Monday, June 08, 2009
DJ ROUND UP: THREE TITLE BRING DJ CULTURE TO THE MASSES on GameInformer.com
on GameInformer.com
Submitted: June 8, 2009
We may not have seen it coming a few years ago, but there is no denying it now; DJ culture is the new hotness in music games. While franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are still doing swimmingly, their very nature limits setlists to songs with traditional rock influences. This has virtually eliminated pop, hip-hop and electronica genres from inclusion in these constantly expanding gaming platforms. But three upcoming titles hope to change this with unique peripherals, innovative gameplay and some of the hottest music on the market today. Read on to find out how DJ Hero, Scratch: The Ultimate DJ and Armin Van Buuren: In The Mix hope to bring DJ culture to the masses.
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ
Scratch is the second upcoming DJ title, and just as DJ Hero, it uses a unique peripheral to engage the player in the game. Scratch features a playful and exaggerated cell-shaded art style and uses the familiar track/cascading notes formula. Hitting the notes at the appropriate time as they move down the track is the ultimate goal. However, the team recognizes that playing music, particularly as a DJ, has much to do with impulsively adding new elements and making the song unique to you.
For that reason Scratch players are able to improvise tracks as they play. Extra button presses won’t knock down your score as the team wants players to feel encouraged to experiment and try new things.
As for the peripheral, players use two hands to tap five buttons, removing the left hand periodically to scratch when indicated. The peripheral is very intuitive, much more so than the DJ Hero controller. As notes cascade down the track you will be presented with dedicated scratching windows indicated by a blue line along the side of the note highway. These areas let you freestyle and spin the scratch platform as desired for the indicated period of time. Freestyle sections also travel down the highway and give you extra points for whipping out some unique beats.
There is no hard fail in the game so that all players feel like they can add their own spin to the music. However, skill is required if you want to move along in the game, as specific scores are needed to progress further. Players are measured on accuracy among other things and a good performance will net them cash and credibility. Cash allows you to buy new clothing and equipment for your DJ, and credibility is needed to advance your career.
The game contains at least 60 tracks to scratch to, all of which are augmented by a selection of five thematically linked sounds called Battle Records. These can be used to add car or robot sounds, or even a human voice to the track.
Three levels of difficulty comprise the game. Oddly enough, medium may be the most fulfilling for more creative types. Hard difficulty is essentially a one to one representation of the notes and beats in a song. But because of the upped difficulty and speed, there is little room to add your own interpretive twist.
Scratch: The Ultimate DJ is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 later this year.
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