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Four years ago, a young publisher with lofty ambitions released Guitar Hero into the wild. Harmonix strived to combine their unique brand of rhythm gaming with new plastic imitation instruments. Not only did they succeed in giving the Guitar Hero name household status but also they made a pretty damn good game.

While the story surrounding DJ Hero isn’t as courageous or as ‘underdog conquers the world’, FreeStyleGames have achieved something worthy of merit. The controller looks alien and the music sounds unusual and despite this, DJ Hero feels incredibly natural and more importantly is ridiculously fun.

Despite all this DJ Hero feels incredibly natural and more importantly is ridiculous fun

Fear will instantly set in, as soon as you start playing DJ Hero. The punishingly difficult challenge presented in existing ‘Hero’ games will result in you starting at easy or even beginner mode. The problem is, that while Guitar Hero wants to make your fingers bleed, all DJ Hero wants to do is have a fun time.

You’ll instantly be able to enjoyably play the game on medium, possibly even hard if you have the coordination. Accessibility was clearly the aim considering you can’t fail, which makes sense considering the overbearing task ahead of you.

The basics of the game are deeply rooted in the proven formula laid down in Guitar Hero. On the record platter you have three coloured buttons, you simply press or hold and perform a scratching motion as they come around on the screen.

Obviously here you only have one turntable, as opposed to real DJs who traditionally have two. The game’s simple solution is for the blue button being one deck while the green controls the other. Occasionally the tracks get really messy leaving even the notation confused but this generally tends to be the rule.

Occasionally the tracks get really messy leaving even the notation confused

Once you’ve stepped into medium difficulty you’ll have the crossfader to deal with, which is incredibly satisfying when you flick it correctly before a drop. The crossfader control and platter buttons are the crux of the game but DJ Hero let’s you freestyle.

Freestyling is optional but it will give you more points, which inevitably result in more prizes. Certain segments of the track are singled out for application of the FX dial, which lets you play around with the output frequencies. There are also red button zones; these let you go a little bit crazy with a sample pack of your choice, ordinarily Flavor Flav saying ‘Yeah Boyee’.

You can also activate Euphoria (Star Power) for a greater multiplier along with literally spinning the platter backwards at any point to replay the last ten seconds of the mix. Although this sounds really awkward, it gives you the sense that you are in control of the music, even though in actuality you aren’t.

All the mixes are predetermined and justifiably so. The ability to mix on the fly would be incredibly overbearing for a casual audience, it also makes sure that each mash up sounds incredible.

Original mixes created specifically for the game, from top DJs like DJ Yoda, Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Grandmaster Flash and more, all leave you with a stunning soundtrack. Surprising inclusions and mash-ups will leave any music lover with a smile on their face after hearing some of the bizarre combinations.

The mixes will leave any music lover with a smile on their face

With each mix being created specifically for the game, a majority of them feature way too much scratching from artists that normally wouldn’t. It makes the special Daft Punk set sound incredibly weird when there is scratching every five seconds. But complex DJ inputs make sure the pace of the game is constantly frantic and exciting.

These ninety-three mixes will keep you entertained for hours without any sign of repetition. Despite this, the game only has one hundred and two individual tracks meaning you’ll be hearing IZZO, time after time. Nevertheless the unique soundtrack is an excellent testament to the highly ambitious nature of this project, the fact that it sounds terrific is even better.

The mind boggles with all the omissions and possible mash-ups they could include. While Guitar Hero is limited by the Rock genre and it’s various offshoots, the sky is the limit for DJ Hero and personally I hope we’ll see a sequel.

It’s hard to criticise DJ Hero. The controller its self is solid, even if the cross-fader feels a little cheap and the blue button is to close to the centre for scratching. You could also complain about the lack of gapless mixes and custom sample packs along with the forced and unnecessary inclusion of Guitar Hero controller support.

The sky is the limit for DJ Hero and personally I hope we’ll see a sequel

It’s all irrelevant when you’re having a good time. The main stumbling block isn’t the game its self, that’s pretty spot on, it’s actually the price. Let’s instantly count out the Renegade Edition because £70 for two discs of previously released material from over-popularised rappers and a stand is undoubtedly not worth it. Nevertheless if you can pick up DJ Hero for £80 or under, the replayability and longevity of it almost justifies the price.

It will leave you thinking of improvements, features and artists they can put in DJ Hero 2. Nevertheless any music lover or rhythm gamer should pick this up. Ignore the price, if you can, and the fact that it appears incredibly challenging, after a few minutes you’ll feel comfortable. If you ignore these things you’ll find DJ Hero to be a timely cure for plastic guitar driven over-saturation and fatigue.