DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution

"Definitely the best DDR so far...greatly improves over all other mixes."

Ok, before I say anything about any part of this game, let me first inform you of a few things. I'm sure there are thousands of people asking the same questions: ''What is the game?'' ''How do I play?'' and ''Who thought of doing this?'' At least, that's what I asked long ago when I heard of the Dance Dance Revolution series. Now I am a huge fan of the games, and I'll be happy to answer some of these questions you have!

Some Background Information:
Dance Dance Revolution. People hear the word 'dance' in the game title, but does that mean that you actually dance in the game? Well, yes of course! The Dance Dance Revolution series was introduced around 1994, and was a major hit in Japan. It eventually was ported over to the arcades and eventually the Playstation consoles in the US. It was different at first, but once people realized the pure genius of the game, it was huge!

WHAT IS IT ALREADY?!:
Ok ok, I'll tell you. The way that DDR incorporates dancing into a game is simple, yet amazingly effective. Simply put, the game puts you in the middle of 4 arrows. Each one faces in the 4 basic directions (north, south, east and west). The player is prompted to select a song to listen to/play. Upon selecting the song, the play screen comes up and you begin to hear music. Basically, arrows from the bottom of the screen start to scroll up to the top, following the beat of the song, and you are supposed to step on the corresponding arrow buttons when they reach a certain point on the screen (outlined at the top). So in the end, you actually end up dancing to the song. Sound lame? Believe me, it's not. In fact, it's one of the most addictive games to ever hit arcades. And now, you can buy the special arrow pads for your consoles, so you can play at home. Welcome to heaven.

What's new?:
As most people know, the Dance Dance Revolution series has been through many mixes of the original playlist of songs. DDR MAX is sort of the 6th mix for the US, although there have been other special ones, such as the 'Disney Mix'. What's new in this version though? Obviously because, DDR MAX for the Playstation 2 console is probably the best (if not passed by Konamix) home version of DDR to hit the US. It comes with a lot of new options, songs, and various differences that make dancing a better experience for playing at home. The majority of people will easily say that this game is the best, although a few might comment about the lack of some songs that were in the Japanese version of the game.

The Controls: 8/10 - 10/10
The controls section of this review is sort of based on opinion, skill, and materials. The difficulty and learning curve really depends on a few things. First of all, the basic layout of the game has been the same since the beginning. You control the main menus by pressing the arrows up and down. You select songs and read information the exact same way. While playing, you simply press the arrows when it's time. There aren't new diagonal arrows or anything, so if you can master the 4 basic directions, then you're set. Shouldn't be hard at all. Another thing that is essential is skill. No, you don't have to breakdance on your first song or anything, but the game actually does take quite a bit of practice to fully master. You'll have to learn how to figure out beats of the songs, and the speed in which the arrows move. This really depends on how bad you want to learn it, and how coordinated you are. If you're a 40-year old man who hasn't moved off the couch in years, chances are, this game might be tough.

Finally, you must have materials. Now, I seriously doubt anybody is going to want to play this game with the standard Duel Shock 2 controller, seeing as how it takes the fun and whole point out of the game. You can't dance on your controller after all. This means you'll need to purchase a dance pad. Now here's where you have to make some decisions. You have a few alternatives actually. Firstly, the prices for any kind of bought pad range from $15…...to $300. How? Well, you can easily find a 3rd party roll-up mat at any GameStop for about $15 or $20. According to other gamers and stuck-up reviewers, ''these pads aren't worth it.'' They say that they'll wear out in a month or two and they slide all over the place when you're playing the game. Ok, so lets look a little bit higher up the cost chart. There are some higher-quality pads made by Red-Octane that have special non-slip material on the bottom, and include foam inserts in between the zip-up mat for extra comfort. These mats are probably the main ones used for home DDR. They can cost anywhere from $50 to $80. Just compare the different bundles and stuff offered online, especially at www.redoctane.com.

Then of course, there are the hardcore, top-of-the-line METAL pads. These pads are made to duplicate the arcade feel. Made with heavy-duty metal, special corner brackets, the official pad graphics, and light-up plastic buttons, these pads have it all. Thing is, they can be up to $300 bought, or more than $120 if made by yourself. I personally don't want to even try making one, and have no desire to spend $300 on one (mainly because I don't have any money).
So now you've heard the basics of the controls, and some information about the pads. Are there any other alternatives? Why yes! You can 'Mod' a pad to your liking. Basically, you purchase a regular (usually of low cost) pad, and modify it until it is how you want it. In fact, this method seems to be pretty popular now in the US. This is what I did:

First, I purchased 2 MadCatz Beatpads for $19.99 each. Then, using some wood I had lying around, I cut it into the shape of the pads, so that when they were stretched out, they would fit just fine. Then, I simply got some carpet padding of the same size, and glued all three together, so that I had a strong, durable pad with comfort. This probably only cost me about $60 for two perfect pads, instead of $50 for ONE of the same quality. Obviously, you can customize the looks of your pad if you want. For instance, you can put something around the outside if you don't want to see the layers. Also, you could probably do something like putting a piece of carpet under the pads if you had a tile floor. The great thing about it is, YOU can make it! So you can choose to make yourself a 7/10 pad, or like mine.....10/10.

The Options: 10/10
In numerous version of the DDR series, different elements and modes have been added as we progresses through the timeline of DDR. Things like workout mode and edit mode have been such additions. Now in the DDR MAX, there are insane amounts of modes and game play options. The usual mode is 'Game Mode,' where you can just play. There's also workout mode, in which the game records (by math) the amount of calories you've burned, based on accuracy and difficulty of the song selected. It even converts the results to miles ran, kilometers swam, and number of times jumping rope! It's a definite plus for anyone who is curious about what this game is doing for their body. Also present is the Edit Mode, in which you can select your favorite song (or any for that matter), and actually create your own steps to it! Who wouldn't want to do that!? Of course, the standard options are there, like lesson mode and training mode, along with a special information section to read when the game informs you that you've unlocked a new song, difficulty, song information or game mode. All in all, the game even in its later years, still manages to improve upon it's options.

The Gameplay: 10/10
This is what gaming is all about. Without great game play, you've got nothing. Dance Dance Revolution's got us covered though. The game is consistent with it's great selection of songs to dance to, and includes an all-time high of 65+ songs boasting over 100 minutes of music! You'll easily be able to dance to techno, house, drum'n'bass, R&B, and trance.

There are 3 main difficulty settings so that players of all ages can enjoy the game in its glory. Also appearing for its first time in the DDR series, is the brand-new 'Oni Mode'. This special unlockable mode lets players play a special course of nonstop music. After selecting one of 6 courses (after unlocking them throughout the game), you are given a list of songs that will be played in order, nonstop. Your goal is to dance through them, nonstop. And if you get a poor comment on a step, then your dance meter goes down. Mess up 4 times and you're out! Since they're all different difficulties, tempos, and just the fact that you're going to be dancing 10+ straight minutes makes this a welcoming addition to players who thrive for challenges.
Also making its debut into the game are the new freeze arrows. Instead of simply tapping a series of arrows throughout the song, Konami gives dancers a chance to show a little extra style while still promoting another challenge by forcing the player to HOLD the designated arrow down for the duration of the freeze period. It's certainly an interesting twist, and there's no reason why it wouldn't be liked.

As you progress through the game, you'll realize that there are many ways of playing the game. At first, you'll want to play off and pass most of the songs. This is where you go into ''Single' play and just play songs until you explode, or at least until you're tired. Song difficulties range from 1-10 (displayed as little feet). The difficulty is still present from past versions, as one special song is 300 BPM! This song might even be hard for pros of the series! So work your way up! After that, you may want to play with friends! So invite some people over and let them take turns on play 'Two-Player' mode. Here, two players play a song and if the combined points are good enough, they'll pass the song. This usually isn't a problem, so most two-player matches are duels of skill. Basically, you just play a song and see who gets the highest score. You can also play in 3-song rounds and see who wins. Then, after everyone's gone home...maybe you want to push yourself to the limit. This is when you play 'Double' mode. How? You control both pads of course! It seems hard at first, and usually is on the tougher songs, but this is how a lot of DDR players show off in the arcades. Practice learning the song really well, and then playing both pads until you have a routine down!

Aside from the huge amount of modes, options and songs, there are even more unlockables. Boasting a huge 30+ different unlockables, this game will keep you playing even if you don't have any friends. You start to unlock songs on a fairly even basis (maybe every 15 songs played), and you end up finally getting your last song after completing 500 songs! Of course, you also unlock different Oni courses as you progress, and tons more things as you get higher ratings. Heck, there are even a couple of songs in which you must fail certain modes to unlock! How easy is that? Of course, the eventual goal is to pass everything off until you obtain a new course, in which you must practice that. Once you do that, then you unlock more! This process will continue for a long time, and provides tons of replay value, even for veterans of the series. This earns a hands-down, 10/10.

The Graphics: 9/10
The graphics in DDR have never been of groundbreaking technology. The game isn't really about visuals, but extreme game play. But the visuals in DDR MAX actually seem to have improved. In the past games, there would usually be simply colored backgrounds and patterns with 3D dancers that reacted to your accuracy and dance moves. Now, DDR MAX taunts us with 3D-rendered backgrounds and scenes, including tons of cel-shaded-type animations. Aside from those arrows look great! Haha...they look pretty much the same. But everything looks good, and runs smoothly at sometimes very fast speeds. The lighting effects are pretty good on some of the shadows and other things, and the overall menu design looks and feels great. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the graphics at all.

Sound: 10/10
There's no way you can have a dancing game if you don't have a great selection of music to choose from. Konami knows. They have recently included tons of new licensed songs, including many songs that the US is familiar with. In fact, even some who have never played the game have probably heard of 'Sandstorm'! The sound it makes when of selecting songs is fast and effective, as well as the basic menu navigation. The main part comes down to the songs, and with loads of favorites along with tons of new ones to hold us over until the next mix (including another remix of Paranoia and Dynamite Rave), there's something for everybody.

Closing Comments:
This game is obviously one of the greats. It's been seen all over the world in arcades and at home, and now you can enjoy part of the series with one of the greatest mixes of them all! It's an extremely popular game, and hopefully the 7th mix will reach the US just after you finish killing everyone on this one! The game has everything you could want in a game, and it's extremely addictive. So buy a couple pads and invite some friends over. You won't get bored, ever. Obviously no reason to rent without pads, just buy it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/09/02, Updated 12/09/02