DJ Hero, the newest addition to the family of peripheral-based video games, makes its debut on Oct.27, 2009. If it looks like Guitar Hero but with turntables – that’s because it essentially is. DJ Hero is a single-player mixology simulator which in itself already sounds very, very cool. While Guitar Hero is focused on performing music, DJ Hero allows players to perfect their mash-ups.

The usual guitar is substituted by the plastic likeness of a turntable – the necessary tool of any DJ. Created by RedOctane, this is not some cheap plastic box – it’s solid, functional and even pretty to look at. The turntable platter has three buttons and spins freely, which allows the player to scratch and rewind tracks just like pro DJs. It spins and clicks where it’s supposed to and includes a mixer on the side that houses the fader switch and euphoria button among other features.

Whereas Guitar Hero focuses on rock songs, the heart of DJ Hero is the mash-up. These are songs that have been mixed and mashed to an almost indistinguishable track, but that’s part of its allure as a very challenging peripheral-based rhythm game.

The game’s original soundtrack is definitely one of the highlights. You get to play and listen to the work of skilled DJs like Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, Daft Punk, and the late DJ AM. The tracks they will be mixing up are numerous and from artists like Gwen Stefani, Beastie Boys and Public Enemies just to name a few. The game gives the player access to more than 100 licensed songs in 93 tracks. Players get to really experience the creative mind behind the world’s top DJs. (And on a more sentimental note, DJ Hero has made their game a tribute to DJ AM’s passing since his visionary work is a good chunk of the mash-ups.)

The goal of this game should be familiar: Notes come at you on the “note highway” and the objective is to rack up as many points as possible.

The main aspect of this game that is sure to frustrate players is the ease of play here is  harder than what they’re accustomed to with other rhythm games. “Up-mashing” techniques are numerous and intimidating. At various points in the track, players will be required to tap, scratch up/down, crossfade, crossfade spike, modify effects, trigger freestyle and rewind. Luckily all these skills are slowly introduced as you progress on the difficulty ladder, but once you reach the expert level – rest assured you’ll be expected to spin like the pros. Though there’s no failing out in this game, it’s embarrassing to miss notes since your track is deactivated for the moment and the musical flow expected from DJs is interrupted.

DJ Hero is sure to satisfy real turntablists and hopefuls alike. Just keep in mind that unlike Rock Band, this is not a group game and is really the most fun on your own.

Watch this mash-up trailer from Daft Punk that’s included in the game:

DJ Hero is available for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, and Wii platforms. The game and turntable are on sale together for $199.99 . Buy DJ HERO game by itself here for $99.99 and try it!

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The Beatles: Rock Band is your Fab Four experience in the digital form. Riding off the popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this music video game was developed by Harmonix Music Systems to be the ultimate tribute to music legends, The Beatles. The game is almost identical to its predecessor Rock Band 2 and is compatible with PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 platforms.

First thing to note, it’s really necessary for gamers to like The Beatles in order to enjoy this video game. There are 45 songs and they are ALL Beatles. Unlike Guitar Hero: Metallica, there are no other bands to choose from and no other tunes besides The Beatles. Having noted that, we can say that these are the 45 best songs from The Beatles’ career. Many of them are under 3 minutes long, but the song choices are solid representations of why they’re so highly regarded in the music community during their career and even now.

Gamers can hop right into Quickplay (online or offline) and start exploring the full track list. Unlike other versions of Rock Band, there are no characters to create or costumes to unlock. You’re playing as The Beatles and depending on your song choice the characters’ wardrobes, hairstyles and sound are going to match the real environment of the song when it was first played. Some people may miss the lack of customization for their Rock Band characters, but at the end of the day seeing the evolution of The Beatles through the song progressions really helps the gamer connect and understand the group’s story so much more. Harmonix made a good decision on removing the customization options to stay true to the essence of John, Paul, Ringo and George.

The Story mode will probably be the focus of many people’s game time. Players will follow the progression of The Beatles’ career – from the early days playing at the Cavern Club as the fresh-faced boy band, to the Ed Sullivan show appearance, to their final performance on Apple Corps’ rooftop. As opposed to the typical Rock Band formula of recycling songs to extend playtime, gamers only play each song once in the Story mode progression. This characteristic of the game gives you a better perspective of the changes that occurred over the course of The Beatles’ musical career. Additionally, the Story mode allows the gamer to unlock photographs and short videos chronicling The Beatles’ history.

A sample dreamscape

The second half of the Story mode features elaborate and beautiful “dreamscapes” that Harmonix created for songs that the band recorded in Abbey Road Studios. These graphic-intense and remarkable environments were custom-created for each song and are a wonderful visual experience in themselves. Gamers’ favorites are sure to be George’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” which takes place on a quaint hillside where the skies darken as the song progresses. ”Yellow Submarine” and “Octopus’ Garden” dreamscapes are also a pleasure to behold. The most trippy award goes to “I Am the Walrus” which can’t even be explained appropriately in words and needs to be experienced.

If you’re looking for a challenge in a video game, The Beatles: Rock Band is not it. It stays true to the real band who were talented, wrote great lyrics and tunes but were also not the most technical musicians. Songs included in the game are simple and fun to play – great for when you want to hang out with friends and enjoy The Beatles experience. This is not the game to challenge your video game skills and push you towards a “master” level of Rock Band.

A major addition to the the game is the inclusion of vocal harmonies. You can use up to three mics to fill the vocal meters for one of the three parts available. If you hit the lead and backup vocals right on then you can earn Double or Triple Fab bonus points. The three-part vocals is one of the toughest aspects to master on this game.

Kudos must be given to Harmonix for creating such a fantastic Beatles tribute for fans. Keep in mind that The Beatles: Rock Band doesn’t interface with the two prior Rock Band games and all upcoming Beatles downloadable content is going to be usable only for this game.

The Beatles: Rock Band is selling for $59.99 for just the game, and $249.99 for the whole set including instruments.

Check out a trailer for the game below:

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