After being curiously absent from the on-disc soundtrack, Jay-Z, one-half of the original DJ Hero promotional duo, returns for a guest verse in the first DJ Hero 2 DLC pack. Available November 2, the Hit Makers Mix Pack bundles three mixes for $8, including a Rihanna's "Umbrella" / Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" mashup. Two weeks later, the Electro Hits Mix Pack will be released, packing decidedly more oomph-oomph. Complete details of both packs are posted after the break.
Additionally, a free compatibility update will be released in November to enable support for existing DJ Hero DLC in DJ Hero 2. Activision has not specified if this update will reformat the original DLC to feature new gameplay elements. (The gameplay differential between the first and second games could be a contributing factor in the apparent lack of a soundtrack importing option from DJ Hero 1 to 2 -- that and the race just to complete the DJ Hero 2 content in seven months, not to mention possible music licensing limitations.)
DJ Hero 2 will be released next Tuesday, October 19 for PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii.
If your lack of a turntable -- or a current-gen gaming console, for that matter -- kept you from enjoying the Xbox Live and PSN demo for DJ Hero 2, you've now got a few other options for channels through which to get a sample portion of the upcoming rhythm sequel. The first, and most accurate method for you to try out the game is to go to your local Best Buy, as DJ Hero 2 demo units have been placed in over 900 of the retailer's locations across the country.
A slightly less authentic way to try the game out is to play the flash-based, online demo that was recently added to the game's official site. It boils down the controls to a fairly simple mouse-and-keyboard scheme, but you should get a good idea of what playing the full title is going to feel like.
Finally, you can watch a new DJ Hero 2 trailer after the jump, which seems to indicate that playing the game allows you to kiss the braces right off of an attractive girl's mouth, which we don't really remember happening while playing the series' first installment.
Jamie Jackson, creative director at DJ Hero 2 developer Freestyle Games, told PlayStation UK in an interview recently that the latest title was made in just seven short months. The game reportedly kicked off development immediately after a "mass exodus" at the studio, clarified to Joystiq as a "big holiday" for the team. According to Jackson, "15-hour days for quite a long time" resulted in the vast majority of the studio vacationing in places like Ibiza to get the creative juices flowing once more. When everyone was back, the team had to hop right back in the saddle for the sequel.
"We had to get straight back on it ... so DJ Hero 2 has been made in around seven months," Jackson explained. And though the team only had a handful of months to get the sequel together, it wasn't interested in putting out "the same game again with different music" -- Jackson got specific, shouting out the new Battle Mixes and Freestyling features as improvements made despite a dramatically shortened development cycle. And now, with the game nearly complete, we have to imagine that various Mediterranean islands are bracing for impact.
#preorderbonus
Who wants a Puma-branded DJ Hero 2 carrying bag? How about a hard shell turntable case stand, or a copy of the original DJ Hero? Where you pay decides what you'll be playing with when DJ Hero launches October 19. More »
Activision has outlined the different incentives which retailers are offering to shore up DJ Hero 2 pre-orders -- however, the variation between these bonuses is about as wide as we've ever seen for a video game.
Kenny Rogers is fond of reminding us "you've got to count your dub-plates before you touch the turntables, because if you run out of big tunes, it means your sound is done." The catch, of course, is that if there's no stopping your party, there's really no way to tell how many is enough. That said, we're pretty sure European purchasers of DJ Hero 2 are going to be in a better position to follow The Gambler's advice when they collect the free copy of DJ Hero, that Activision has announced will be included in their purchase of the Party or Turntable bundle (while supplies last).
In total, the deal will net buyers 170 mixes, which we'd assume are enough big tunes. Again though, and we can't stress this enough, there is no way of knowing.
Sometimes you've just gotta diverge from the game plan and just freestyle it, you know? Like, we were gonna write a post about DJ Hero 2's freestyle gameplay mechanics -- instead, we're talkin' about penny loafers! They're comfortable, fashionable, and ... just watch the video below.
#music
You could spend your morning sorting through all of the twisted tracks coming on the DJ Hero 2 disc next month, or just accept that any game that mixes Naughty By Nature's "O.P.P." with the Jackson 5's "ABC" automatically wins. More »
Aided by the skillful hands of DJ Qbert, DJ Shadow, Tiësto, RZA and other cut chemists, FreeStyleGames has mixed and mashed another eclectic cocktail of beats, rhymes and -- Sam Cooke even! The DJ Hero 2 soundtrack boasts 83 original mixes and the actual words to Snow's "Informer."
Peep the full soundtrack after the break -- and sample the new mixes on DJHero.com.
DJ Hero 2's already got more than a little turntablist cred with a roster that includes mixes from Tiesto, Deadmau5 and DJ Qbert -- earlier today, things went straight tazy with the addition of a few heavy hitters. Kanye West's touring DJ, A-Trak, and Major Lazer co-founder Diplo will also be contributing to the game's soundtrack, as will prolific DJ Hero 1 mixmasters DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Shadow, DJ Z-Trip and The Scratch Perverts. Man, those guys are disgusting.
You can check out a few of the mixes these august musicians are piecing together after the jump. We cannot wait to hear A-Trak mix up "O.P.P." and "ABC," in a mix we'll henceforth refer to as "The Freshest Song About Letters Ever"
Activision today officially welcomed RZA to the cast of DJ Hero 2. The legendary Wu-Tang leader's inclusion as a playable character was first hinted at when RZA shared a few images of his mocap costume for an unnamed Activision game back in April. RZA, who often performs as alter-ego Bobby Digital, said of his digitization, "Now, I actually exist in a digital world, yo."
Additionally, RZA mixed two tracks for the DJ Hero 2 soundtrack. The first blends LL Cool J's "I Can't Live Without My Radio" with Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "The Message," and the second mixes Damian Marley's "Welcome To Jamrock" with Walter Murphy's "A Fifth of Beethoven." (RZA is also featured in the "Dollaz & Sense" Blackroc track licensed for the game; see the complete track listing here.)
Catch RZA wax poetic on his journey from paperboy to DJ Hero 2 in the video after the break. "Bong bong!"
It's going to be a good day, and you don't even know it yet. See, Activision just released the full list of songs that will be featured in some spliced manner in DJ Hero 2, meaning you're probably going to spend all day listening to the fresh, fresh songs you don't recognize, and then imagining the fresh, fresh manner in which they'll be blended. We've spent the past half hour envisioning a world where Snow's "Informer" could somehow be married to Major Lazer's "Pon De Floor," with a splash of Tiesto to boot. It's been a pretty great half hour.
You can come on this journey with us by checking out the full list of songs posted after the break.
2Pac feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman - “California Love Remix”
50 Cent - “In Da Club”
Adamski - “Killer”
Afrika Bambaataa and The Soul Sonic Force - “Planet Rock”
Armand Van Helden - “I Want Your Soul”
A-Trak - “Say Whoa”
B.o.B feat. Bruno Mars - “Nothin’ On You”
Basement Jaxx - “Where’s Your Head At”
BlakRoc feat. Pharoahe Monch & RZA [...]
#gamescom2010
My outrage at the fact that a novice had scored the freestyle crossfade instead of me quickly turned to delight that DJ Hero 2 multiplayer had made me feel anything at all. More »
#gamescom2010
Before you read about me playing DJ Hero 2 at GamesCom, check out the skills of FreeStyle Games studio manager Kevin McSherry as he and a fellow dev play dueling decks. More »
Ready to queue up a copy of DJ Hero 2 at your favorite retailer? An Activision rep at Gamescom informed Joystiq of the release dates for the music-mixing sequel: October 19 in North America and October 22 in Europe. That means that, in North America at least, DJ Hero will have one full week to shine (and sell) before Rock Band 3 appears and begins tempting shoppers with keytars.
Turntable vs. keytar! It's the battle of the bizarro instruments!
A DJ's life isn't all about mixing phat beats and ill rhymes, you know. As the DJ Hero 2 trailer below shows, they've got other things to worry about, too. Things like branding, legacy, and running the hottest dance club within the Ibizan city limits. The kind of concerns we all share.
