Crying Wolf – DJ Hero 2 Ultra Records Mix Pack Review

Well, don’t I feel like a conspiracy theorist.

Far from running around for several months declaring the not-so-harmonious death of my favorite music franchise several times over,I truly believed that the last pack (that in itself the last-last pack) was all there was, and after completing the slightly underwhelming last (last) one, I packed my turntable away, and lost myself in a sea of FPS games. Imagine my surprise when news of this seemingly random mix pack found it’s way into my mailbox. Done? Bug-eyed much?

Now imagine my amazement when the words Deadmau5, Benny Benassi and Yolanda Be Cool crossed my eyes.

Oh, I’m done declaring this series dead. Yes I am.


DJ Hero 2 “Ultra Mix Pack" (Downloadable Content)
For: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii (Songs sold as individual tracks)
Publisher: Activision/Freestyle Games
Price: 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 PSN, 300 Wii points (per track)
Release: 4/19/2011
Reviewed on Expert difficulty; Individual songs on a 1-5 point scale, overall is by 10 and not an average.


Benny Benassi - House Music




As it stands, House Music was already a deep, bass heavy song, but FSG apparently wasn’t satisfied with completely buzzing your ears off with one of BB’s finest. No, I’m pretty sure they wanted to make your head explode with a high-tier track. It was a SUCCESS, with their manic style complimenting this already up tempo track with a range of effects that make it sound like it received a shot of adrenaline. It’s all deep lows and piercing effects here, with a challenging, tap heavy chart that has its scratches and samples paced just right to lend a feeling of control over the beat. Even the scratchdown>tap pattern from “Sexy Chick” makes a return here, and it managed to throw me off when it came back at me in reverse. Excellent, excellent track to kick things off, and I don’t say it lightly. It captured the energy of the original perfectly, and only changed things slightly to make it distinct as a DJH mix. Believe that I couldn’t stop myself from dancing in my seat.

Rating: 5/5

Deadmau5 - Sofi Needs A Ladder



Deadmau5 and Sofi’s affair first graced my ears in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, and the fandom carried over into the (awesome) album 4x4=12, so I practically decided while downloading this DLC that it would be my favorite song in the pack. The sad truth is that, it is not. This however, does not mean it’s bad. It’s an oddly reverse take on the original, in that it starts out slow with lyrics from the END of the song, and then incorporates the rest about 2/3rds through for a better paced finish. While this change really affects how the song sounds and feels (and it does feel odd if you’re used to the original), it’s still undeniably Deadmau5. Call me crazy, but FSG must know that he’s an avid gamer, because this is a pretty challenging track that actually had my fingers cramping a bit midway through. At the end of the day however, it’s a good track, but not the great one I was expecting. I also can’t shake the feeling that it seems like a bit of a missed opportunity to mess with Sofi’s lyrics as well. Listening to her call out her addiction in metaphors in the original seemed ripe for mixing, but even if they weren’t feeling creative enough for the entire song, having them intact would’ve been better than cutting most of them out, similar to the way “Move for Me” was charted. I feel like it’s the one thing holding this track from the greatness it should’ve been.

Rating: 3/5

Yolanda Be Cool - We Speak No Americano



Fun fun fun. This track, whose band doubles as a Pulp Fiction reference (trivia!) has much going for it, already sampling the humorous song Tu vuò fà l'americano. As a result, it has a nutty, goofy feel to it, with samples in all the right places and enough mixed challenge to keep you guessing. The various ways FSG has managed to keep this game tricky is impressive, and I don’t know who can hit that series of taps/scratches without spraining something, but power to them. As good as I am, I’m pretty sure I broke something on my first attempt. Don’t let this ward you off though, because the song is so much fun that it becomes irrelevant about halfway through. I had fun with this one, and I love the sound they came up with for it. As I mentioned about House Music earlier, this is an example of a remix shaking things up enough to make it different from the original, with just enough flavor to keep it familiar. Kudos.

Rating:5/5

This is prime. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say FSG is pulling out all the stops, making a case for DJ Hero’s continued existence with an outburst of talent and wit. The in-game “hero feed” says that this is the final DLC pack for the game. Excuse me if I have trouble believing that after hearing it so many times before. I have faith in them. Ten DLC packs spanning twenty-nine songs later, I’m still on board, and I’m still dancing to what I consider one of the best game soundtracks ever. Anyone listening to this music and deciding the series needs to close is outright insane. There couldn’t be a stronger case for this to go on.

Rating: 9.0

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Sonic Generations looks..

AWESOME. Now that we are in agreement, hit the jump for more details!




Yeah.
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IRL Box?

Love Cut the Rope? If you have an iOS device, OF COURSE YOU DO. The fun, addictive puzzle game from Zeptolab is extremely hard to put down once you’ve picked it up, and semi-frequent updates ensure that adorable character Om Nom’s hunger (and your spare time) are kept at bay.

The latest update added the “Magic Box”, which, in addition to 25 new levels and three achievements, adds a new element in the form of top hats, teleporting a new layer of complexity towards players’ feeding endeavors.

To celebrate the release, the wonderful people at Zeptolab constructed a MASSIVE demo unit at Los Angeles' Hollywood & Highland Center. Looking like it was pulled straight from the game, the unit features 9 huge touch screens well suited for all sorts of rope cutting, creature feeding craziness.

I’m not sure what else needs to be said, because if you’ve played this even once, you’re probably already halfway across the state to run off and conquer this thing. If you aren’t situated on the West Coast, fear not! Another one was spotted in Atlanta International Airport.

Road trip, anyone?

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Mortal Technique?

And as much as things change, they stay the same.

The Tournament Edition Arcade Stick for the upcoming Mortal Kombat game is up for preorder now, and is literally a direct opposite from the Madcatz/Sanwa themed endeavor for Street Fighter 4. Where the aim with the SF4 stick was to recreate the feel of an authentic Japanese style arcade cabinet, this stick looks to replicate the feel of an American-style one instead, you gaijins. An article up at IGN Gear has shots and impressions of the thing, and honestly, aside from the storage ability and cool blood-spattered finish, I can't see how this thing would be comfortable to play on, by any stretch of the imagination.

Let's forget for a second that for all the effort to strip everything from MK that didn't work and augmenting everything that did (and I am LOVING the effort, believe me), the game is still a 2D fighting series with a BLOCK button. Why they continue to deem this a necessary evil is beyond me, but I'm pretty sure it's why this stick's design mocks the button layout of an MK cabinet circa 1993. Concave buttons made from HAPP parts, bat top arcade stick, funky vewlix button layout. Only thing missing is the oppressive rumbling of the DCS sound system to make you want to stick quarters in the thing to shock nearby gamers with the "HEY I'M ABOUT TO PLAY MK" gong noises.



I appreciate the nostalgia, I do, but the block button was one of those things that just DIDN'T make sense in a 2D fighter, and I'm pretty certain it's why the stick has the layout it does now! Looking like a five sided die is not only strange and ergonomically awkward, but it pretty much ensures that you'll be playing nothing but Mortal Kombat on this thing. I'm mean, look at where the LT and RB are located! Even though PDP (the manufacturer) has ensured that it'll be fully customizable, I still find myself somewhere between praising the return to roots and wondering if $150 is really a reasonable price for a controller I'm only going to use with ONE type of fighting game.

Is that really a good investment?..

Source: IGN
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Iwata should look around a little.

With Nintendo's president biting back at Apple for all their oversaturation "tactics", it's more than a bit funny that they should tout the fact that they have more software on their console as a positive thing. Quality over quantity, the oblivious president parrots to an audience surely scratching their heads in confusion. He implies the innovations in social gaming are going to kill the industry if we aren't careful. He says Apple is mostly to blame with their implementation of the app store encouraging "garage" developers to produce cheaper content, and mobile games are dragging the quality bar down even further by lacking the value and personal satisfaction that a $40 game carries with its purchase.

You know. Like Nintendo's $40 games.

This sounds less like a concerned parent of the industry and more like the lamentations of one unable to keep up with it's baby's development.

The Wii may have more software from its competitors, but how much of that is quality Software? Anyone even keeping up with the industry a little, or even owning a Wii knows that the system has become a dumping ground for shovelware and garbage titles, and outside of some select third party offerings and Nintendo's own First Party lineup, there isn't anything on the console worth picking up. Is that really a better alternative?

So they're effectively the App store, just in a physical form. Just ask their "Seal of Quality", which went from being the beacon of light that saved the industry in the 80's to having it's meaning removed entirely. Hardly coincidence.



The seal speaks louder than words.


It's interesting seeing Nintendo react to competition for once, but this is just childish. While they were able to sit and casually laugh at Sony's bid for power over content in the portable gaming space, Apple's iOS and social platforms like Facebook are starting to cut into the big N's market share in a huge way. With cellphones getting more advanced by the day and digital distribution not having the same costly hangups as retail (including piracy), they are going to have to work harder than they ever have to maintain their position as number one.

Perhaps, moving forward, Nintendo should focus on avenues of profit that will benefit them, and make them seem less like a pigheaded company who's been profiting off the misinformed indifference of the casual consumer. If cellphones and mobile gaming platforms are making your premium priced offerings seem overpriced and stale, the solution is to make better games, and a consistent string of quality across titles. Not try and insist that such games shouldn't exist.

Even though I have no doubt that the 3DS will be successful, its version of Super Street Fighter 4 costs more than even its console incarnation at $39.99, boasting little over the original incarnation. Aside from that game which is admittedly well done, it's sharing the shelf with half-baked ports of Rayman, Madden, Pilotwings, Asphalt, and a who-asked-for-this new version of Nintendogs, all for $39.99 as well.

This is going to be a bit of an uphill battle for them, especially with so many options for the consumer as far as platform is concerned. While ports like this are fine in the beginning, I hope that they're ready to outdo their competitors in terms of content, or they're just going to end up with another Wii situation, where lazy developers will turn out gimmicky piece of software after software, charging the same high prices that will drive their audience into the arms of their competitors. It's easy to purchase the racing game Asphalt on an iPhone for $3, and lament the loss if it's terrible. It's a much bigger pill to swallow when the game is $40.

Hell, I bought the (234237th) port or Rayman 2 on my phone for $1 over a year ago. There's no way I'm buying it for the 3DS. 3D butterflies aren't worth that much, I'm sorry.

Like it or not, this is the exact kind of social gaming and open environment Nintendo helped initiate, culminating the minute they decided to involve the world by making their console's name a euphemism for it. So now we're playing Farmville, Angry Birds, and portable versions of games like Dead Space that are of such a quality that they could've existed on a DS or PSP for large sum. Instead, they're available for six dollars, confortably in a climate that allows them to be so.

No point in trying to turn back now.


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Down Under - DJ Hero 2 Indie Hip-Hop Mix Pack Review

Well…color me surprised. For the umpteenth time.

Weren’t we supposed to be done with DJ Hero content? Weren’t we? Talks of closures, liquidations, and rumor of the future of FSG notwithstanding, there is new DJ Hero content up, seemingly against al odds. This means two things: Either they produced a TON of music slated for release before the bad news dropped, or these are the products of a studio that can’t and won’t stop. While I sit comfortably in my fandom and bet on the latter, this week’s pack is a strange one indeed. Honestly and for the first time, I have no idea what to expect from this “Indie Hip Hop Mix Pack”, because…well, I’ve never heard of ANY of these people.

Or their music.

Though, with names like Peanut Butter Wolf and Camu Tao, I have an itching feeling that I can only expect greatness.

GREATNESS.

Hopefully. While I welcome this pack with arms stretched wide, at the same time, I hope being blindsided by Freestyle Games is a good thing..


DJ Hero 2 "Indie Hip-Hop Mix Pack" (Downloadable Content)
For: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii (Songs sold as individual tracks)
Publisher: Activision/Freestyle Games
Price: 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 PSN, 300 Wii points (per track)
Release: 3/15/2010
Songs reviewed on Expert difficulty.



Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf - My World Premiere vs. Jaylib - The Red (Instrumental)"



Uh..right. While that isn’t the perfect way to start any review of a track, it’s the initial thought I had upon completing this mix for the first time. It’s a slow paced track that isn’t too challenging save for some scratches at the end, but My World Premiere’s old-school lyrics and cadence do sound fine over Jaylib’s beat for The Red, making the medley is serviceable if a bit unexciting. I was so put off by the track that I went and listened to the original tracks, and found that Charizma’s track had great lyrics but an okay beat. The Red on the other hand, had a beat was definitely better than whatever Jaylib was trying to spit. Combined like this, it’s actually the best of both worlds, but it isn’t enough to save the song. Sometimes it happens, every so often you’lll get a song that’s more fun to listen to than to play, but when the song and the track are middling, neither great, nor terrible, you just get something that exists. This song kind of just exists.

Rating: 2/5

The Perceptionists ft. Guru & Camu Tao - Party Hard vs. RJD2 – Ghostwriter


I was actually a bit at an advantage with this one, not realizing that I’ve heard “Ghostwriter” before..but with this epiphany came a shot of fear. I like RJD2’s droning beat on this one, but could I be in line for another slow paced, possibly dreary track? Thankfully, the Perceptionists answered with a loud NO! Party Hard’s lyrics are filled with attitude and braggadocio, and it does well to keep the sample filled Ghostwriter moving along at a brisk pace. When I say sample filled, I really mean it, and FSG knew what was up as well, matching this song with a track that’ll have you exercising the middle red button like there’s no tomorrow. Samples during scratches, samples during taps, held samples during scractches and…you get the idea. Finger dexterity. Hope you have a carpal tunnel pad installed in front of your turntable..

Rating: 4/5


Atmosphere - The Best Day (Remix by FSG)



I liked this. I really, really did. Call me crazy, because it isn’t the most exciting track out there, and listening to the preview, I’m sure many people will listen to this and wonder how it could translate into a fun DJ Hero track, but somehow, it just does. It works. Though I have no clue how the original sounds (though this sounds more like a beat juggle than a full on remix), what we have here is a song that’s hip hop through and through, telling a tale about a day gone wrong over a laid back beat. Scratches are at the forefront of this one, but everything added doesn’t detract from the lyrics one bit, as a matter of fact, it’s one of the few songs that can be sung without fear of having to compensate for stuttering samples at every turn. This was my favorite mix of the pack, though some may not agree with me. If you really like circa-90’s hip hop, you won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 4/5

Aside from that turd (sorry Charizma, the original sounds better—don’t haunt me!) at the start of the pack, this was a pretty solid, if a little niche. Unfortunately, it may be a bit too niche for all but the deepest of Hip-Hop fans (who may not have this game), or even frequent DJ Hero players (who are looking for something more modern or electronic). So while being notoriously obscure is fine, perhaps a bit more care needs to be taken in selecting the next tracks. These are dark times for the developer. I’d hate for any of FSG’s new music to undersell since they’re likely trying to prove themselves, but this pack is something I can’t really recommend to anyone despite my enjoyment. While a love of music is paramount in enjoying this series, these songs have to ultimately be played, and they just aren’t that enjoyable in that respect. I’m pretty sure most other players will have the same hangup.

Overall: 6.5

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Closer to Home

Homefront releases in stores today, and the ambitious FPS has received much attention for its scenario, which details what would have happened if Korea were never divided during WW2, and went on to become a superpower so dominant that it would eventually invade the US. Considering the state of the world (and Korea) at present, it’s a very interesting premise and question, one developer Kaos studios saw fit to answer with this ambitious release. But how possible is this alternate reality? THQ and Kaos have gone on record, citing exhaustive research, historical advisors, and even enslited the writer of Apocalypse Now to speak volumes of its plausibility. But could it really happen, given the right conditions?

Here, we have two arguments on the matter. Colin Moriarty of IGN believes it’s more plausible than one would think, suspending his disbelief and making a point that Homefront’s situation is very likely, given the unpredictability of history and the notion that with the proper timing, it isn’t that much of a stretch...

While on the other end:

Destructoid’s Brad Rice has a different stance. Having checked the game’s “timeline” of events, he cites various facts about the economical and military strength of the US, its allies, as well as Korea to make his point, declaring it outright impossible.

It’s two interesting, opposing views on a concept that is in fact, most debatable. While the notion that the US could be compromised the way the game suggests is arguably sound, the reality of what makes the country a superpower seriously makes one question if such a breach can even be attempted. Especially considering all the hands currently being held by the US in its partners and the strength of its military, among other issues.

Reviews of Homefront have been mixed thus far, but regardless of the game’s quality, its nice to see that with each passing day, we continue to provoke thought and debate in ways we wouldn’t have imagined since our little bleeps and bloops began.

Sources:

IGN - ”Is Homefront Possible?”

Destructoid - ”In Which I Break Down Why Homefront’s Plot is Impossible”


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