Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2

"A good sequel to a mediocre DDR Mix"

DDR Ultramix 2 is worth buying. It improves in almost every aspect of DDR Ultramix....but not by much. It could have been much better, but overall it's a worthy sequel.

GAMEPLAY

In Dance Dance Revolution games, the object is to hit the arrows as they appear on the screen with good timing. Sounds simple right? Wrong. Most beginners that have never played the game before will have tons of trouble hitting the arrows and they will find themselves way off center with the mat. This is a game where practice definitely does make perfect.

In the original DDR Ultramix there were many complaints on timing issues. People were complaining that the timing was off compared to other DDR mixes and that perfects were much too hard to get. Well as far as I can tell, this issue is fixed in Ultramix 2. The timing is back to normal.

Many hardcore DDR fans are glad that Ultramix 2 has a great song collection. Most of the songs are not DDR repeats and are original to this mix, and the songs that are DDR repeats are popular ones like A, V, and 321stars. While many hardcore DDR fans may not like these songs, hey, they're really popular with the newbies! :) Also all song packs that were downloaded in Ultramix 1 transfer over to Ultramix 2. So you can still keep your downloaded song packs in this game.

Ultramix 2 includes Challenge Mode, Workout Mode, and Battle Mode as in the original. But new to this mix is Party Mode, which includes new styles of gameplay that are extremely fun if you have a big group of friends over.

Xbox Live with Ultramix 2 is also fun with a newly added Tournament option that lets you compete with many people.

Overall Ultramix 2 has some great additions to Ultramix, but nothing amazing has been added. Where is Endless Mode, Challenge Mode, or Nonstop Mode?

Gameplay 8/10

GRAPHICS

Well the characters look nice, the backgrounds are alright....but they can be a little distracting at times. Sometimes they are so bright that it is hard to tell the arrows apart from the background, but you can adjust the brightness in the options menu. But apart from that, you aren't buying Ultramix 2 to look at the graphics.

Graphics 7/10

SOUND

Ultramix 2 has tons of great songs and with surround sound supported, the sound is good enough to enjoy.

Sound 7/10

OVERALL

Overall this is a great sequel to an okay DDR mix. Many things have been improved on and you should definitely go buy this DDR mix. If you're wondering which mix you should get, DDR Ultramix 2 or DDR Extreme, I would definitely recommend this mix over Extreme.

Overall I give Ultramix 2 a 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05