"Blister-popping fun!"

Until we recently got one of the Solo versions of this game in a local Funworks, I was too nervous to take a step near one. Since one popped up (and my self-esteem raised) I've had to buy a lot of blister treatment pads with the money I had left after buying game tokens. :)

Machine Design: 9/10
I only came across one problem with the design of the game unit. My size US 15 feet reach from front to back of each of the contact pads, making things kinda uncomfortable, but there aren't many people that have the same problem, so I only dinged it one point there. Having three ''rest pads'' (blank pads) allows for a better movement range for leg comfort. The added upper corner pads make for much more detailed dances, and a bit more of a challenge.

Music Selection: 10/10
Being a US arcade rat, I'm used to the rhythm and music games with nothing but hip-hop and rap music. I have never been a fan of either of these genres. DDR gave a good change from this. A good deal of the music is techno remixes, or just straight techno dance music, with old favorites such as ''Shake Your Booty'' thrown in. People with a distaste for techno will find the dance selection severely limited. I, however, had to give the music a full score, being a long fan of such music.

Announcer: 5/10
I'm sorry, but I found the announcer incredibly annoying. Its voice was overpoweringly loud compared to the volume of the music. It was nice to add random comments about your progress, but you're playing to dance and hear the music, not to listen to someone asking if ''your legs are ok''.

Graphics: 8/10
Considering the year this game was released, I would've expected graphics to have been a little higher quality, but, as stated previously you're playing the game for the music and the dancing. It also would have been nice to be able to select your dancer, but, again, see previous statement. I had to drop a couple points, though.

Difficulty: 10/10
Songs of different difficulties were pretty evenly spread through this game. Transition from one step level to another was pretty even. Transition from one difficulty to another had an understandable gap. Overall effect: Great

Extra Features: 8/10
I liked the ability to manipulate the dance patterns, and even raise difficulty with hidden mode, stealth mode, etc. I did not like the fact that the owner of the machine has to buy a password to unlock extra songs. I'm kinda anti-capitalism when it comes to games.

Replay Value : 10/10
This will take you a few pounds of game tokens to complete every dance variation, and as far as I'm concerned anyone that likes rhythm games will become quickly addicted. You cannot escape..... You will spend money on DDR.....

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/14/02, Updated 09/14/02