The music genre has shot into the stratosphere this generation; franchises like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have swept the globe and generated millions of fans, many of whom hadn't picked up a video game since Super Mario Bros. over 20 years ago. So of course, it would make perfect sense to see such a popular genre branching off and embracing other categories of music. Activision is working on DJ Hero, and 7 Studios and the lesser known Genius Products will soon provide us with Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.
If you plan on picking this one up, you will be treated to a special custom peripheral, plus plenty of licensed tracks featuring such artists as Kanye West, Beastie Boys, and Mix Master Mike. Although the game's foundation will be familiar to loyal followers of either of the previous rock music franchises, the key difference centers on player freedom and customization.
The battle of the DJ's continue! Scratch The Ultimate DJ is calling all DJ's to film themselves scratching to one of the featured tracks in the game. Winners will be featured on the Scratch Ultimate DJ Youtube and will win a truckload of DJ equipment.
WorthPlaying takes a look at a pre-release version of the DJ Hero turntable controller hardware to see what it does right and where it might fall short.
"Getting gamers to shell out for a $60 controller on top of a $60 game is no easy task, especially in this economy. The proof is visible in the sheer number of Guitar Hero and Rock Band band kits that are available at discounted prices from retailers as well as secondhand. Music fans have already spent tons of money on plastic band hardware, so getting them to repeat the task is going to require a great game as well as quality hardware. The developers behind DJ Hero appear to have the former point covered (for more details, be sure to read our hands-on preview), so when Activision sent over a pre-release version of the DJ Hero turntable controller, we decided to see if the latter point held up."
More tracks have been announced for Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, the latest game to be released along the music theme.
