Imagine that you’ve busted your ass working on a music game during a year that everybody bemoans the supposed fact that music games are dead. But you know you’re on to something, and you shut out the whiners and just focus on making something of value. Then you finally release the game, wake up in the morning, and see what the cynical world thinks of your efforts.
Today, it is good to work at FreeStyleGames. And as I type this, they are probably all drinking heavily, for all the right celebratory reasons. The early scores coming through for DJ Hero 2 are fantastic. See for yourself:
American megamagazine Game Informer handed it a 9.25 out of 10:
“This sequel bests its predecessor in nearly every way.”
“The game grades you on how musical and unique your freestyles are, transforming what previously felt like a corny gimmick into an integral part of the experience. I really felt like I was helping craft the mix, not just hitting buttons in time.”
“As you crossfade, scratch, and manipulate the gorgeous mixes, the feeling is akin to riding the perfect wave. In some ways, I almost feel a greater connection to the music than I do when playing the guitar-focused games on the market.”
The often-harsh Eurogamer gave it a 9.0 out of 10:
“The soundtrack is faultless. If you’re a regular club-goer there’s plenty to recognise, but crucially, it’s still a powerful draw if you don’t know or even like the music. That’s down to the quality of the mashups.”
“DJ Hero 2 has completely altered the nature of freestyling, turning it into an integral part of the game. Previously you could only let off a small selection of pre-selected samples with the red button – otherwise known as the YEEEEAAHH BOIIIII button – but now , those samples are mix-specific, and how you use them is the difference between making a song sound incredible and like a 13-year-old playing with Garage Band.”
“Nothing has been done to those chunky DJ Hero decks. There’s no need to buy anything new to play DJ Hero 2, which surely comes as a relief after the original’s absurd price-tag.”
“DJ Hero 2 is the freshest thing in rhythm gaming right now, a lifeline for people bored of guitars and drums and genre veterans craving the purer, simpler rhythm-action kick of a pre-Guitar Hero world.”
Over in Brittania, IGN UK deemed the game 9.0 worthy as well:
“While some have disappeared up the arse of their own musical pretensions, others have been so focussed on superficial features designed to flog the next iteration of lucrative hardware they’ve forgotten refinement and improvement should happen in the name of entertainment. Thank god for FreeStyleGames then.”
“What’s nice about DJ Hero 2′s competitive modes is that, by their very design, they’re total levellers and anyone, regardless of skill, can get stuck in and have a chance of winning.”
“FreeStyleGames’ mischievous sense of fun is unmistakable, and still utterly irresistible.”
“Subtly-improved single-player is as recklessly compulsive as ever but DJ Hero 2’s superbly-realised focus on social gaming, an aspect conspicuously absent last time around, takes things to a whole new level.”
And Planet Xbox 360 awarded it a 9.0 out of 10:
“To be honest, I left the game in party mode a lot in my house, so I could have the music playing, and if I really was feeling it, I’d join the game for a minute to bust out a few songs.”
“DJ Hero is worth every penny. Especially if you’re looking for an alternative to the ‘band’ games flooding store shelves.”
“It’s easily the best rhythm game released so far this year and quite possibly a contender for my favorite rhythm game ever.”
Of course, these are the first few showing up online; maybe everybody won’t be quite as smitten. But maybe they will! As more reviews are released, you can follow along at GameRankings (which is the one I see most Activision people using here in the office) and MetaCritic.
For my part, I played it last night and instantly saw — and felt — all those little subtle improvements that many of the reviews note. I think the team really delivered.
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