Rating are out of four starss With turntable, $119.99
Renegade Edition, $199.99
Xbox 360, PlayStation3
Rated T for Teen

Since Activision unleashed the "Guitar Hero" series in 2005, we've seen eight sequels spanning three consoles, all controlled by their plastic peripherals. Now Activision, with FreeStyleGames, puts a new spin on the "Hero" franchise with "DJ Hero," taking you from the concert experience to the club.

PRESENTATION: "DJ Hero" puts you in control of turntables in the most innovative execution since the first "Guitar Hero," and the basic gameplay is similar. Different buttons flow toward the screen on a track that you must press with timing in order to keep the beat going. Instead of pressing fret buttons on a guitar and strumming, you press platter buttons on the record and scratch and spin to blend songs into mash-ups. The controller is designed to be practical, and the opening tutorial will have you scratching in no time.

The song lineup is first-rate. There are some brilliant mash-ups of artists including Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Eminem, David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, The Killers, Queen and more. The mash-ups are mixed by big-name DJ's like Daft Punk, the late DJ AM and DJ Jazzy Jeff, among others.

GAMEPLAY: A welcome change from "Guitar Hero" titles is that you can't fail even if you botch some of the tough parts. Your performance is judged on a five-star scale. Stars will help you unlock new DJ's, clothing, headphones, turntables, venues and set lists. This gives you plenty to unlock and adds a lot of replay value.

I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the turntable packaged with the game. The Renegade Edition comes with a hard-shelled carrying case that converts into a table for your turntable, plus a double compilation CD of Jay-Z and Eminem hit singles.

MULTIPLAYER: There are a few songs that can be paired with a guitar, but the majority can only be played with a turntable. You can have two turntables scratch at the same time, but they only scratch the same thing at the same time. This means no battle mode or other multiplayer variations -- which gives developers room to build with a sequel.

OVERALL: Fans of music and rhythm games will have plenty of fun with "DJ Hero" and even more fun if they're into the specific music genre.

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Xbox 360
Rated E for everyone

"Forza Motorsport 3" ($59.99), the third title of the successful "Forza Motorsport" series from Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios, is everything a racing game fanatic could want. It's packed with an abundance of tracks from all over the world, more than 50 manufacturers, and over 400 cars from which to choose.

"Forza 3" contains so much for racing fans that Microsoft packaged the game with an extra disk that contains additional cars and tracks. The extra disk must be installed to your 360, so be warned if you have a first-generation console -- "Forza 3" will take up a gig and a half on your already small hard drive.

PRESENTATION: This is easily the best-looking racing game available. Every car model is perfect and when they are speeding through the tracks like Time Square, New York and Le Mans, France, "Forza 3" looks like the real thing.

GAMEPLAY: "Forza 3" stays true to earlier games in the series as a pure racing simulator. This shouldn't scare those of you who worry about the usual difficulty of racing sims. Turn 10 Studios designed the game so even newcomers can get in on the fun with a few tweaks.

The single player or "Season Mode" is innovative for a racing game. The game sets you up with a calendar where you race through a wide variety of events and so that no two careers will ever be the same. If the Season Mode doesn't keep you glued to sticks, they threw in an RPG-like leveling-up system that gives you a new car with each new level.

Extras include the Auction House, where you can bid on other XBOX Live user's custom-made cars and the Forza Storefront, where you can buy one-of-a-kind tune-ups with in-game money.

MULTIPLAYER: This is the most robust multiplayer experience seen in a racing sim. You can compete in standard lap races, but "Forza 3" adds elimination races, drag races and the new "cat and mouse" mode, which brings never-ending fun for the online gear-heads. You can even choose to have certain cars get a head start. The customization is near endless.

OVERALL: "Forza 3" is the new benchmark in racing simulation.