“Clap your hands everybody, if you’ve got what it takes, cos I’m KRS and I’m on the mic and Premier’s on the breaks.”

Now I know what your thinking: what a weird way to begin this article, but in a sense this is the best way to describe just what hip hop is. Well, the best way to describe a hip hop song at least. Hip hop is a culture built on 5 pillars: DJ’ing, Rapping, Graffiti, Breaking, and beatboxing. DJ Hero encapsulates one of these pillars and does an awesome job of making you feel like a DJ without piling on the intricacies of “turn-tablism.” However DJ Hero was less successful then its rhythm-game brethren and seemed to never really find its audience. Now there were many factors related to its lower sales, but the quality of the game was not one as it was considered a critical success. I was fortunate enough to receive the game for Christmas and I adore it. As a matter of fact, I have probably pumped 30 to 40 hours into the game. As much as I love this title, I have a few suggestions for DJ Hero 2 that would take this genre to the next level.

Tighten up the crossfader

The crossfader is the bridge from one song to the next and an integral part of the DJ Hero experience. But the current hardware is flighty and can really screw you over when you get into crossfade-heavy songs like Noisia (DJ Hero equivalent to “through the fire and flames”). It is very annoying when you are finding the groove in a certain song, which you have come across in a seemingly duff playlist, only to be denied euphoria (star power) or that 100 note streak by the bloody crossfader. I got over this hiccup in the gameplay and even found a way around it (even though the crossfader needs to be centered when the highway is straight, you can sort of keep it on the side towards the middle point and it will be fine), but I am quite a persistent gamer. For others, especially those who could care less about DJ’ing or the music, this proved to be extremely annoying and I have seen many people walk away in sheer frustration as they were made a fool by the crossfader. On a normal DJ deck, there is no resistance at all, which means you can float the crossfader freely from left to right. Since DJ Hero is a game, many players would be confused if they were given this freedom. So in the next iteration, the crossfader should be balanced between rigidity and smoothness.

Career Mode, Please?

I have to admit that when I first heard about this game, I thought to myself “I can’t wait to play the role of a superstar DJ or dmc style DJ.”  Alas, there was no career mode….none whatsoever. Now, I loved the setup of playing playlist after playlist, but DJ Hero can feel very hollow without a story mode and a bit purposeless at times when playing the less-inspired mixups. My proposal for a career mode in the DJ Hero sequel? You start off as a local DJ who dreams of being a well-known and successful DJ. You play the first set of mixes around your town and build up your reputation. Eventually, you move on to bigger venues and travel the world as well as battling other well-known DJ’s in a similar vein to the Guitar Hero series. But unlike Guitar Hero, give the player a choice such as choosing between being a Superstar DJ (Daft Punk) or Technical DJ (DJ QBert). With these choices, the player gets completely different paths as well as different DJ’s to battle and Playlists to play. I think this would make the game very interesting and give the sequel a lot of replay value.

Know your audience and educate others

This one would prove to be very difficult and quite expensive/risky especially as DJ Hero was not a sales juggernaut. The problem with this game is that the music-rhythm crowd have, to date, been rock fans. They love Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many know all the words to the songs that Guitar Hero and Rock Band feature. DJ Hero did not have that. The mixes that came with DJ Hero did not have any “staple songs” to sell the game. The adverts showcased the mix between Jay Z and Eminem, but I found them to be rather weak. Even though dance music is very popular with many DJ’s at the core of the genre, DJ’ing is mostly seen as a product of hip hop, which is the father of rap.  To many Rock Band and Guitar Hero fans, “rap is crap.” Herein lies the problem. Activision seemed to believe that rhythm-game fans would look at DJ Hero and want to try it. However, the sales numbers do not reflect this. To me, DJ Hero represented old-school hip hop well, but it left me wanting more. I don’t want to see a band I have never heard of mixed with the Jackson 5 (seriously, that mix is atrocious) and I really don’t need to see “Hollaback Girl” featured with every song in the game. Activision should try to focus on its core audience and educate those who might not get what hip hop or dance music is about. I mean 50 Cent and Jay Z are all well and good, but I would love to see more lesser-known rappers in the mix like Masta Ace or KRS One. Put some Moby in the frame and some 90’s club classics like “What is Love” or “Let Me Be Your Fantasy” by Baby D. Activision should also not tack on Guitar Hero connectivity in the sequel, which by far features the weakest playlist in the game.

Throw in DJ QBert, Jam Master Jay, DJ Kid Capri, X-cutioners, Basement Jaxx, Chemical Brothers, DJ Premier, DJ Shine, DJ Kool, DJ Skee, DJ Whoo Kid etc.

Put more unknown artists in the game and MC/DJ Mix

I am a huge fan of old-school hip hop/rap. I love the art of rhyming over an awesome beat. I grew up admiring KRS One, Eric B and Rakim, De La Soul, Big Daddy Kane and other similar artists. Only two of them are included in the first game, which was a real shame for me. I think the next DJ Hero should cast away fear and include great artists for the uninitiated and fans. I would love to scratch along to the word-juggling artistry of Big Daddy Kane or the laid-back vibes of the G Funk era. Along with these greats, they should also include MC and DJ link ups for some throwback DJ fun. DJ’ing and MC’ing have gone together since the beginning of hip hop to the present day of the culture, so it would make a lot more sense than Guitar Hero connectivity. DJ Hollywood would be proud.

Wheels Of Steel Rather Than The Wheel Of Steel

This seems pretty obvious as a deck consisting of two turntables and not one. I think this would be an interesting idea but hard to pull off as the game is hard enough and quite bewildering to beginners. However, it would add an extra challenge to the game and make it a lot more authentic to a realistic DJ experience.

DJ Hero was a game that truly impressed and also provided gamers with the DJ Experience. DJ’ing is a very expensive hobby and DJ Hero was a compromise, so I was happy to hear news of a sequel, which could improve on the original. Hopefully, Activision will expand upon the original’s foundation and strive for the heady heights of Guitar Hero 3 or Rock Band in terms of evolution and refinement.