The music is where the game shines. There's something for everyone, and as a child of the 90's I found a lot of the music really tailored to my tastes. Songs like Insane in the Brain by Cyprus Hill, U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer, The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony and many more all brought a smile to my face. I mean, the game mixed Ice Ice Baby and U Can't Touch This - that was a junior highschool playground battle! But even above these songs there's some interesting mixes with songs of the 70s, 80s and more. Something like Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life" is an interesting mix; and it also is one of the songs that provides the game's only co-op mode.
- Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back" vs. Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life" (DJ-Guitar mix)
- Billy Squier - "The Big Beat" vs. N.E.R.D. - "Lapdance"
- Foo Fighters - "Monkey Wrench" vs. Beastie Boys - "Sabotage"
- Foreigner - "Juke Box Hero" vs. DJ Z-Trip ft. Murs - "DJ Hero"
- Motörhead - "Ace Of Spades" vs. Noisia - "Groundhog"
- Public Enemy featuring Zakk Wylde - "Bring The Noise 20XX"
- Rihanna - "Disturbia" vs. The Killers - "Somebody Told Me"
- Street Sweeper Social Club - "Fight! Smash! Win!" vs. Beastie Boys - "Intergalactic"
- Weezer - "Beverly Hills" vs. Evidence, The Alchemist, Aceyalone, Rakaa & 88 Keys - "Fresh Rhymes And Videotape"
- Wild Cherry - "Play That Funky Music" vs. Gang Starr - "Just To Get A Rep"
Co-Op in DJ Hero is available on 10 songs that have two parts - DJ and Guitar. The DJ part plays exactly like the single player game with the exception of being able to rewind the song. The guitar part plays exactly like Guitar Hero, though your score and star power doesn't contribute to the first player. In fact, the co-op in general seemed a bit odd because the guitar, other than sounding really cool, had little effect on the progression of the game. They didn't help or hurt the progress.
With only 10 songs available in this mode, co-op is only a small diversion. While you can play every song with two turntables, the tracks aren't written for co-op, and it's basically a competitive mode.
We powered through the co-op songs, which you can choose right from the beginning, in about 30 minutes. Hopefully we'll see some co-op DLC in the future beefing up the cooperative offerings. Maybe even some co-op DJ songs themselves, after all, Daft Punk is a two man group.
DJ Hero won't be for everyone, but as someone who's grown a bit tired of music games, DJ Hero managed to hold my interest and keep me coming back. Despite the lack of some significant social offerings, there's a ton of content that's still perfect for parties letting people try their hand at spinning the records. You can even plug in a microphone and actually MC if you want, or just let the tracks play in party mode. Aspiring DJs will enjoy the game and earn a new appreciation for the craft, one that I was surprised was so involved. At $120 it's a tough investment for the casual gamer, but considering Activision's support for the other music titles, you'll get your money's worth eventually. Lets just hope the DJ game genre doesn't get over saturated too.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Currently we know there will be 10 songs designed for co-op play. What's unique is, player two isn't using another turntable, but rather a Guitar Hero controller to add to the mix. The game will also support a USB mic for MC-ing. The rest of the songs are all available for co-op as well, though there's no details on exactly how this will work.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.