DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution

"The beauty lies in the simplicity..."

Dance Dance Revolution has gained popularity worldwide for years. DDRMAX is the newest US installment of this series, with notable new features such as Oni (Challenge) Mode and freeze arrows. Buy a dance pad controller (preferably NOT the MadCatz version; searching online is the best idea. Ask at the message board.) and step on the arrows to the rhythm. You can play with a controller (which comes in handy while making an edit), but you'll have much more fun using a dance pad.

The first time someone sees Dance Dance Revolution being played at the arcades, the reactions generally fall into three categories:
A) Ha, I wanna try this
B) What a geek.
C) How the hell does he/she do that? OR Too hard.

If you fall into the B group, well, you can play this at home without fear of being embarrassed at the arcade. DDR, as well as the other games in the BEMANI series, is quite fun once you actually try it and get into it. If you fall into the C group, you're probably unaware of the wide range of difficulty levels: DDRMAX has a Lesson Mode for the very beginner; you can use this to get started. Workout Mode is not only great for losing weight but also can be easier than Game Mode. Game Mode is basically the same mode on which people play at the arcades. There are four difficulties: LIGHT, STANDARD, HEAVY, and ONI. Light, Standard, and Heavy all fall into the same mode, in which you choose from a wide variety of songs for anywhere from one to five stages. ONI is completely different, and certainly not for beginners. You can choose from several courses of songs that you play nonstop. The catch is that instead of the usual bar at the top of the screen during regular Game Mode, you have a battery at the top with 3 units in it. Any non-combo step (Good/Almost/Boo) will take away a unit from that battery. If you have a non-combo step with no units in the battery, then it's GAME OVER. Having trouble on a song? Practice it in Training Mode. The gameplay seems simple but gets unbelievably deep and addictive, with more complex rhythms at the higher levels.

The songlist consists of a good variety of music, with songs of many genres and a few songs that fall under no genre in particular. Out of the 71 songs (a lot of which have to be unlocked), you'll see some as slow as ''Sana Morette Ne Ente'' but none as fast as the (in)famous ''MAX 300.'' Konami included some dance club hits like JS16's Stomp to My Beat and Darude's Sandstorm, which has been a radio hit also. For those who want their fix of ''Paranoia,'' there's two mixes in the game. You won't like every song, but you're going to find something you like.

If you don't like the steps for 5.1.1. like most people, then go into Edit Mode and make your own using the regular PS2 controller. It's not that difficult. Don't like freeze arrows? You can turn them off before you play a song. If trying to dissect My Summer Love's 16th step sequence on heavy is too hard, set the speed to 2x. There's plenty of modifiers included.

Now, the graphics... Well, in a move that many DDR fans frowned upon, Konami took out character select, and, as a result, you don't see your favorite characters dancing in the background (with the exception of Spin the Disc, but that's included in the video). Now, you have only the movies in the background while you're playing. Unfortunately, the background movies are sometimes reused, giving the graphics part a lack of variety. You won't be paying attention to the background as much as the arrows anyway, so it really doesn't matter.

Buy DDRMAX and a good dance pad. Just don't get too addicted.
10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 05/19/03