DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution

"Days go by, and still I think of you... playing DDR..."

How many times have you heard this before? ''(Insert name here)! STOP PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AND GET SOME EXERCISE!!'' Well, now you can reply ''I am, Mom!'' with Dance Dance Revolution MAX 2 (Hereby referred to as DDRMAX2.) For those of you that don't know about the DDR series, (Wow, you must actually have a life!) it's not the standard kick-back-with-a-controller-and-have-cholesterol-problems-later-in-life game. You use a ''dance mat'' and ''dance'' (Yeah, this is cool dancing. I'm gonna dance like this at my senior prom.) on it with your feet. You follow arrows on a screen, when they hit a certain spot you step on them, etc. Let's just get to the review!

STORY: N/A
Simply put, there is no story. Well, that was easy.

GRAPHICS: 8/10
Aw, man, now I actually have to do some reviewing. Well, no loopholes last forever. The graphics are ok, but way similar to DDRMAX. There are CG movies in the background, they are pretty to look at, but you won't be watching them much. You'll be too busy looking at the arrows. But two things brought up the graphics score. The first is the return of the funky dancers! AWOL from the last mix, they return, with one change. Instead of the blocky models they were, now they are animated and are fun to watch. What I like is that (almost) every one dances differently. And the other innovation is... *drumroll* MUSIC VIDEOS! Yes, the popular songs that were actually heard before this game have the real music videos! Yay!

SOUND: 10/10
Well, it's mostly standard Konami fare, with some good, some bad. Unfortunately, most of the great songs from last year, like Rhythm and Police and Look to the Sky, didn't make the cut. that piece of crap Silent Hill makes it over in two versions, both of which make my ears bleed. But, it has even more recognizable tunes than before! Songs like Days Go By, by Dirty Vegas, Heaven, by... uh, DJ Sammy, Love at First Sight, by Kyle Minogue,(or however you spell it), Busy Child (Which I haven't heard before, but it's by the Crystal Method, and that works for me!) and the Whistle Song by DJ Alligator Project really make this mix stand out. The stupid-yet-familiar announcer returns, annoying as ever, and most sound effects stayed the same. They ditched the cool Select Options music (right after you pick game mode) for something good, but forgettable. So uh... yeah.

CONTROL: FLUCTUATES
Hey, that was a big word. Anyway, if you have a decent dance pad, (Konami's has, so far, worked amazingly) control is an easy 10. If you have a crappy one, like Mad Catz, it's a lot lower.

GAMEPLAY: WHATEVER! YOU REALLY THINK THIS ISN'T GOING TO GET A TEN? HAVE I SAID ANYTHING BAD WHATSOEVER ABOUT GAMEPLAY ALMOST THIS ENTIRE REVIEW? 10/10
Whew, sorry everyone. My pills haven't come yet, *twitch* so I'm a little spastic. Gameplay's great. It's easy to unlock songs now. It uses a points system, meaning that, if you get an AA, it's worth 7 points, and it's 7 points to a new song. Nonstop mode replaces Oni, but the mixes aren't really that good. It's a good thing they let you pick your own. My main beef is that nonstop mode doesn't count as multiple songs. So if you AA nonstop, (which I have) you only unlock 1 song. Workout mode returns, counting calories like always, Edit mode is still here, so you can make your own steps, Lesson mode is the same as last time's, (I think, I have no need to try it), Training mode still helps you get the songs down, with metronomes and claps, and finally, ENDLESS MODE! I haven't unlocked it yet, but it puts the whole playlist as a continuous mix, with breaks between every (Insert number here) songs.

So, I'll make it brief: If you wanna buy this game, bet a dance pad. If you're a beginner, lesson mode makes this a purchase for you, if you're an expert, there isn't a ton of new stuff here, but endless mode makes this at least a rental. If you're intermediate, (like me!), buy it, no questions asked. Well, sayonara, here's the final score:
10/10 *twitch*

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/03