyard party or playing at a record store. I was told that there will be 7-9 different places to play in. That is not a lot, but you will not be focusing on the background as much as you would think.
Music
This is where there is a huge difference. DJ Hero has mixes done by numerous famous DJs such as DJ Shadow, DJ AM, and more. Instead of a song they mix two different songs together and add in a nice beat. The mix I heard was a combination of Jay-Z’s “Izzo” and Eminem’s “My name is.” It was amazing. The part that freaked me out was when the mix went “Hi my name is what? My name is who? My name is H to the Izzo!” That was down right amazing. Mixes like that was awesome. Another awesome feature that is unique to DJ hero is that there are mixes that incorporate a guitar. That means you can take a guitar hero guitar and rock out to a mix like Beastie Boys’ sabotage, to Foo Fighters’ “Monkey Wrench.” One person can do the DJ part while the other can do the guitar part. That was a nice twist and feature. Overall the game only provides mixes and you can only play those mixes really. There aren’t any normal hip-hop tracks, at least, from what I have seen
Scratch focuses on hip-hop tracks without any mixes. There are no two songs being put together. Instead, you play one single song, but you get to play each part that makes up the song. So if you mess up the cello part in Rakim’ “Don’t Sweat the Technique,” then you don’t hear the cellos. You can freely scratch the music as well, so you can remix your favorite songs. The way you play the game is much different than DJ Hero. Just look at the controls below.
Controls
DJ Hero’s control system is unique as you can tell. The buttons are directly on the vinyl and the vinyl spins a full 360 degrees. The crossfader is there as well, and the little knob is DJ Hero’s version of the whammy bar.
Scratch has a slightly more complicated button set. You have 5 button (like guitar hero), 360 degree spinning vinyl, and a crossfader.
Extras
DJ Hero. From what I got the extras are multiplayer and that is about it. Nothing worth mentioning really, so this part will be pretty short for DJ Hero, until I see more
Scratch however has a plethora of features. You can upload your own music and basically remix it. They allow you to scratch uploaded music and instead of “playing” your song, you get to add different samples (drums, bells, whistles, airhorns, etc.). Another great feature is that you can upload your own samples as well. That was amazing. Oh..you can also plug in a mic and sing over tracks. That means a karaoke feature. Man, there are so many extras for Scratch Ultimate DJ. After you upload your own music and remix it, you can save the remix. That is amazing. You basically have a studio built into the game. It is a versatile game, and definitely wants users to become better DJs and encourages them to let themselves go and try new things.
Final Thoughts
So who wins? Well to be fair, both games are different and do their own thing. They are not copies of each other one bit. The only thing they really have in common is the genre and overall theme each studio is striving for. DJ Hero is pretty much like rock band, but for those non rock fans. Scratch is a game that wants to teach you how to become a DJ while not sacrificing the fun factor. DJ Hero is the perfect party game, while Scratch is the perfect DJ game. It is all up to you. Do you like all types of music and want variety in the music? Go for DJ Hero. Do you want to remix your own tracks as well be on the right track to becoming a DJ? Go for Scratch: Ultimate DJ. There are so many reasons to get both games. Activision is the best company for licensing amazing music, and I do not think Genius Studios has the power of Activision, so expect even better music from Activision. Me personally, I will probably go for Scratch first and get DJ Hero next. That is my plan of action. I like Scratch’s extras, and I like the music selection they have so far. Again some of you readers may be able to get both when they come out……well congrads on being rich.
Pricing
DJ Hero is still unannounced
Scratch is looking to be 100 dollars for the game and controller. The controller will cost 40 dollars, but I assume it is the wired version. Still, that is a great deal and a new controller will not cost too much.
VIDEO
DJ: Hero footage (gameplay, question answering, and more)
Scratch: Ultimate DJ (gameplay)
