Slinging a guitar not your style? Try 'DJ Hero'

I was never much one for "Guitar Hero." Playing "Smoke on the Water" 50 times while holding a pint-sized plastic guitar just never really got the blood flowing. I've been waiting for something better, and now it's here.

Activision's new "DJ Hero" has solved my music video game plight. It's got better music, better action and is frankly just a lot less goofy feeling than "Guitar Hero."

"DJ Hero" ($120; Xbox360, PS3, Wii; Rated "T" for teen) consists of the game disc and a wireless turntable and mixer controller. The mixer can be attached to either side of the turntable, so lefties and righties can scratch and fade as they choose.

The turntable has a nicely weighted platter that spins freely both clockwise and counterclockwise when you nudge it. A row of three colored buttons sits on the platter, in similar fashion to the buttons on the "frets" of "Guitar Hero" controllers.

On the screen, one side of a vinyl LP spins toward you with three brightly colored tracks (green, red and blue) to coincide with the physical buttons on the platter. When a hit point appears along the grooves on the screen, you'll need to tap the corresponding button. Easy right? You're a turntable God, just like DJ Qbert from the Invisibl Skratch Piklz. Right?

Hold on to your hoodie, there's a bit more to it than that.

There are also long paths of arrows that appear on the screen, indicating you'll need to hold down the correct button and move the platter back and forth to "scratch" the track. Let up off the scratching too soon and you'll lose the groove, the music will grow a little more silent, and the club crowd on screen becomes less active.

I began my "DJ Hero" career with a little bit of training courtesy of legendary old-school turntablist Grandmaster Flash, who narrates the action throughout. After getting the basics down, I hit the nightclub circuit as the "DJ Kid Itch" character, dressed in a fur-lined jacket with three spray paint cans tucked in the hood for added B-Boy street cred.

Along the way through the different club venues and set lists, I would notice a track that I really wanted to hear. But I had to perform well enough to get to it. For instance, in the "On The Wheels Of Steel" set list, I wanted to tackle Fedde Le Grande's ultimate body mover, "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit." But I had to muddle through some lackluster Gwen Stefani and Gorrilaz tracks to get to it. This is akin to killing forest rodents in "World of Warcraft" to build up enough power for a decent group raid.

Thanks to a solid performance on an early level, I acquired some "stars" which unlocked new set lists, club venues and DJ gear, such as new headphones and decks (turntables). That kept my diminutive DJ character looking and performing sharp as he tackled some of the 90-plus songs that come with the game.

The "DJ Hero" controller feels solid and has a decently demanding learning curve. The crossfader was tough to master. Sure, slamming it all the way to the left or right was easy, but quickly getting back to the middle when I needed to was tough. There is also a "euphoria" button that glowed red when I'd done well in a featured segment of a song. At that point, I hit the red button and the crossfader was set to auto, so I could pump one hand in the air and really get the crowd going. Never mind that the club was my living room and the crowd was my dog.

A second DJ controller can be added for head-to-head action, or you can connect a "Guitar Hero" axe and do a blend of turntable and guitar gaming.

"DJ Hero" is an excellent game. Best music title yet for my taste.

Four out of four stars.

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On the Net: http://www.djhero.com