DJ Hero 2 Review (Xbox 360)

When DJ Hero 2 was announced it was absolutely no surprise - not just because music games are always getting sequels and spinoffs in high numbers, but because Activision and Freestyle Games had created a great product with the original game and a new way to attack the music genre. Now DJ Hero 2 has arrived on store shelves and it's time to see if the new game is indeed a successful endeavor.

Let's start with a simple concept and build and expand on it. DJ Hero 2 is a better game than DJ Hero. This doesn't mean it that it's perfect or didn't create a new series of its own problems, but in general everything from presentation to gameplay itself is more enjoyable in the sequel. The track list is fantastic in the sequel and you'll find yourself unable to stop bobbing your head throughout particularly funky segments of the set lists. As far as sheer quality, the set list brings just as many, if not more, familiar names to the game's mixes and you'll enjoy some of the clever interplay between the pairs of songs.



First things first, DJ Hero 2 wants to party, literally, with Party Play Mode. If you load the game and stop on the main menu, within just a few moments the game throws itself into Party Play where a song will start playing set to a different club location. This drop-in, drop-out mode will play itself or allow anyway to join and quit at any difficulty on the fly. Within no time you can jump into this mode with two turntables and in this sequel, a microphone (which I'll discuss later). This simple mode is a nice addition for anyone looking to get right into the action.

Stepping away from DJ Hero's jumbled front end menu, the sequel organizes itself into some sets of higher clarity. The career mode is called Empire. The premise behind the mode is that you're an up and coming club DJ and you're expanding your musical empire across the world. From the sound of it, this sounds almost like an in-depth simulation, but in reality it's just a delivery vehicle to put your DJ in different locations and reveal different in-game DJs. You'll find yourself jumping from Ibiza to London to Berlin to the Far Easy over to Vegas and finally return to where you started as a final encore. You'll hit Grand Master Flash, DJ Qbert, David Guetta, Rza, Deadmau5, Tiesto and more along the way who bring with them epic Megamixes of multiple creations they've thrown together. Empire Mode. Earning stars throughout all of these locations unlocks new venues, new costume additions, new equipment and new playable characters for other modes.

Empire Mode also provides DJ battles throughout where you'll battle a famous star in a series of checkpoints battles. In these battles, each song is split into a series of checkpoints and if you hit the notes more accurately than your counterparts, you'll win the match and if you max out the meter you can even win by knockout. This mode is also available in the Battle mode and online which I'll describe later.



Overall, the unlocks aren't that exciting as you're not generally going to be looking at your character's headphones or turntables while you're spinning your way through a set list, but it's nice to be rewarded for your work along the way. DJ Hero 2 lets you play as your own Xbox Live Avatar throughout the game, and while the art style is completely off the wall, it's a nice personal touch that I couldn't help but use throughout much of Empire Mode and online.