Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix

"It may be my only option but..."

...I like it very much anyway. I have to admit, if it didn't have online capabilities, this mix would stink, but that is what saved it.

Gameplay: 10/10
Obviously since this is a Dance Dance Revolution game, the gameplay is about dancing. That is why it got a 10/10. It is a quite original game that got started back in 1998, and its still going strong. The point of the game is simply to just dance. On the game screen you see arrows scroll up towards stationary arrows. You must hit the direction on the dance pad that corresponds to what the game screen says, when the moving arrows hit the stationary ones. These arrows are in sync with the music to create a beat for when your dancing. This game is all about rythm and not so much about timing (at least when you get more experience at it). Once you start dancing, you cant stop, its addicting as ever, though it DOES depend on what DDR mix you play. Playing online is what gets this a 10/10 is gameplay. Its always fun to challenge others online, playing with others never gets old. This game is also great for a workout, and losing weight.

Sound: 9/10, with xbox live 10/10
The music is well done, you can hear everything, and the Dolby 5.1 sound works seamlessy wth the music. Its the music that stops this from getting a perfect score.If you dont have xbox live your screwed. The songs that are on the disc are ok, but many are either really slow songs or somewhat love songs. Some though, are good techno and dancing songs, such as the licensed ones. To get the good songs, you need xbox live. Many good songs are available for download, in fact most of the songs I play are the downloaded ones. Great dance songs are to be had, but with the exception of a few slow or lovey duvey. If you like the slow and love songs, your welcome to play them, their just not my particular faves to play.

Graphics: 10/10
This game was never made for graphics. Surprisingly, it has great graphics. The only time you see them are the dancers, but they are well animated and look quite good cel-shaded. Nuff said.

Story: 0/10
What story? You dance, thats it.

Replayability: 9/10
Since this particular mix of DDR doesn't have the greatest songs, along with many remixes of old ones, it gets a 9/10.
I play this game constantly but I do get bored every once in a while from playing the same old songs, which half I dont even play. But it is still fun none the less. I still play it a lot, just not constantly.

Rent or Buy?
This game is a buy. It is always fun to get your groove on and great to do whenever you want a workout. A week of renting wont do any good for workout in the long term and chances are, renting wont get you a dance pad to rent so you'd be stuck playing with a controller. Wheres the workout then?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/04