DJ Hero comes with a DJ mixing board controller, and the gameplay process is very similar to that of other “Hero” games from Activision, you punch the correct keys as best as possible, scoring the best score you can. While listening to the songs, of course. There’s a huge assortment of songs, which span almost every genre, meaning you’ll probably find something you like in there. The songs are mixed by well known DJs, and you won’t find them anywhere else — they’re exclusive to DJ Hero. While you can’t create your own DJ, you can play as some fairly decent ones, and if you’re good, you can unlock superstar DJs like Daft Punk (complete with their outfits).

The gameplay is not difficult to learn, especially if you’re familiar with music games. The new controller is easy to learn, which features a turntable with a platter and a mixer, with three buttons on the turn table which you have to press (and turn at the same time). While it sounds complicated, the learning curve is fairly easy and you’ll master it within an hour of playing. A good addition is that you can separate the two and switch them around, in case you’re left handed. A great touch. The gameplay is quite basic, as mentioned before, you try to hit as many notes as possible, but if you aren’t good, you won’t fail the level, you’ll simply earn less points, meaning it’s going to take you longer to progress and unlock new items.

You can also use the “party play” function, and just sit back and enjoy the music, and you can study the keys of the song in detail if you wish. There is multiplayer, which will need two turntables where you compete against each other, or you can hook up a guitar from Guitar Hero, where one can mix while the other rocks on the guitar. Visually, the game looks great, the venues are very colorful and wild, just like a normal club (albeit a popular club). It’s even more impressive that it’s on the Wii, since the system isn’t exactly known for its power under the hood.

The music, as expected, is top notch, the collection of tracks and remixes is great, and it easily rivals Guitar Hero in terms of fun. Despite the rather disappointing multiplayer and a few technical glitches, DJ Hero is definitely a game that fans of music (and plastic instruments) will enjoy.

The Good:
Gameplay
Lots of tracks
Lots of unlocks
Solid controller

The Bad:
Disappointing multiplayer
A few technical glitches

Overall score: 8/10

The Beatles: Rock Band hit store shelves on September 9th, 2009 to the delight of Beatles fans everywhere. Well, it seems that those of you looking to snag everything The Beatles have one more thing to look forward to: ‘Abbey Road’ DLC.

This DLC pack will be made available tomorrow for the Xbox 360 and Wii but won’t make its way to the PS3 until Thursday.

Below is the DLC pack detailed courtesy of Joystiq:

Xbox 360 / Wii / PS3
Available: October 20 / October 22 (PS3)

• “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” (160 Microsoft Points / 200 Wii Points / $1.99)
• “Oh! Darling” (160 Microsoft Points / 200 Wii Points / $1.99)
• “Because” (160 Microsoft Points / 200 Wii Points / $1.99)

• “You Never Give Me Your Money”
• “Sun King”
• “Mean Mr. Mustard”
• “Polythene Pam”
• “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window”
• “Golden Slumbers”
• “Carry That Weight” and “The End”
• “Her Majesty”

Additionally, you can purchase the entire pack for 1360 Microsoft Points or $17.

DJ Hero’s October 27th release date is quickly approaching so it would only make sense that Activision would let us in on the various pre-order bonuses you will recieve while purchasing the game at various retailers.

Below is the full list of pre-order bonuses you will recieve courtesy of Destructoid:

• Amazon.com – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition from Amazon.com and get a $5 credit towards the music tracks that inspired the music for the game
• Best Buy – Pre-order DJ Hero from Best Buy and receive a free code that unlocks a Daft Punk level
• GameStop – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition and receive two free playable song downloads
• Guitar Hero Store – Pre-order DJ Hero and DJ Hero Renegade Edition and receive free two-day shipping
• Hollywood/GameCrazy – Pre-order DJ Hero and receive an exclusive turntable slipmat
• Walmart.com – Pre-order DJ Hero at Wal-Mart.com and receive a $10 electronic gift card

Honestly? I think I’d go with the Guitar Hero Store and get free 2 day shipping because everything else seems, well, not exciting whatsoever. I mean honestly, a turntable slipmat from GameCrazy? What were they thinking?

It appears that U2 was to be included in the last version of Rock Band, but the band pulled out at the last second. Now, they want their own game, to be the exclusive band, and not just add a few songs to something like Rock Band. U2 bassist Adam Clayton is quoted saying,

We definitely would like to be in there, but we felt some of the compromises weren’t what we wanted. That could change. I love the idea that that’s where people are getting music, and we’d love to be in that world. We’ll figure something out. What The Beatles have done, where the animation is much more representative of them, is what we’re interested in, rather than the one-size-fits-all animation. We didn’t want to be caricatured.

With such a huge name like U2 and all the albums they’ve made (not to mention their fan base), it shouldn’t be difficult getting a deal together. After all, they’re U2.

Today we have learned of what will be coming with next week’s Rock Band Music Store update including tracks from both Alice in Chains and Breaking Benjamin. Below is the full list of tracks that will be available for Rock Band 2 on September 29th for the Wii and 360 and October 1st for the PS3:

·        Alice in Chains – “A Looking in View”
·        Alice in Chains – “Check My Brain”
·        Alice in Chains – “No Excuses”
·        Alice in Chains – “Rooster”
·        Alice in Chains – “Would?”
·        Breaking Benjamin – “I Will Not Bow”
·        Breaking Benjamin – “So Cold”
·        Breaking Benjamin – “The Diary of Jane”
·        Just Kait – “U Suck” *
·        Kula Shaker – “Hey Dude”
·        Kula Shaker – “Knight on the Town”

As for a price, well you’re looking at purchasing the whole thing as the Alice in Chains Pack 01 for $9.49/680 Microsoft points for the PS3 and 360 respectively or as single tracks for $1.99/160 Microsoft Points/200 Wii Points for the PS3/360/Wii respectively.

via destructoid

When a developer makes a limited edition version of their game it is assumed that that means there will be no more made after the initial batch and this holds true with the limited edition version of The Beatles: Rock Band. Taking this into consideration, it is best that you hurry up and buy the $249 bundle (which comes with Ringo Starr drums and a Paul McCartney bass) as Viacom’s CEO, Phillip Dauman, has recently told GI.biz that he expects the Limited Edition to completely sell out by November.

This assumption was made after the company realized that 25% of their entire stock of the limited edition was exhausted in its first week on store shelves.

There’s really no telling if these will sell out sooner or later than Mr. Dauman’s prediction so it is probably a good idea to go out and buy it as soon as possible.

Additionally, there is also the Logitech Wireless Drum Controller for Wii that will also ship in October for $229. This controller apparently uses hardware similar to that found in professional digital drum sets so the quality is just as high as the above mentioned guitar controller.

Either way, you’re still getting the same gameplay value from these controllers as you are from the controllers that ship with the game. But, if you have to have the best, these are up there.

via destructoid

Yesterday, Guitar Hero 5 launched in North America, and with game launches come the obligatory trailer. If you want any gameplay footage, you won’t exactly find it here, but I’ve always wanted to go skydiving, so I put it up here anyways.

If you haven’t checked out the Playboy marketing strategy yet, I highly recommend it. Guitar Hero 5 will be seeing a European launch on the 11th, followed by an Australian release on the 16th.

According to the press release, the game “features thousands of loops and sounds made by both Timbaland and Rockstar, and puts the power to make professoinal-level music at your fingertips in a format that’s portable, accesible and fun.”

No price yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

via joystiq

Need I say more?

This collector’s edition will include the carrying case, pictured above, the turn table controller, a stand for said turn table and 2 CDs worth of Jay-Z/Eminem music.

The press release didn’t give an exact price but EBGames currently has it listed at $199.99. Any buyers?

• Blink-182 “Down”
• Blink-182 “Feeling This”
• Blink-182 “The Rock Show”
• Damone “Out Here All Night”
• KISS “100,000 Years (Live)”
• KISS “Deuce (Live)”
• KISS “Parasite (Live)”
• Weezer “My Name is Jonas”
• Weezer “Pork and Beans”
• Weezer “Undone – The Sweater Song”

Make the jump for the Wii and PSP tracks.

The Wii will also be seeing some new DLC content, from bands such as Mötley Crüe, Rise Against, and my favorite band of all time, Children of Bodom.

• Kings of Leon “Crawl”
• Kings of Leon “Molly’s Chambers”
• Kings of Leon “Sex on Fire”
• Rancid “Last One to Die”
• Rancid “Ruby Soho”
• Rancid “Time Bomb”
• Rise Against “Prayer of the Refugee”
• Rise Against “Re-Education (Through Labor)”
• Rise Against “Savior”
• Lush “Sweetness & Light”
• Children of Bodom “Are You Dead Yet”
• Finley “Tutto è Possibile
• Mötley Crüe “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”
• Mötley Crüe “Dr. Feelgood”
• Mötley Crüe “Kickstart My Heart”
• Mötley Crüe “Rattlesnake Shake”
• Mötley Crüe “Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S)”
• Mötley Crüe “She Goes Down”
• Mötley Crüe “Slice Of Your Pie”
• Mötley Crüe “Sticky Sweet”
• Mötley Crüe “Time For Change”
• Mötley Crüe “Without You”
• Platero y Tú “Hay Poco Rock & Roll”
• Squeeze “Tempted”
• Tokio Hotel “Ready, Set, Go!”

And who can forget about Rock Band: Unplugged, the PlayStation Portable port:

• James Gang “Funk #49”
• Alien Ant Farm “Smooth Criminal”

Read (Rock Band Forums)

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con has launched, and with it comes loads of trailers. Today we bring you a LEGO Rock Band teaser, complete with ridiculous puns like “Build Your Band”. No gameplay footage was available, so I still won’t be able to know if the frets are going to be LEGO blocks.

The details for the game are quite odd, giving players the ability to “destroy giant robots with killer riffs”. If you’re looking for a true Rock Band title, this probably won’t be your cup of tea; most of the tracks are geared for a younger audience.

LEGO Rock Band is scheduled for a November 30th release for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Nintendo DS.

Enter, Band Hero DS which is exactly what you woudl expect, Band Hero for the Nintendo DS. The game will be developed by Activision owned Vicarious Visions and will come bundled with a guitar peripheral along with a never before seen drum peripheral.

For gamers who liked the previous Guitar Hero DS games, this is for you. As for the rest of you, move along.

via Kotaku

The post-hardcore AFI’s unreleased single off their new album, Medicate, will be making its debut on the game before it releases in stores. A never before released live recording of “The Spirit of Radio” from Rush will also be included. Here’s the full list:

• AFI – “Medicate”
• A Perfect Circle – “Judith”
• Billy Idol – “Dancing With Myself”
• Brand New – “Sowing Season (Yeah)”
• Bush – “Comedown”
• The Derek Trucks Band – “Younk Funk”
• Duran Duran – “Hungry Like The Wolf”
• Eagles Of Death Metal – “Wannabe In L.A.”
• Gorillaz – “Feel Good Inc.”
• Gov’t Mule – “Streamline Woman”
• Grand Funk Railroad – “We’re An American Band”
• Iron Maiden – “2 Minutes To Midnight”
• King Crimson – “21st Century Schizoid Man”
• No Doubt – “Ex-Girlfriend”
• Peter Frampton – “Do You Feel Like We Do? (Live)”
• Public Enemy Featuring Zakk Wylde – “Bring the Noise 20XX”
• Rush – “The Spirit Of Radio (Live)”
• Scars On Broadway – “They Say”
• Smashing Pumpkins – “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”
• Spacehog – “In The Meantime”
• Sunny Day Real Estate – “Seven”
• T. Rex – “20th Century Boy”
• Weezer – “Why Bother?”
• Wild Cherry – “Play That Funky Music”

A full list of songs can be viewed here. Guitar Hero 5 will be hitting stores on September 1st for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, and Wii.

via IGN

Mr. Matsurra was recently quoted to have said, “We are thinking about ideas, I think any kind of interaction will be good for music games, but the important thing will be how can we find the new breed of gameplay.”

Don’t go thinking this will be just another Guitar Hero/Rock Band rip off as Matsurra feels that genre of gameplay is covered quite well, “There is other attractive music, so pleas try to find another style, another interation, another gameplay with another type of music.”

What could Matsuura and NanoOn-Sha be cookin’ up? Only time will tell. Then again, it looks like PaRappa and Chop Chop Master Onion are playing a motion-controlled game in the above screen shot. Could there be a connectoin?

The Rock Band Network will allow users to upload and price their own tracks which can then be downloaded by anyone with the game. Users are said to be able to price the tracks between 50 cents and $3 while getting 30% of the track sales.

This is great news for up and coming artists looking to reach a wider audience. But the question remains, will the Rock Band Network catch on like similar services or will it be met with lackluster interest? Only time will tell.

You can check out the service in more detail, here.

via Kotaku

There’s not much to say about this set besides the fact that it’s, well, a drum controller. Although, it will apparantly allow for use with 2 kick pedals if you’re into that kind of thing.

Guitar Hero 5 will be made available for the Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Xbox 360 and Wii on September 1st, 2009.

via Joystiq

You didn’t think Activision would let Guitar Hero 5 hit the market without including a new guitar controller, did you? Good because what you see above is just that, the Guitar Hero 5 bundle you’ll see hit store shelves on September 1st.

Other than the red  , this controller reportedly uses an updated touch pad that will use digital input as opposed to analog found on the previous gen controllers.

There’s no word if this guitar will be made available as a stand alone product or exclusive to the Guitar Hero 5 bundles. Either or, do we really need another guitar controller? I mean, was there anything wrong with the other 50 on the market?

via Joystiq