Take a chance and Dance... and don't forget to stay cool!
Written: Jan 08 '04 (Updated Dec 08 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: Same addictive gameplay as older titles, new modes for beginners and experts.
Cons: Not enough classic DDR music, songs lean towards the beginner/intermediate end of the difficulty scale.
The Bottom Line: Sorry Mario(Party), but DDRMAX2 has you beat hands down as the best group/party game in town. DDRMAX1 may have classic songs, but either will get a party moving!
openroad's Full Review: DDRMax 2: Dance Dance Revolution for PlayStation 2
Title: Dance Dance Revolution: MAX2
Released by: Konami America
Rating: Everyone (mild lyrics)
MSRP: $39.99
----- Dance Dance the day away -----
It’s been less than a year and a half since Konami brought the Dance Dance craze to the Playstation 2 (PS2) with its release of DDRMAX (Dance Dance Revolution Maximum). DDRMAX2 is now released and ready to deliver more roomate-annoying, calorie-burning, foot-blister forming fun. The release of this all new game showed that Konami was serious about the U.S. prospects for this previously Asian dominant series. The latest title in the DDR series is titled Dance Dance Revolution: MAX2, and follows in the footsteps of its predecessor while offering several new features. Read on for a quick description of the DDR concept, or you can skip down to the game details.
Dance Dance Revolution was a unique concept when it first popped up in the Asian market around 1995. It differed from other video games in that you actually had to work your body to play successfully. The game is essentially a rhythm game that allows you to dance to many different songs. The controller is a 3’ x 3’ square pad with four directional arrows pointing up, down, left, and right. Arrows scroll on the game screen from bottom to top, and correspond to the arrows on the dance pad. Each arrow will only appear in it’s own column on the screen, this makes it easier to judge the direction of the oncoming arrows. There is a “home row” at the top of the monitor, and as the arrows reach this highlighted row you must press the appropriate arrow on the dance pad. There are 6 ratings given to each pad input; Perfect, Great, Good, Ok, Boo, and Miss. You aren’t penalized for pushing the pad without an arrow present, the only way to score poorly is either with poor timing or missing the arrow completely.
Four difficulty levels are available, and several challenge modes are also present. Beginner mode is the easiest, and comes with an on-screen tutorial for the duration of each song. Light mode is the next step up, followed by Standard and Heavy. You’ll most likely be playing at Light mode before long, but moving up to Standard will take a bit of playing dedication. Not only do the volume of arrows increase, the complexity of the step patterns increases as well. You will learn to hate those pesky 1/8 and 1/16 steps, and the hold arrows can be deceptively difficult. Hold arrows are a relatively new addition to the DDR franchise, and mix up the gameplay a bit. To successfully score a hold arrow, you must tap the pad when the arrow begins and hold that position until the arrow ends on screen. This is quite simple, but the game designers often put in wicked combinations of steps you must complete with one foot while holding an arrow with the other. It’s great fun, but it can be frustrating nonetheless.
----- Throw that controller away, you need Dance Pads! -----
Just to warn you, this game is not a $39 purchase, but more like a $250 purchase once you’ve finished. I’ll try and save you some money by giving you my experiences with various Dance Pads. Whatever you do, don’t play this game with a standard DualShock controller. You’ll think it’s very easy and pretty stupid, and I’d have to agree with you. Dance Pads aren’t an option, they are a necessity! Obviously the best choice for play quality is the Arcade Metal pads sold by several vendors including Red Octane. These allow you play with shoes on, and hold up very well to abuse. If you're not ready to shell out $220 bucks for one pad yet, keep on reading.
At most game stores they have stacks of $15 and $20 dance pads sold by Naki and Konami. Please stay far away from them, they’ll only make you frustrated and waste your money. If you are REALLY on a budget then purchase one with the intention of upgrading soon. Check out my review of the Naki dance pad, and see why I don’t recommend it. If you ever plan on playing well on the light or standard modes, you’ll have a hard time doing it on a cheap pad. My favorite pad so far is the Red Octane Ignition 2.0. It costs $99 retail, and is about 2" thick. It will hold up to much more abuse than thin pads, and won't slide around on the floor. Your feet will also thank you, as the extra padding allows you to play longer. You'll still get blisters... it just takes more time. :)
----- DDRMAX2: New AND Improved! -----
The new features in MAX2 consist of a new difficulty level for beginners, a nonstop mode for experts, and the nearly impossible Endless mode where you play through every song non-stop. The virtual dancers are back on the screen after being dropped from DDRMAX1, only they look noticably better this time around thanks to cel-shaded graphics. Another new feature is actual music videos to some of the songs. This don't mean nuthin to me, since they are more distracting than anything else.
Many favorite DDR songs from the arcade machines and previous games are absent from DDRMAX2, and this leaves the new song roster to carry the load. There are some great songs that work well for both beginner players and experts. Some examples are: Radical Faith, Days Go By, Let’s Groove, Keep on Lifting, and Conga Feeling. Many of the new songs are either very similar in style and sound, or remakes of classic 70s or 80s songs. Many more artists familier to Americans are present, such as Kylie Minogue, The Crystal Method, K.C. & The Sunshine Band, and DJ Sammy. While these may appeal to the American audience more, they don't necessarily make great songs for the game.
Back for a second round is the workout mode which tracks your burned calories and the edit mode for creating your own step patterns.
I don’t consider DDRMAX2 to be the best game for more advanced players, but it’s a lot of fun for beginners and to get friends hooked on the game. I would recommend DDRMAX2 to newbie DDR players, or those bored with the first game and unable to use a PC.
----- PC/MAC Alternative -----
If you don’t own a game system, you’re not out of luck. No versions of DDR have been released for PC or Mac systems, but thanks to some hard working people we have several options. For the ultimate Dance Dance experience, download one of the multiple PC simulators and pick up a USB dance pad adaptor. My favorite program is Stepmania which simulates the arcade game very close, and both PC and Mac versions are available. To find songs for Stepmania stop by the DDR-UK website and check out the massive library of song files. My Stepmania program has over 150 songs in the database, with selections from all the arcade games and many home versions as well. If you have the patience, you can even program steps to some of your favorite songs. This gives Stepmania an almost unlimited replay value.
Copy and paste the links at the bottom to check out these sites for yourself.
----- Final Comments -----
In closing, DDRMAX2 is a step forward for the franchise, but also a step sideways. A few new options and an almost all new song list are the only real reasons for people to purchase this version over the original DDRMAX. I still give it 4 stars for the overall addictive quality this game has, but I’ll still give a slight nod to the original PS2 release for it’s slightly better song catalogue. If it's possible I would suggest you buy the first DDRMAX for your PS2 and download Stepmania for your computer. If friends want to play you can break out the PS2, but if you want to practice by yourself the unlimited song library of the PC version is preferable.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!
Openroad
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