THE GOOD:Variety of songs, still does DDR the way it's meant, the point system is convenient, all dance music, dance characters look much better and smoother, and it is still very addicting.
THE BAD:
Some of the great and well-known Japanese songs are missing, chipping in a few extra dollars to find a decent dance mat, why didn't the point system get carried out into other DDR installments?, all dance music, and the graphics were never really the best (but it doesn't really matter).
SUMMARY:
Who would've thought that the series would get this far? Certainly not me. While the Japanese series has a lot more games, we have our fair share. It is also well known that many of the previous installments have relied on songs from some of the Japanese installments. This game changes that. You will only find about two songs in Japanese. You will find a lot of well-known hits in this game.
Like good reviews, if you are unfamiliar with this particular franchise, DDR (which stands for Dance Dance Revolution) is a dancing game which of course, relevant to its name, requires you to dance in order to progress through. You use your feet to step on directional buttons on a dance mat, which goes on your floor. On the screen, directional arrows rise to the top of the screen, passing by arrow silhouettes. You step on the directional button that corresponds to whichever arrow is at the arrow silhouette. Your score is determined by how accurate you were. Of course, the aim of the game is to step on each arrow as accurate as you can, without missing. As you do this, a combo will generate. Also, stepping accurately on arrows will cause a dance meter at the top of your screen to rise. If you misstep, this dance meter will decrease. If the meter fully depletes, your game is over. The game can have you dance along with a friend, which would require another dance mat, or you can play by yourself with two mats. This is quite challenging, and is easier said than done. There will be simultaneous steps, which require you to jump, and freeze arrows, which require one foot to be on the required button until the freeze arrow finishes. This is the second game to have this feature, and you can turn it off whenever you want. This game is also accessible with a PS2 controller, but this isn't much fun and practically eliminates all the exercising benefits.
All the modes you would expect are featured here in the game. There is arcade mode, where all the action takes place. There is workout mode, a mode which plays the same with arcade mode, only it tracks the calories you burn. There is a lesson mode, which will teach newcomers all the basics in becoming a beginner. There is also the infamous and sometimes challenging nonstop mode, where you pick selections of courses compiled by songs after songs. There are thirty items to unlock, that are which unlocked by a point system. This is the first game to incorporate this feature. The way this system works is simple. Each song you pass, each song you attempt, each nonstop course you complete, you are earned points. The game will tell you the amount of points needed to unlock the next item. This is nice, because it doesn't keep you in the dark about how long it is before you unlock something new. There is another menu in the game, titles "Information". This menu shows you information about songs, or what songs you unlocked. It will also tell you about which nonstop courses you completed, which isn't necessarily helpful.
The song selection is the strongest point of the game, and will be your judgment of whether you enjoy the game or not. Like most DDR games, there will be songs that have never been featured in any other DDR game. OF course, this is to attract more people to play the game. A great change about this song list, however, is the genres featured. No, there isn't rock or country music. It still features strictly dance music, which can be a good or bad thing. You will recognize many of the licensed songs or their artists, such as Jocelyn Enriquez, Crystal Method, Dirty Vegas, Kylie Minogue, and Ian Van Dahl. There are also the wide range of Konami-created songs, with recognizable artists such as the infamous dj TAKA, Naoki, and BE 4 U.
Let's talk about graphics. It will look mainly the same as DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution, only the little videos in the background look a little more organized and sophisticated. Of course, with some of the licensed songs, there are corresponding music videos. These are interesting, but in my opinion, Kylie Minogue's dancing gets on my nerves. These music videos will omit dancing characters. But players will be so concentrated on what is right in front of them, the scrolling arrows, that you probably won't notice the flashy lights in the background. The dancing characters look so much better in this installment. They are smoother, and their outfit is completely different, which is a nice change. There are also some pretty weird characters, but you should check out the game and discover for yourself!
This game is perfect for parties or having friends over because it is addicting and most people don't mind looking silly while playing a game. There is a variety in the music, instead of focusing on two or three genres. This game is definitely worth owning to any fan, and newcomers ought to give this one a try.
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