DJ Hero

A neatly-constructed training mode guides you through the various gameplay features step by step. This will be necessary for most, since there's a lot to digest, much of it of the rubbing-head-while-patting-tummy variety.

As with Guitar Hero, difficulty is graded Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. On the easiest setting, the commands move towards the player the slowest, with strictly limited inputs required. Medium ups the ante with more adventurous crossfading and combinations. Hard raises the stakes considerably, adding specific directional scratching, and complex multi-tasking routines to master. Finally, Expert, in a similar fashion to Guitar Hero, tasks the player with performing every relevant detail: every note in Guitar Hero translates to every scratch in the mix - as implemented by FreeStyleGames' resident scratch man, DJ Blakey.

The experience is infinitely less fulfilling and engaging on the lowest setting. But whereas the palpable thrill of clutching a guitar compensates for the funereal Easy note tracks in GH and Rock Band, occasionally jabbing at the odd button or dial on a table or laptop tray is relatively dreary and charmless.

Crank it up a few notches, however, and it soon becomes clear that FreeStyle has created a thrilling, involving, refreshing, frequently sublime music game which, at its best, is effortlessly as good as any other rhythm action game I've played.

The learning curve is steep, and will prove a little dizzying to some at first. Practice, patience and persistence are essential if you aspire to conquer the game's most terrifying mixing peaks. But DJ Hero has been structured fabulously to nudge you gradually closer to the summit, with each progressive setlist ratcheting up the challenge, regardless of difficulty level.

I pick up rhythm-action games quicker than most, and found I could negotiate the earliest tracks on Expert in no time at all. A week and a half after getting the game, playing it several hours a day, I'm still a million miles away from handling Scratch Perverts' Noisia - DJ Hero's equivalent of Through The Fire And Flames in Guitar Hero. If you're looking for challenge, DJ Hero smashes you in the face with it while tasering your balls.

What also delights is how 'videogamey' the music can be. Noisia essentially plays out like a multi-wave boss battle, with speech samples you launch taunting your abilities as the range and complexity of sequences is cranked up brutally. It displays an acute understanding of great rhythm-action gaming, as well as a refreshing self-awareness and sense of playfulness.

Happily, the turntable controller is as easy to use lying on the sofa as it is sat at a table or with it resting on the lap. But if, like me, your music game experience remains incomplete without a dignity-crushing performance element, nothing beats playing the game standing up with the turntable on a flat surface. On my own in my flat, I routinely find myself jigging in my imaginary booth, punching the air to rally my fantasy crowd as the beat goes on. Embarrassing and pathetic in equal measure, but loads of fun.

One very clever thing DJ Hero does is to create the illusion that you are actually making music. When an orange arc appears above a track, the effects dial can warp the music in real-time; outside of this the knob switches between a pre-selected list of cheesy samples that can be engaged during certain sections of the centre track by pressing the 'euphoria' button (euphoria is the equivalent of star power). And while cross-fading is entirely scripted, the combination of these elements - particularly on higher difficulty - offers an illusion of creative freedom not found in Guitar Hero.