DJ Hero 2 Review

While not posting stellar sales results from the first DJ Hero outing, Activision stuck to their guns and set to making a sequel. It's a good thing they did too, as DJ Hero 2 takes all of the best parts of what made the first great, then multiplied it  into a cleaner, more stable finished product.

In the same way that the Guitar Hero franchise gained more officially licensed music as the series grew, DJ Hero 2 has garnered itself more artists' songs to play with. This outing also sees the addition of some big name DJs with the series. Deadmau5, Tiesto and David Guetta are all in there, with songs from each respective artist. With names like these in the game, it was clear there would be less of a hip hop influence, bringing a more varied musical style that would appeal to more gamers.

If you've played the first one, you know what to expect from the game play side of things. Three lanes, two that can be affected by the crossfader and the middle 'sample' track if you were. However, jump straight into a game, bypassing the game's helpful intro asking if you'd like to learn the new features means you're going to get called out pretty quickly. Activision have added new variations on moves that can throw you for a loop (pun intended). There's variations on scratching including freestyle, individual samples for each song that are relevant in the red freestyle sections (no more annoying samples of air-horns) and finally, a freestyle crossfader section in which you can choose which parts of which song should be playing. These all lead to a better sense of being 'creative' with the song, rather than just being there to mimic the actions of the original mix.

DJ Hero 1 had nothing more than playing songs with pre-set DJs in pre-set venues as progression. That's been stepped up a notch for this outing as you're now following the career of a fledgling DJ making his or her way up the 'Empire'. Seemingly minimal adjustment, but it does make you care a bit more about the progression throughout the game more than to just 'unlock the songs'.

Multiplayer has received a well needed bolstering by the addition of new modes to play which makes it a more competitive affair. Rather than just fighting for a score, you have modes which pitch you into a call and response style affair. Mixed with the freestyle sections, multiplayer becomes a challenge, as there's no easy set score for a section. Two players can duke it out in the multiplayer, with a third being able to join in on vocals. Gone is the guitar mode from DJ Hero 1.

Party play also makes an appearance, making it more friendly to have it playing away to itself in the background, allowing people to jump in as and when they please.

Overall, the game is a solid successor to the first, adding the key things that always seemed to be missing from the first. A more varied track list, better multiplayer support, the freestyle sections and a more interesting career mode make this an excellent title for anyone that enjoys rhythm based games.