On one hand, seasoned “DDR” fans will immediately know how to play by dancing in time with the 50-odd songs, but on the other, those looking for a fresh spin to the gameplay will likely be disappointed.
In case you’ve never played a game of “Dance Dance Revolution” (now just one word: “DanceDanceRevolution”), you’re tasked with stepping on one of four arrows — left, right, up and down — according to the onscreen arrows. The game ships with a mat controller you’ll first unravel, lay on the floor in front of the television and plug into the Xbox 360′s USB port. The longer you stay in rhythm and step on the correct arrows at the right time, the more points you’ll accumulate per song.
“DanceDanceRevolution” features a number of different modes to choose from, including two new ones: a competitive Dance Off mode to challenge up to three friends on the same songs; and Club mode, which allows you to string together from four to 20 tracks, back-to-back, with no load times in between the songs. Hardcore players might want to accept the Challenge Level, adding diagonal arrows to the standard left, right, up and down arrows.
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Popular songs include contemporary hits such as Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” Sean Paul’s “So Fine” and Ke$ha’s “Animal,” as well as older dance classics including Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration,” Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” and Duran Duran’s “Rio.” But the majority of the tunes are original high-powered Japanese tracks created by Konami for the game. You’ll have the ability to download tracks from the game’s arcade days, plus there are a few unlockable tracks, too. Less than two dozen are licensed tracks, though, so some gamers might be disappointed.
As with past games, there are varying difficulty levels to choose from, along with a tutorial section for those with two left feet.
While not tested for this review, if you have an Xbox Live Vision camera (sold separately) it can be used to see yourself onscreen during the game. Too bad the game doesn’t support the Kinect camera, as that’s a popular camera-based peripheral many Xbox 360 owners have.
“DanceDanceRevolution” is fun for kids, teens and adults, and it gives a terrific workout, as well, Just don’t expect anything truly new in the latest rhythm game for Xbox 360.
A Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 version of this bundle is also available for $39.99.
“DanceDanceRevolution”
Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360
Genre: Music
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Web site: www.konami.com/ddr
Price: $39.99 (with dance mat controller)
Rating: Everyone 10+
Score: 2.5 stars (out of 4)
Contact Saltzman at gnstech(AT)gannett.com
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