When it comes to rhythm-based music games, there is only one game to rule them all. Music fans have been spoiled in recent years thanks to titles like Guitar Hero and Elite Beat Agents but when it comes down to it, a series known as DDR is not only a source of infinite fun, but acts as a fantastic workout tool as well.
By now you’ve likely heard what Dance Dance Revolution is all about. In essence, it's a dance class on a step pad, only without the prissy dance instructor scrutinizing your every move. The series moved from arcades to living rooms in recent years thanks to a foldable dance pad that has been available on almost every current console.
Be sure though, that the definitive version thus far is the newly-released Dance Dance Revolution Universe for the Xbox 360, which combines all the great game modes of the past with online capabilities and an absolutely amazing track list.
The real meat of the game is in the aptly-titled ‘Game Mode.’ Here, you’re given a huge list of songs, and you simply play through as many as you’d like, as often as you’d like, on up to five different difficulty levels. Most songs last a few minutes and you’re graded at the end of each. You have a meter during each song that fills up when you do well and empties as you miss more and more steps. Having the meter drop to empty results in an automatic ‘E’.
The track list itself is absolutely spectacular and there's a ton of songs to choose from right off the bat. As always, there are tracks and remixes from mainstream artists such as the Chemical Brothers, Kylie Minogue, Jamiroquai, Depeche Mode and Chris Brown, but the real gems lie deeper in the list. Many of the song snippets on the menu screen may sound exactly alike, with the same pounding beats and basslines, but you'll quickly find when actually playing through them completely that there's barely a weak song on the list. You may never have heard of OR-IF-IS, Monolithic or Goldfrapp, but after playing this game, you may find yourself going out of your way to find their songs in Universe. The only thing we would have liked more is a better representation of different genres - namely, we want rock songs!
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It’s unfortunate that the only way to unlock new songs is by playing through Quest Mode, which is the least-appealing mode. Here, you take on the role of a dancer who is just starting out, trying to earn money by winning challenges. You then use your money to buy into new challenges in cities throughout North America and to purchase locked tracks.
On the surface, the challenges are decent enough, but the problem with this mode is that some challenges take forever to complete. For instance, you may be tasked with completing 10 ‘freeze’ moves, but if the song you choose only has two freeze moves in total, you’ll then be forced to play through another song – chosen completely at random – and another, and another, until all 10 freezes are completed. It’s not difficult finishing 10 freeze moves, but you may be forced to play through five or six songs just to encounter that many freeze moves. The challenges show up randomly and it makes the whole mode a mess.
A common theme in the game is that songs get difficult very fast. Beginner should only be a problem to the one-legged human population, and Basic is far from frustrating for most, but the step between that and Difficult is a little extreme. It would be nice if it was a little more forgiving for those who simply can’t dance as well.
There are several party games (a must for Dance Dance) for multiple players, from Attack Mode (go head-to-head with someone and try to knock their meter to zero) to Bomb Mode (kind of like DDR Hot Potato) to Sync Mode (make sure you and everyone you’re playing with are in sync with each other … you better hope you’re competing with experienced players!). These are all great fun, though it’s odd that as of the writing of this review, no official Konami DDR pads were available for the 360 besides the ones added to the game bundle – not even through the company's official website. It’s either buy the bundle or wait.
The online component in DDR Universe is hit and miss. Like most Xbox Live enabled games, you can create matches, join custom matches or make your own and play against up to three other dancers. Sadly, this seems to not be a priority for DDR fans and Wham! had trouble finding even one player to challenge online. We’re glad the option is available, but having no players online to battle only further proves that DDR is a true party game, where having several people in your living room is much preferred to playing a faceless person thousands of miles away.
Challenge Mode really is just that – very, very challenging. Even the first set of challenges can be unforgiving to beginners, as some force you to hit every step, with one mistake resulting in instant failure. It’s great for the more hardcore and seasoned veterans of the game, but casual gamers may get easily frustrated.
The dance pad itself works as well as the previous iterations. It’s just sensitive enough without reacting to your every touch, and it actually works surprisingly well as a makeshift Xbox 360 controller (when you want to check messages or otherwise navigate the Xbox Live dashboard). It would be nice if it could somehow be pinned down on carpet (where the sticky bottom is partially useless) but it gets the job done.
Considering this is the only version of DDR available for 360, it’s not difficult in the least to suggest this to anyone looking for a game that keeps you active and is, quite simply, full of nearly endless fun. This is the most well-rounded DDR version yet and with Xbox Live downloadable content coming in the future, its appeal will last even longer.
It's early in 2007, but we're ready to march to the beat of DDR Universe as the top game so far.
WHAM! Rating: |
9.3 out of 10 |
ESRB Rating: |
E (Everyone 10+) |
Official Web Site: |
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