LAURA’S STYLEZ

         AAAAND the addiction continues!!!  Its time for the DJ’s to rock out!  7 Studios’ Scratch: The Ultimate DJ follows the Guitar Hero model, except instead of a guitar, users will spin on the “Scratch Deck,” a Numark-designed and -inspired turntable controller, and playback samples on a drum machine. Players will have the ability to actively mix and scratch the game’s tracks, including Kanye’s “Flashing Lights,” “Intergalactic” by The Beastie Boys, and “Don’t Sweat The Technique” by Eric B. and Rakim, as well as unreleased titles from Nelly, Run DMC, and Mix Master Mike’s solo project.

The goal in the game: get as many bodies on the dance floor as possible. Spokesman/designer for Scratch and producer Quincy Jones III promises “If you learn how to play this game, then you can do the real deal.” 7 Studios and its production partner Genius Products are encouraging both present and future turntablists to connect through highly realistic gameplay. “The hardware is basically the controller and you have hyper-realistic turntables, it comes with a fader; you can do transformer cuts and regular scratches and all that. It simulates the real thing exactly — digitally,” Jones says. “If you learn how to scratch on this, it’s the exact replica of the real thing. You’re essentially buying a little studio.” Scratch is slated for a Summer ‘09 release. Might be pretty funky freshhhhhh!!!!