Suck at Guitar Hero? Then be a DJ Hero!

Can't master DragonForce on Guitar Hero? Hey, maybe you're destined to be a scratch boss on some old-school Grandmaster Flash. Luckily for you, Activision and FreeStyleGames is reading DJ Hero. Now you can mash it up while others shred.

The game, which has been in development for nearly two years, is expected to hit shelves next year and will likely include the ability to use Guitar Hero guitars for versus mode face-offs. That's like Aerosmith and Run-DMC going at it like back in the day.

Already the controller has been through numerous iterations. In the latest form, the device is said to resemble a simplified DJ deck. There is a platter for scratching which will act like the strum toggle on a Guitar Hero guitar. Above the platter are three buttons that can be used for sampling. The controller also includes a cross fader and a sound effects dial which will act like the whammy bar in Guitar Hero.

Following the spinning record

What's on your video screen will be very different too: Instead of following flowing musical notes down a guitar neck, DJ Hero players will follow music that will flow down and around a virtual vinyl record in a half arc. Either left top to middle bottom if you are left handed, or right top to middle bottom if you are right handed.

At present, the wireless controller has grooves molded into the bottom so it will sit comfortably in a player's lap, although it is said that the team is also looking into legs for the deck so gamers can play while standing up - which is the only way to get a proper DJ battle started, right?

Music licensing is still in the early stages, but artists being tossed around are Beyonce, The Beastie Boys, Jimi Hendrix (imagine a mash-up to Jimi) and 50 Cent.

MusicRadar is currently developing its own game called Editor Hero. Expect intense battle sequences.