DS Review – DJ Star

Want to put your DJ skills to the test on DS? Now you can!

Start out playing at your mate’s parties and local clubs before you get to climb the ladder and reap all the “perks” that come with being a DJ Star.
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Mix, scratch and fade your way to fame and fortune. Experience the buzz of playing to a 100,000 strong crowd in world’s hottest party locations, from London to Miami.

Signing autographs, creating your own tracks and partying with hot girls, DJ Star puts you right at the centre of the party.

Featuring 40 legendary Dance and RnB tracks for you to mix.

Real time mixing and scratching: use the NDS touch screen like a real turntable, slide the cross fader and adjust the treble.

Travel the world: London, Paris, Berlin, Miami and many more.

8 mini-game activities that will keep the girls dancing all night long! Sign autographs, programme a light display and give away goodies to the heaving crowds.

Create your own original tracks using 200 samples in the Creation Studio. Use them in your sets and exchange them with friends via DS Wireless

DJ Hero comes out next month, so Deep Silver have taken an early lead with DJ Star…but on the DS. It seems odd to make a DJ game for the DS since it isn’t known for having the best sound quality, but surprisingly it does a good job with authentic tracks that sound good. I don’t know if it’s because I was using my DSi or not, but the audio quality was stronger than past music games I’ve played on the handheld.

The game is easy to play. You use the stylus to switch tracks, adjust the BPM, scratch records and so on. It’s a simple interface and the game takes you through the process for those unfamiliar of how to be a DJ. I didn’t know what to do at first, but I soon got the hang of it, it was quite fun but soon became second nature.
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The problem is that the game doesn’t offer much of a challenge, it doesn’t make you get things in tune like with most music games, but instead just asks you to get people to dance for a period of time like 60 seconds and progressively more as you advance, it’s hardly difficult. All I did was change the speed of the tracks, swapped them over once in a while and scratched the turntable.

It’s a little disappointing that the game isn’t too hard, especially since its biggest competitor will probably be very challenging and probably better overall. Visually, it’s not that strong either. It isn’t that bad, it just could have benefited from a tad extra in the graphics department. Music quality is strong as I’ve already said, but overall the game just simply isn’t strong enough when compared to other music games.

The Verdict

DJ Star is another mixed bag. It has good music and great audio quality, but it offers little challenge and lacks a bit of polish. It’s not bad but it’s hardly groundbreaking either. I’d wait for DJ Hero myself, but if you have a DS and can’t wait to be a DJ then look no further.

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