Dance Dance Revolution 3rd Mix

"3rd Time the Charm"

Perhaps one of the most well known series in all of video games is the Bemani series from KCET (Konomi Computer Entertainment Tokyo). Over years, KCET has produced many music game for its Bemani series such as Beatmania and Guitar Freaks. But perhaps the most popular game in the Bemani series is the Dance Dance Revolution series. No other gaming company has ever made a dance siumator closer to the Dance Dance Revolution. But the third installment of DDR really pushes pushes the limit of the game.

First off, the gameplay is the most simplest you will ever see in any video game. There are four arrows along the top of the screen. And other arrows will rise from the bottom of the screen. The player just steps in the indicated direction when the two arrows (the one rising and the one at the top of the screen) match. Of course, only learning the game is easy. Mastering the game, on the other hand, can take weeks, months and even for some, years! This game is perhaps the easiest game to learn, toughest to master.

Because this is a dance siumulator, a special controller is required. This special controller comes in the form of a mat. On this mat, there are four arrows (up, down, left, right), each of them placed in their proper position. The plaer stands in the middle (therefore, the up button is in front of him, the left button to his/her left, etc.). And what the player does is places his/her foot on the arrow when it is time to do so. In addition to that, there is a start button, select button, circle and X. On most, but not all, there is a square and a triangle button also, but those two buttons really have no use. Think of the mat as a small version of Twister but with sensors. But if you cannot afford a mat, or have no access to one, that's not a problem. The controller can be used to play the game. The four arrows are used. But along with that, triangle can also be used as up, square can also be used as left, etc. So although playing with the controller is quite boring, it is very easy to use.

The graphics, although not very important in the game, are very impressive. Think of the background as the same purpose as the background in the game, Tetris. They're not necessary, but it is wonderful to have. In this case, the backgrounds are beautiful to look at, when you're not busy concentrating on steps, that is. Also, there are one or two dancers (depending on the number of players playing) dancing in the background. That's a nice touch.

A much demanded addition to the game was made. And that addition is the song lyrics. Now, as the song is playing, song lyrics ard displayed on the bottom. And they work similar to what you would see at a karoke machine. They can also be turned off and on by pressing the start button.

People who have played DDR 2 and have gotten bored of it may be asking ''hey, I'm sick and tired of DDR 2, why should I buy this??''. Well, the answer is very simple. There are much more songs in DDR 3 as well as many more modes and things to unlock. The starting number of songs in DDR 3 (without unlocking any) is more then all the songs in DDR 2 (with all songs unlocked). In addition to that, there are more songs to unlcok in DDR 3 then in DDR 2. Another comment I have heard often is ''DDR 2 is way to easy! I'm not gonna by DDR 3 if it's the same difficulty''. The people who say that are gravely mistaken. Sure, they may be right taht DDR 2 is way too easy, but DDR 3 is a completley different story. THe steps are extremely advanced here. And if you unlock the SSR difficulty (SSR, which stands for Step Step Revolution, is another word for Maniac), the steps get so hard, you'll get very frustrated at first when learning the steps. Also, KCET learned that a lot of people uses this game for exercise. Becuase of that, KCET added a new ''diet mode'' into the game. This mode is truly for those people who wants to get some exercise done. What happens in this mode is you imput your weight and how many calories you would like to use. Then the game calculates how much you would need to do. And it keeps track of how many total calories you lost. Also, people who enjoyed the songs from DDR 2 will love this game becuase a lot of the songs that could be unlocked are from DDR 2 such as El Ritmo Tropical, Boom Boom Dollar, Butterfly, and much much more!

There is no doubt in my mind that the fun factor for everyone will be out-of-the-Earth-into-the-next-universe high!!!! This game will be a smash hit at a huge party, a small gathering, or even for yourself. The replay value is just as high if not higher. You have not seen it all until you unlock everything and master all the steps.

Without a shout of a doubt, BUY THIS GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. It will be well worth your time and effort and money.

FINAL RANKINGS:
Gameplay:10
Challenge:10
Controlls:10
Graphics:10
Audio:10
Fun Factor:10
Replay Value:10
Overall:10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/06/00, Updated 07/06/00