Game #11 – DJ Hero 2

Publisher: Activision

Developer: Freestyle Games

Platforms: PS3/360/Wii

DJ Hero was something of an underdog when released last year. It capped off a year of Activision flooding the market with no less than 10 “Hero” games last year, but it capped it off fantastically – bringing one of the freshest games around, even if there was plenty to be improved. Suffice to say, DJ Hero 2 does just that – improves on the game immenesely.

Probably the biggest addition to the game is a great emphasis on freestyling. You can now freely scratch at points...which doesn't work as well as it should, but its the changes to the cross fader that make it work. At points during the mix, you can freely swap between the two tracks playing – allowing you to go crazy to try make the best sounding mix you can, especially since you're scored on freestyling.

However, where DJ Hero 2 works best is in its soundtrack. By removing the guitar based mixes from the first game and including a greater focus on electronic/dance music, it makes for a much better sounding game. If you never thought a mix between Calvin Harris' “I'm Not Alone” and New Orders “Blue Monday” could sound good, you're horribly mistaken.

It doesn't push boundaries like what Rock Band 3 is attempting to do, but DJ Hero 2 just improves on the first game so much that it makes for an outstanding experience. Oh, and ignore the singing. Doesn't work. At all.