Music-inspired video games were once immensely popular, such as Guitar Hero. Such titles allowed users to experience what it would be like playing their favorite rock songs live on an actual instrument.
Kids will love getting up on the dance floor to show their hip hop rhythm skills with this hip hop rhythm game! Pressing arrow keys at designated times can help your rapper perform well in concert and earn money for himself/herself; use earnings to personalize his/her look later!
Get On Da Mic
Get On Da Mic is a rap music game that allows gamers to take on multiple characters as they rise from humble beginnings as hip hop stars. The game includes over 40 licensed tracks originally made famous by famous rappers, and boasts up to four player multi-player mode where contestants battle it out to become rappers themselves and earn flashy gear for themselves and their homes in this battle royale mode game.
Graphically, this game doesn’t look too impressive. The blocky graphics don’t match well with its lyrics that scroll across the screen and the rapping motions don’t exactly correspond with them. There are a few special effects such as strobe lights and video cutaways but these don’t give enough atmosphere to this title.
The gameplay for DJ Hero 3 is similar to other music games; players start out as an amateur MC performing in small bars and house parties before progressing up to larger venues like MTV’s Total Request Live (TRL) and TRL (Total Request Live). Along the way, celebrities such as Jadakiss, MTV’s Sway, and Shady Records DJ Green Lantern may appear as supporters to help your success.
Song performances are evaluated based on their ability to match up lyrics with beat. A bar indicates when to speak the lyrics aloud; an indicator changes colors when words should be highlighted or highlighted when matching up with beat. If words line up perfectly with rhythm, a meter fills and “rock the mic” sequence is activated.
An outstanding performance earns bonus points and a multiplier that increases future performances’ likelihood of success. Additionally, this game includes a practice mode in which the player can freely rap along to the beat without being limited by words displayed on-screen.
Get On Da Mic requires a microphone to play, as well as the Eye Toy system for multiplayer play. It censors profanity and works with hand-held karaoke microphones made by Logitech which are sold separately with PlayStation 2. Despite its niche focus, however, Get On Da Mic shares many similarities with popular music games such as SingStar and Karaoke Stage.
Def Jam Rapstar
Rap stars have long been featured in video games, but Def Jam Rapstar is the first music game designed specifically for rappers to shine. Players use microphones to rap over 45 of today and yesterday’s hip hop hits while real music videos play back behind them, using rhythm and pitch to hit beats while singing lyrics to lyrics based videos that play behind. Like singing games with good controls and features such as uploading freestyles directly onto its website to showcase talent, Def Jam Rapstar provides players with their opportunity to become superstar MCs!
Hip hop fans have plenty of content here with 40 songs available to rap to and share with the community, a short career mode, and Freestyle arena to occupy them. Unfortunately, however, this title lacks an online rap battle area and its achievements focus too heavily on community rather than gameplay itself.
The soundtrack is truly impressive and includes mainstream hits from Kanye West, Nelly, and DMX as well as vintage cuts by Public Enemy’s Fight the Power; Run DMC’s Run This Town; the Beastie Boys Brass Monkey; Root Manuva Wiley Dizzee Rascal as well as classic UK hip hop from Root Manuva Wiley Dizzee Rascal and Dizzee Rascal – among many others – in its entirety. Additionally it also contains tracks from Def Jam US counterparts, such as Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP as well as LL Cool J’s Cool Like That from their respective US cousins, alongside UK hip hop tracks such as Root Manuva Wiley Dizzee Rascal.
Though the song list is impressive, due to no way of clearing songs for inclusion in this game some more recognizable titles are missing from it. It’s understandable why EMI would sue those behind this game for failing to obtain necessary clearances; rap songs tend to involve multiple contributors and samples that require extensive paperwork clearances for inclusion.
Still, the gameplay is enjoyable and with some adjustments to Career mode and online sharing capabilities would put this game on par with Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and SingStar. Hip hop fans finally have an entertainment title dedicated to them; plus its potential for online rap battles makes this worth checking out!
The Hip Hop Experience
This hip hop music game boasts the widest selection of hip hop songs ever found in a dance video game, from Billboard chart-toppers to old school party jams. Produced by acclaimed music game developer iNiS, The Hip Hop Experience features dance routines arranged by world-renowned choreographers Laurieann Gibson and Dave Scott as well as progressive difficulty levels designed to test players of all ages’ dancing ability.
Dancers can use their feet, hands and head to mimic the on-screen dancers’ movements through Kinect motion sensor readings on Xbox 360s Kinect sensor comparing all their body moves with those on screen to see how well they’re performing. High scores will get them placed on online leaderboards for that song or routine while Power Skooling provides users with an opportunity to practice before challenging friends in an arena style environment.
The Hip Hop Experience features vibrant graphics with pulsating beats that excite players to move. The wardrobe options for in-game computer generated characters range from short skirts and halter tops, while dance moves can range from side step shuffles to complex upper and lower body movements.
Although The Hip Hop Experience doesn’t break new ground among Ubisoft dance games released since Kinect for Xbox 360 launched, it does feature some nice additions that make the experience enjoyable to play. Voice selection of songs makes voice control effortless while its wardrobe tab lets dancers customize their avatars with new outfits.
The game features four game modes: Dance Party, Dance Battle, Dance Marathon and Power Skooling. Dance Battle allows gamers to compete against three friends in high-energy dance battles that can be quite fun; Dance Marathon tests stamina while Power Skooling provides users with an opportunity to practice difficult moves step-by-step tutorial style – providing anyone looking to learn hip hop an enjoyable workout experience! This engaging dance game will prove both educational and enjoyable!
DJ Hero
Hip hop music has quickly become one of the most beloved forms of contemporary music, spreading into all areas of popular culture – including video gaming. Video game developers have capitalized on hip hop’s appeal with games like 2009’s Pimped which features hustlers, dollar bills and hip hop tunes with each spin of its wheel.
DJ Hero represents a departure from Guitar Hero’s style of gameplay by using a controller resembling turntables to allow players to engage with tracks by pressing buttons to add beats or adjust crossfader. Featuring an eclectic variety of music genres that should appeal to most music enthusiasts, it received mostly positive reviews from critics despite disappointing sales results and an increase in rhythm-based music games in general that year.
FreeStyleGames developed DJ Hero 2, offering more of the same “scratch” and rhythm-based play while adding additional multiplayer options. A special “two player mode” allowed two DJ players to compete against one another while playing the same song; additionally, an add-on version supported an additional DJ controller player.
In 2010, the final DJ Hero entry in the series was released, offering more of what players had come to love from previous entries in this franchise. It features classic, contemporary hits and remixed tunes; Daft Punk even provided vocals to cover one of their classic tracks ‘Human After All’ from earlier in their career!
Def Jam Rapstar is a free online rapping dance game similar to Dance Dance Revolution in which players control a rapper performing for virtual audiences, earning money with each performance to purchase new “bling.” Players must tap arrow keys or WASD in time with cues that appear on screen to perform well for the crowd; any incorrect movements or cues missed will cause money earned during that performance to be forfeited as penalties for missed performances or incorrect keypresses results in money lost that performance.