Genius Products Inc. (GNPR)

[fredman]

Scratch the Ultimate DJ Game Demo Video and Review

URB went and checked out the upcoming Scratch the Ultimate DJ game and discovered a game that's about as "real" as you're gonna get. The game prides itself on realism and walking the line between playing a game and actually making music. And we can confirm that Scratch is very real.

The game has two modes—Solo and Studio. Solo is based around gameplay, where you match the beats, samples and scratches to the song being played using a combination of MPC-style control pads (produced in conjunction with actual MPC manufactuer Akai), a crossfader (which works as a toggle rather than a sliding fader) and of course the turntable (Numark's standard CD-J wheel). It's standard rhythm gaming fair and many players might leave it at that. But game designers Genius are mostly enthused about the additional features.

The game play mode itself offers ample room to "improvise," allowing the player to insert his own scratches and sample triggers in between the scoring notes. And the live audio scrubbing means that manipulating the turntable wheel and crossfader creates real scratches, just like you can on a professional CD-J. The game even follows the nuances of scratching, tracking hundreds of variation of real scratches performed by actual DJs. We're told that there will also be tutorials to teach proper scratching technique, meaning the next generation of CD-J turntablist could be trained using the game.

Taking the actual music controller concept farther is Studio Mode, where you scratch and sample over beats without any actual game being played. There's preloaded songs and samples to play—including Tech N9ne, Beastie Boys, Kanye West—and you can plug in your iPod and scratch/sample over any track you desire. You can also plug a mic into the controller to record your own samples, or freestyle over the track. And you'll be able to upload your custom cuts online, and battle other DJs on the usual live gaming services.

There's also plans to package Scratch with a "Garageband-like software program that will allow you to use the controller for "real" music production. We didn't see these features, but Genius SVP Mike Rubinelli was clearly enthusiastic, rattling off his own hip-hop knowledge that left us impressed. Plus the game's graffiti inspired art direction looked like something right out of an old DMC Battle DVD. When it comes to the techniques used by hip-hop DJs, Scratch is the closest we've seen (so far) a game come to performing as an actual music tool.

Gameplay Video:

Source: http://www.urb.com/permalink/6288/Scratch-the-Ultimate-DJ-Game-Demo-Video-and-Review.html