Twas the weeks before Christmas, and Dan had some shirts
And then he could not find a good rhyme for “shirts.”

Well, that didn’t last very long, but this prize package will. It’s time to make some space in my t-shirt closet, and I have an appropriate 12 shirts of Christmas (or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate, but this is one that has a song with the number 12 in it). Some of these shirts are the last of their kind – the only one left in the prize stash. But all of them are going to one lucky XL-wearing winner. Take a look: 

Clockwise: COD Black Ops Zombies, Transformers, Survival: Shadows of Katmai, DJ Hero 2

Black is the new black! Clockwise: Tony Hawk Shred, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Guitar Hero, GoldenEye 007

Feeling gray? DJ Hero 2 alternate design, plus a COD Zombie Labs shirt signed by M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold

Classy Black Ops golf shirt is classy.

And finally, a really keen military-style Prototype 2 sweater

Everything is size XL, though some of them are “athletic cut” (read: “skinny hipster”) so they may run a little smaller. Either way, one person’s getting a TON of shirts and I hope the winner thoroughly enjoys them. That winner could be you if you fill out the form below before the end of Tuesday, December 13 and I’ll pick a winner the following day. The usual questions are answered in the usual FAQ, but a reminder that it’s one entry per person, please. Good luck and happy holidays!

UPDATE 12/14: Chris Poirier of Greenfield, Massachusetts is getting seven pounds of shirts next week. If he asks you for help doing laundry, now you’ll know why.

Big names in big beats are here for the April DLC pack — which is, at this point, the last one on the schedule for DJ Hero 2.

Here’s what you’ll find in the Ultra Mix Pack, which is available today:

• “House Music” by Benny Benassi (Remix by FreeStyleGames)
• “Sofi Needs a Ladder” by Deadmau5 (Remix by FreeStyleGames)
• “We No Speak Americano” by Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP (Remix by FreeStyleGames)

The Ultra Mix Pack is priced at 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 on PS3, and all tracks are available as downloadable singles for Wii for 300 Wii Points each.

Rock, as always, on.

T-shirt giveaways have been pretty popular here at OneOfSwords. I always get a lot of positive feedback and plenty of entries when I put together a bundle or geeky threads. Well, I’m back with some more XL shirts for three lucky winners — and thanks to a friend, I’ve got a shirt I’ve never seen before…and will likely never see again.

It’s a nice mix this time. I have some recent hits — Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, GoldenEye 007, DJ Hero 2 — as well as some earlier titles — Guitar Hero III, and the 2600 classic Grand Prix. And I found a stash of the white “Save Cybertron” Transformers shirts that I thought were all gone, so I’m happy to include those as well.

The wrinkles will fade. The designs will not.

The Grand Prix shirt is for when you want to kick it VERY old-school.

But the coup de grace is this shirt, which was donated by a friend who works in the Activision Minnesota office:

Front

Back

I feel pretty confident saying that you will be the only gamer on your block with one of those.

I have three collections of these XL shirts to give away, so if you want to skip laundry for a week or so, fill out the form below before the end of Wednesday, April 20th at 11:59 Pacific time. I will pick the winners at random on Thursday the 21st. Full details about how this works, who is eligible, and all that stuff are in my Contest FAQ, so please give it a look. Now drop and give me twenty.

UPDATE 4/20: Our winners are Justin Kelly of Merriam, KS; [name redacted] TX; and Derek Prim of Saint James, MO. I’ll do more giveaways soon so keep an eye out.

Yeah, you read that right — not wireless, but a DJ Hero turntable with a USB cable on it. These units are not made for retail sale — they’re usually sent out to retailers, for use in in-store kiosks — but I found two loose Xbox 360 wired turntables (gently used!) and two copies of the original DJ Hero (factory sealed!) to go with them.

Perfect for those who hate batteries

I’m throwing in two Puma DJ Hero 2 t-shirts in black as well, because I found some of those too. I only have size XL so that’s what you get. This is the front: 

There's a small white Puma logo on the back

Hopefully these unusual, never-made-available-to-the-general-public DJ Hero controllers will go to a collector. If you want to win, fill out the form below before the end of Monday, April 4th at 11:59 Pacific time. I will pick the two winners at random on Tuesday the 5th. Full details about how this works, who is eligible, and all that stuff are in my Contest FAQ, so please give it a look. Click through for the entry form, and good luck!

UPDATE 4/5: Long-distance dedications go out to Derek Prim of Saint James, MO and Jason Raney of Fairmont, MN — watch for your turntable packs to arrive at the end of this week.

The DJ Hero 2 Indie Hip Hop Mix Pack is out this week, featuring three exclusive mixes:

• “My World Premiere” by Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf Mixed With “The Red (Instrumental)” by Jaylib
• “Party Hard” by The Perceptionists ft. Guru & Camu Tao Mixed With “Ghostwriter” by RJD2
• “The Best Day” by Atmosphere (Remix by FreeStyleGames)

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Indie Hip Hop Mix Pack will set you back 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 on PS3, and all tracks are available as downloadable singles for Wii for 300 Wii Points each.

And yes, there will be more DJ Hero DLC next month.

Rock, as always, on.

Change can be confusing. When Activision decided to give Guitar Hero a well-deserved vacation, people asked if there would still be DLC. Based on some comments from the executives, I thought there would be, then double checked and found there would not be. Then last week, the Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for both Guitar Hero and DJ Hero said there would be. Like I said, change can be confusing.

But now we have some clarity: I can confirm that there will be DLC for both Guitar Hero and DJ Hero in both March and April. As you might expect, there were some track packs already in the works, and rather than abandon them, they’re being finished up and will be issued over the next two months. Let’s call it an encore – and a thank-you to the fans for your support (Guitar Hero hit 3 million Likes on Facebook – and everybody involved in making GH really appreciates the love).

There’s still some info to be announced – exactly when this content will be released, which songs and artists will be included, prices, all that stuff – but right now, I’m happy to at least confirm the existence and a rough schedule.

I’ve also got a heck of a Guitar Hero giveaway to celebrate the news…just click through for the details.

If you’ve already picked up Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, you’ll be able to play the upcoming DLC. If not…I might be able to hook you up.

I have 100 PlayStation 3 GH: WoR guitar bundles and 100 Xbox 360 GH:WoR guitar bundles to give away. The bundle contains the full GH: Warriors of Rock game disc on PS3 or Xbox 360, and one of the new WoR wireless guitar controllers to go with it (like the one on the right). Since these are North American versions of the game, this particular giveaway is only open to gamers in the US, Canada, and Mexico. And I’m not even going to make you answer trivia questions (though I was sorely tempted) — all you have to do is ask for one below before March 15 at 11:59 Pacific time. After that, I start pickin’ winners.

Fill out the form completely (one entry per person please), check the contest FAQ if you’d like more info, and cross your fingers – if your entry is randomly selected, you’ll get a nice package after the contest ends. (If you are so inclined, I wouldn’t mind a little Twitter and Facebook love after you enter — I usually announce the latest giveaways there anyway.)

Good luck and thanks for supporting Guitar Hero.

UPDATE 3/16: Happy birthday to GH player/in-game star Wolfgang Van Halen…and congratulations to our 200 winners. I have sorted them by region, with Canada and Mexico after the US states.

Here are the Xbox 360 winners:

And here are the PlayStation 3 winners:

Thank you for entering and I hope you enjoy the game! I generally announce new contests on Twitter and Facebook so follow/Like/keep them in your bookmarks from now on.

Following the news that DJ Hero was not in development for 2011, many people wondered about the fate of its developer, FreeStyleGames — including FSG itself, I think.

A few stories appeared on gaming news sites such as VG247 and Develop today, stemming from a statement made by FreeStyle Games design director David Osbourn, creative director Jamie Jackson, and commercial director Chris Lee:

We continue positive discussions with Activision around possible routes for FreeStyleGames. We have not reached an agreement as of today, however we are in continued dialogue and hope to have more news soon.

Messages from the industry and gamers alike have been warmly received and we are incredibly grateful for the support.

The studio is not closed and has not yet reported layoffs, and the statement that they are “positive discussions” gives me hope.

This past week was unprecedented — a stunning amount of Activision news broke, and on this show, we pick up the pieces. Kat and I analyze Activision’s internal transformation, GH’s extended vacation, True Crime: Hong Kong’s cancellation, Spyro’s revitalization, Beachhead’s “in-game integration,” Bizarre’s evaporation, Black Ops’ British nomination, Bumblebee’s stealthy hybridization, and a release date for First Strike DLC on — wait for it — Sony PlayStation. Dan also reveals the worst 16-bit games he ever reviewed, while Kat tries to determine the difference between fantasy novels and pornography.

Get the podcast on iTunes
Get the podcast on Zune Marketplace
Get the podcast on your own with RSS Feedburner
Or use the links below to listen in the browser or download direct.

More info after the jump…

Co-host: Katrin Auch, light gun enthusiast, graphic designer, bassist, photographer, table refinisher, media maven, frame painter, videographer, and inventor of Headshotmas

Soundtrack: Yameen – available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and all online music stores

Relevant show links:

While it’s true that DLC for DJ Hero won’t last forever, it’s not done yet. Today marks the release of the Pendulum Mix Pack, featuring  ”Watercolour,” “Set Me On Fire,” and “Salt In The Wounds” — all remixes from Pendulum‘s latest album, Immersion. The Australian electronic artists are currently on tour in the U.S. with Linkin Park, so if you want to see them live…well, that’s how.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Pendulum Mix Pack goes for 640 Microsoft Points on 360 and $7.99 on PS3.  If you want them for Wii, they’re available individually for 300 Wii Points each.

Rock, as always, on.

PlayStation party people — ya feel me? Or something, look, I don’t know how to be cool. But I do know how to play DJ Hero 2 on PS3, so I’m gonna do exactly that this Friday, January 21 in two sessions — an early one for the UK fans and a late one for the US fans.You can come to either or both, it’s cool with me.

I'm only spinning on Medium, but you can pick your own skill level

The first session is at 10am PST (my time) which is 6pm GMT and therefore hopefully a convenient time for the UK gamers. The second session is 6pm PST which is 2am GMT — perfect for US gamers, but still an option for any UK night owls that want to join in. Both sessions will be two hours long, and there are Facebook reminders for the first and the second. See you there!

Some fresh mixes for DJ Hero 2 fans today. If you like your beats with a slick, lush, electronic groove, check out the Trance Anthems Mix Pack:

• “Imagine” by Armin van Buuren Mixed With “Punk” by Ferry Corsten
• “Not Over” by Paul Oakenfold ft. Ryan Tedder (Remix by FSG)
• “9PM (Till I Come)” by ATB Mixed With “For An Angel” by Paul van Dyk

The pack is 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 on PSN, and each track is sold individually on Wii for 300 Wii Points each. If the pack isn’t up yet on your platform of choice, it should be by the end of the day.

Rock, as always, on.

Like this, only fancier.

The DJ Hero developers over at FreeStyleGames have a lovely new website today — totally redesigned and looking sexy. And to celebrate, they’re giving away three customized DJ Hero turntable controllers — one for Wii, one for PS3, one for Xbox 360 — if you answer their trivia question.

I am not eligible to win, but I can point you to the answer — it’s revealed in this video, along with several other revelations. You can enter via the form on their new site or via DM on Twitter — their account is FSGStudio.

Congrats to FSG for the new site and good luck to the contest folks!

Last week, Xbox Live’s Major Nelson teased that there would be a sizable sale on Activision content this week, “including Call of Duty Map Packs, Guitar Hero Add-ons, popular Arcade titles and more!” He has now made good on that tease. The sale starts today, and he was right — it’s a doozy. All of the following content is 50% off until Monday January 17th. The MS Points values listed are the sale prices, which are valid immediately:

XBLA & Games On Demand
Arkadian Warriors – 400 MS Points
Assault Heroes – 200 MS Points
Assault Heroes 2 – 400 MS Points
Carcassonne – 400 MS Points
Golf: Tee It Up! – 400 MS Points
Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex – 600 MS Points
The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning – 600 MS Points

Call of Duty
Call of Duty 2 Invasion Map Pack – 400 MS Points
Call of Duty 2 Skirmish Map Pack – 200 MS Points
Call of Duty 3 Bravo Map Pack – 200 MS Points
Call of Duty 3 Valor Map Pack – 200 MS Points
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Variety Map Pack – 400 MS Points
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 – 400 MS Points
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 – 400 MS Points
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3 – 400 MS Points
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack Bundle (all three WaW Map Packs) – 1000 Points

DJ Hero (also works with DJ Hero 2 with this free download)
David Guetta Mix Pack 1 – 320 MS Points
Jay-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack – 320 MS Points

DJ Hero 2
Electro Hits Mix Pack – 320 MS Points
Hit Makers Mix Pack – 320 MS Points

Guitar Hero 5 (also works with Band Hero and GH: Warriors of Rock)
Avenged Sevenfold Track Pack – 220 MS Points
Disturbed Track Pack – 220 MS Points
Fall Out Boy Track Pack – 220 MS Points
Megadeth Track Pack – 220 MS Points
Rock 1 Track Pack – 440 MS Points

Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock Pack 1 – 800 MS Points
Linkin Park Track Pack – 480 MS Points
My Chemical Romance Track Pack – 300 MS Points
Rocky Horror Picture Show Track Pack – 220 MS Points
Soundgarden “Telephantasm” Album – 720 MS Points

Transformers: War for Cybertron
Map and Character Pack #1 – 400 MS Points
Map and Character Pack #2 – 400 MS Points

The half-off sale is just this week, January 11 through January 17 — so if you see something you like, well, they’re not going to run out of of stock, but you will eventually run out of time, so don’t ponder too long. The gaps in your collection aren’t going to fill themselves.

If you’ve got some holiday money burning a hole in your pocket, I’ve got some good news — the official prices on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 just went down.

As of today, GH: WoR is now $49.99 for the game alone (down $10), $79.99 for the guitar bundle (down $20) and $159.99 for the guitar/drums/mic super bundle (down $20). Likewise, DJ Hero 2 is $10 less at $49.99 for the standalone software and knocks $20 off the turntable bundle, which is now just $59.99. If you choose to look at it that way, is like buying the software at its original price and getting the turntable free. I choose to look at it that way. :)

Those prices are updated now, on all platforms, at all retailers. W00t.

Also on 360 and Wii, of course -- same nice price

Love — the international language. Music counts as one too. Naturally, the DJ Hero production team has found a way to combine them, by answering your questions about romance, relationships, and randiness. They also field a few Qs about Kinect, forthcoming DLC, and two-turntable Achievements. That special discussion takes up most of our 50th show, so Kat and I only sneak in a few comments about light-up keyboards, Kat’s first game of Black Ops, mini chandeliers, the trials of Headshotmas 2010, and the coolest Wikipedia page ever (depending on who you are). Better still, something happens late in the show that has never happened before and will likely never happen again…how’s that for a 50th milestone?

Get the podcast on iTunes
Get the podcast on Zune Marketplace
Get the podcast on your own with RSS Feedburner
Or use the links below to listen in the browser or download direct.

More info after the jump…

Co-host: Katrin Auch, light gun enthusiast, graphic designer, bassist, photographer, table refinisher, media maven, frame painter, videographer, and inventor of Headshotmas

Special Guests: The Activision DJ Hero 2 production team: Jason Ades, Producer; Doug Grutzmacher, Associate Producer; Elias Jimenez, Production Coordinator; and last and least, Jordan Dodge, Master of Mixology

Soundtrack: Yameen – available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and all online music stores

Relevant show links:

You may recall an announcement some weeks back that said Linkin Park DLC would be coming to both Guitar Hero and DJ Hero. Well, the GH DLC arrived in October, and today the DJ Hero 2 mixes are available:

Linkin Park — “The Catalyst (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix)” (Remix by FSG)
Linkin Park — “When They Come For Me” (Diplo Remix)
Linkin Park — “Pts.of.Athrty” (Remix by FSG)

The pack is priced at 640 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 or $7.99 on the PlayStation Store for PS3. For Wii gamers, each mix is 300 Wii Points (on Wii, these tracks are not available bundled).

Rock, as always, on.

I am all over the Old Skool Mix Pack that comes out for DJ Hero 2 today. I can’t wait to hear these:

Fat Boys — “Human Beat Box” Mixed With Mantronix — “King of the Beats”
Tag Team — “Whoomp! (There It Is)” Mixed With 45 King— “The 900 Number”
Beastie Boys — “Triple Trouble” Mixed With Tone-Loc — “Funky Cold Medina”

The pack will run you 640 Microsoft Points on Xbox 360 or $7.99 on the PlayStation Store for PS3. For Wii gamers, each mix is 300 Wii Points — sorry, no bundle.

Rock, as always, on.

It’s almost time to start making your New Year’s Resolutions, so I have one for anybody who wears a size XL: Don’t do laundry so often. That’s because I’m giving a collection of eight Activision game t-shirts away to one lucky winner. That’ll keep you from hitting the laundromat for another week and a day, right?

Yes, they're all XL

In alphabetical order, I’ve got shirts for Call of Duty: Black Ops (one of the nice Jinx ones), DJ Hero 2, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (yeah, really!), Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, Singularity, Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions, Tony Hawk: Shred, and Transformers: War for Cybertron. You might not immediately recognize the shirt for that last one, because it’s basically a child’s drawing that says “Save Cybertron — Conserve Energon.” But that’s exactly why it’s so cool.

Yes, they're all new and clean and unworn.

One winner gets all eight shirts. If you want to be that winner, send an email (one per person, please) to freestuff@oneofswords.com with the subject line “XL Shirts” before Sunday, December 19th at 11:59 Pacific time and I will pick the winner at random on Monday. Please include your name, address, and phone number (just for FedEx if something gets lost). Full details about how this works, who is eligible, and all that stuff are in my Contest FAQ, so please give it a look.

Make room in your shirt drawer, and good luck!

UPDATE: Congrats to Marty Noblett of Wadsworth, Ohio, who should be getting a sack of shirts just before Christmas. Keep your eye on the Freebies tab above for the latest giveaways!

A few weeks ago, the Spike Video Game Awards nominees were announced. Activision and Blizzard games were up for a bunch of them. Saturday night, the show played out live, and several Activision Blizzard games did bring home the hardware.

Treyarch‘s Call of Duty: Black Ops won Best Shooter and Woods took home Character of the Year, FreeStyleGames won Best Soundtrack for DJ Hero 2, Neil Patrick Harris won Best Performance By a Human Male for his work on Spider-Man Shattered Dimensions, and Blizzard‘s Starcraft II won PC Game of the Year, plus Tricia Helfer won Best Performance by a Human Female for her work as Sarah Kerrigan.

Obviously, congrats to everyone who won — stiff competition this year, not that there’s ever an easy year. I’m curious to see how the AIAS awards play out in a few months.

Get your groove on — last time I did a DJ Hero 2 event it was on PS3, so this time, let’s spin on 360. Join me this Friday night, December 3, from 6pm Pacific to 8pm Pacific. Let’s keep the mixes short so I can jump around to different people — I’m up for rematches if there’s room, but let’s aim for single songs, okay? See you there.

Fresh DJ Hero 2 DLC incoming today! The Hard Edge Mix Pack features two custom remixes:

• Pixies – “Debaser” Mixed With The Prodigy — “Invaders Must Die”
• Beastie Boys — “Body Movin’” Mixed With Lenny Kravitz “Rock And Roll Is Dead”

Seeing as how it’s just two mixes, you won’t be shelling out too much — 480 Microsoft Points or $5.99 on the PlayStation Store. On Wii, the songs are available individually for 300 Wii Points. [UPDATE: I'm told Microsoft is currently listing this for 640 points, and while I believe that's probably a mistake that will be fixed, right now I am waiting to hear back with some sort of official word. ]

Rock, as always, on.

The nutjobs from the DJ Hero production team here at Activision had such a good time on the podcast a few weeks ago that they want to come back — and for reasons that are not entirely clear to me, they want to help you with your relationship problems.

I do not know what makes them qualified to do this. Perhaps they are trained therapists. Perhaps they have all merely loved and lost and know your pain. Or maybe they are romantically dysfunctional themselves and are looking for cheap group therapy. But for whatever reason, they’re gung-ho to do this. So, okay.

Send your relationship questions to djherolove@oneofswords.com before December 31. Since I try to keep the podcast no more vulgar than what you’d hear on broadcast television, I would ask that you try to keep your letters on the clean side, or at least use amusing euphemisms.

Frankly, this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Be a part of it!

When sponsors foot the bill for new Guitar Hero and DJ Hero 2 DLC, you win. Coca-Cola is offering free tracks for both games for a limited time — just this week, for US gamers only, while supplies last, if you get a redemption code at their website. Here’s a nice video of the DJ Hero 2 content:

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, breaking it down: the Tiësto Mix Pack includes three tracks:

• “Traffic” Mixed With “Louder Than Boom”
• “Feel It In My Bones” ft. Tegan & Sara
• “Knock You Out” ft. Emily Haines Mixed With “Young Lions”

It’s free for one week only, from November 23 until November 29; after that, it’s paid DLC — 640 Microsoft Points, $7.99 on PS3, and as downloadable singles for Wii for 300 Wii Points each.

Over on the Guitar Hero side, My Chemical Romance is offering four tracks in a Track Pack, and Coke is picking up the Tab (get it, people who were alive to drink soft drinks in the 70s?) for Xbox 360 gamers, making them free for the same limited period of time:

• “Bulletproof Heart”
• “Helena”
• “Teenagers”
• “Welcome To The Black Parade”

Here is the important bit: You need to go to a website to get the freebies. To get the redemption codes for either offer, go to www.mycoke.com/guitarhero and www.mycokerewards.com — and note that it’s one of those “while supplies last.” I don’t know how many free tokens they are giving out, but I would not wait. If they run out or you miss the window for the free offer (or you are not a 360 gamer), the MCR GH tracks are 600 Microsoft Points/750 Wii Points/$7.49 on PS3.

See? You may have wondered what those red Coke bottles were doing in both games, and now there’s something in it for you, too.

Rock, as always, on.

If you listened to episode 39 of my podcast a few weeks back, you probably remember the DJ Hero 2 production team say that the DLC for DJ Hero 1 would soon be compatible with DJ Hero 2. That “soon” came late last week, actually — the new game now supports the mixes you bought for the first game.

So now you can enjoy the Jay-Z vs. Eminem Mix Pack, David Guetta Mix Pack, the Extended Mix Pack, the Dance Party Mix Pack, and the wicked-hard DJ Hero Domination Pack in DJ Hero 2 as well. Just download the free DJ Hero Downloadable Content Update on 360 or PS3 and you are set.

DLC is good. More functionality for DLC you already own is even better.

So I was going to remind everybody that I’m playing DJ Hero 2 on PS3 tomorrow night, and I created a Facebook event to help with that…but then I checked out the actual DJ Hero Facebook page and found a playable version of the game as a Facebook app.

The mouse and keyboard sub in for the turntable controller and, while I like the turntable controller a lot better, this was good for wasting some time at work. Except…well, considering my job here, doing social media stuff about Activision games is work, so…aw, who cares, it was fun.

Let’s-let’s-let’s go! Now that you’ve had a little time to get used to DJ Hero 2‘s new freestyle crossfades and the other new bits, it’s time for some Playing With Swords multiplayer mixes.

You can play on whatever skill level you like. I'm on Medium.

I’m going to play on PlayStation 3 this Friday, November 5 from 9pm to 11pm Eastern/6pm to 8 pm Pacific. If you want in, just drop me a note on the PlayStation Network and I’ll shuffle my friends list as best I can to accomodate you. Or you can just take your chances and try to find me in random matches, but a simple “inv plz” message is probably a better call. If you would like a Facebook reminder, it’s here.

This is neat — celebrity DJ/composer Tiësto appears in DJ Hero 2, and he’s created a video for his new track “Speed Rail” entirely out of gameplay footage.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If you dig the track, you can buy it on iTunes for a buck.

OONTS OONTS OONTS…that driving beat you hear is the launch of DJ Hero 2 smashing into retail and charming critics everywhere. I’ve got a ton of people from the Activision DJ Hero 2 production team as my guests this week, cracking beers and cracking jokes as they celebrate their leap over the finish line and talk about DLC compatibility, official soundtracks, and the Achievements that didn’t make it into the game. Kat and I talk a little bit more about the critical reaction to the game and the internal celebrations for it, then we dig into the Black Ops Jeep, where to play Tony Hawk: Shred and Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts this weekend, really obvious trivia “challenges,” and what incriminating evidence might surface after this weekend.

Get the podcast on iTunes
Get the podcast on Zune Marketplace
Get the podcast on your own with RSS Feedburner
Or use the links below to listen in the browser or download direct.

More info after the jump…

Co-host: Katrin Auch, light gun enthusiast, graphic designer, bassist, photographer, videographer, and inventor of Headshotmas (and sometimes my wife)

Special Guests: The Activision DJ Hero 2 production team: Jason Ades, Producer; Doug Grutzmacher, Associate Producer; Elias Jimenez, Production Coordinator; Peter Kavic, DLC Guru; and last and least, Jordan Dodge, Master of Mixology

Oh, and here’s that photo we mentioned on the show, which is not a photo of the aforementioned people, but feel free to start that rumor if you like:

Names withheld

Soundtrack: Yameen – available on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and all online music stores

Relevant show links:

Different mics, different compression settings, my first five-person setup…it was an interesting technical week. But this time I think the changes were for the better, mostly — Kat was feeling better so we had a lot fewer problems when it came to the microphones.

Even before the glowing reviews, plans were underway for a DJ Hero 2 block party at Activision HQ in Santa Monica — giveaways, competitions, live DJs, booze, burgers, the whole bit. Here’s a quick photo gallery of some of what went down at the office today.

Hey, look -- someone parked a double-decker bus in front of the office. I'm not sure why but there you have it.

Inside, employees assembled to qualify for the tournament -- top 4 scores make it to the finals. Yours truly did not rank.

In fact, both of these folks did better than me on Medium. It was an epic battle to watch, though.

The rain did not stop the party.

In their defense, the props were on loan.

The final round was close...

...but the victor took home a party bundle, as well as plenty of gratz.

Raffles aplenty meant a lot of people went home happy. That's Lip Ho, associate producer for Blur, taking home the hardware.

This hardware, they wouldn't let me take home. Check out the day-glo prototype PS3 controller. If I could buy this, I would.

Since you probably haven't seen him yet, that's Activision Publishing's new CEO, Eric Hirshberg -- a.k.a. the guy who created Kevin Butler.

Open bar? I dub this party a success.

Wait, free In-N-Out burgers too? This party is now upgraded to a raging success.

Imagine that you’ve busted your ass working on a music game during a year that everybody bemoans the supposed fact that music games are dead. But you know you’re on to something, and you shut out the whiners and just focus on making something of value. Then you finally release the game, wake up in the morning, and see what the cynical world thinks of your efforts.

Today, it is good to work at FreeStyleGames. And as I type this, they are probably all drinking heavily, for all the right celebratory reasons. The early scores coming through for DJ Hero 2 are fantastic. See for yourself:

American megamagazine Game Informer handed it a 9.25 out of 10:

“This sequel bests its predecessor in nearly every way.”

“The game grades you on how musical and unique your freestyles are, transforming what previously felt like a corny gimmick into an integral part of the experience. I really felt like I was helping craft the mix, not just hitting buttons in time.”

“As you crossfade, scratch, and manipulate the gorgeous mixes, the feeling is akin to riding the perfect wave. In some ways, I almost feel a greater connection to the music than I do when playing the guitar-focused games on the market.”

The often-harsh Eurogamer gave it a 9.0 out of 10:

“The soundtrack is faultless. If you’re a regular club-goer there’s plenty to recognise, but crucially, it’s still a powerful draw if you don’t know or even like the music. That’s down to the quality of the mashups.”

“DJ Hero 2 has completely altered the nature of freestyling, turning it into an integral part of the game. Previously you could only let off a small selection of pre-selected samples with the red button – otherwise known as the YEEEEAAHH BOIIIII button – but now , those samples are mix-specific, and how you use them is the difference between making a song sound incredible and like a 13-year-old playing with Garage Band.”

“Nothing has been done to those chunky DJ Hero decks. There’s no need to buy anything new to play DJ Hero 2, which surely comes as a relief after the original’s absurd price-tag.”

“DJ Hero 2 is the freshest thing in rhythm gaming right now, a lifeline for people bored of guitars and drums and genre veterans craving the purer, simpler rhythm-action kick of a pre-Guitar Hero world.”

Over in Brittania, IGN UK deemed the game 9.0 worthy as well:

“While some have disappeared up the arse of their own musical pretensions, others have been so focussed on superficial features designed to flog the next iteration of lucrative hardware they’ve forgotten refinement and improvement should happen in the name of entertainment. Thank god for FreeStyleGames then.”

“What’s nice about DJ Hero 2′s competitive modes is that, by their very design, they’re total levellers and anyone, regardless of skill, can get stuck in and have a chance of winning.”

“FreeStyleGames’ mischievous sense of fun is unmistakable, and still utterly irresistible.”

“Subtly-improved single-player is as recklessly compulsive as ever but DJ Hero 2’s superbly-realised focus on social gaming, an aspect conspicuously absent last time around, takes things to a whole new level.”

And Planet Xbox 360 awarded it a 9.0 out of 10:

“To be honest, I left the game in party mode a lot in my house, so I could have the music playing, and if I really was feeling it, I’d join the game for a minute to bust out a few songs.”

“DJ Hero is worth every penny. Especially if you’re looking for an alternative to the ‘band’ games flooding store shelves.”

“It’s easily the best rhythm game released so far this year and quite possibly a contender for my favorite rhythm game ever.”

Of course, these are the first few showing up online; maybe everybody won’t be quite as smitten. But maybe they will! As more reviews are released, you can follow along at GameRankings (which is the one I see most Activision people using here in the office) and MetaCritic.

For my part, I played it last night and instantly saw — and felt — all those little subtle improvements that many of the reviews note. I think the team really delivered.