by
Ted Kritsonis
Faze Video Game Editor

You got to love those games that have something to strive for when you play them. In the case of Digital Hitz Factory, it’s a record contract courtesy of Tommy Boy Records. Now, since the one and only Funkmaster Flex is the brains behind this franchise, you can expect your fair share of DJ-engineered beats to create your own vibe.

The first thing you’ll probably notice about this game is the fact that it comes with a microphone. Can you say karaoke? Well, not quite actually. The mic is there for you to record vocals and samples, which would be a nice feature if the PS2 memory card didn’t limit you to just a few bars of personalized vocals. The Voice 2 option, which is a new feature here, allows you to hum or whisper melodies into the mic and then sample them in tracks. And since you can edit the melodies, you won’t need to be an amazing singer to get it right.

Of course, the overlying issue with a game like this is the same as it was for MTV Music Generator 3, which basically revolves around the simplicity in the game’s interface and features. The problem with Digital Hitz Factory is that it uses an interface that would be more suited to a USB mouse rather than the PS2 controller. Navigating through menus and options is made even more frustrating by the unusually small lettering and (for some reason) a cursor-geared interface.

But DHF is, after all, a music software program, and it does that job very well. With 64 tracks and 16,000 samples at your disposal, the music editor is the ultimate backbone of this game. At first, the musical genres available here — metal, rap and indie — may seem a little off from the typical dance and hip hop we hear on Top 40 radio stations, but the multitude of tracks and samples actually tips the scales toward the middle.

Digital Hitz Factory does a lot of things well, but falters in that it makes things too complicated and confusing at times. This is music software on a PS2, not your average video game, so the interface has to be responsive. Not to mention that the microphone isn’t really useful when you can only sing a few bars. All this hurts the overall appeal of what is an otherwise solid offering from XS Games.

Publisher:
XS Games

Platform:
PS2

Rating: 7/10