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Platform: Xbox Genre: Dancing Number of Players: 1 - 4 I’m a DDR enthusiast. I have been ever since I tried it in the arcade with a friend. No, I don’t dance a flawless game on “Oni” mode, and no, I am not very young or even very agile. But I still have a really good time playing dance dance revolution. My wife even enjoys it, and everyone that we have convinced to try it will at least admit that it is fun for people that have even slightly more rhythm than pride. My experience being mainly on the PSOne and PS2, with a little arcade experience mixed it, I expected great things from the Xbox version of DDR. Unfortunately, as I'll discuss, the Microsoft friendly version of this game has left me a little bit disappointed. When it comes to dance games, the most important feature is what you are hearing. All the pretty pictures and perfectly timed steps are nothing compared to the music. The song sets a mood while providing a beat and a rhythm. While this game would probably get a great review from me when judged on it's own, I have been spoiled by great music from other games. Songs like "Days go By" by Dirty Vegas, "Love at First Sight" by Kylie Monogue, and "The Whistle Song" by DJ Aligator Project are strangely missing from this version. Playstation 2 owners have been spoiled, and the inclusion of great unlicensed songs like Sana Mollete Ne Ente, Can't Stop Fallin' in Love, and Tsugaru don't make up for the loss. I miss that great cover of "Heaven" (originally by Brian Adams). Even the hidden, unlockable songs lack excitement. This just isn't enough to make me . Content download. The idea is that you log on to Xbox Live, and there are new songs waiting for you to download. Imagine picking and choosing from dozens of songs to add to your dancing library. This could have been HUGE. But it isn't. Why? They want more money to provide you with more songs. That seems reasonable, right? Not when you consider that there are more licensed songs in other versions to begin with. And you can't pick and choose your new songs. You have to pay $5 for five songs, which are pre-packaged into a group that was chosen for you. So you might have to buy a set of 5 songs just to get the one song that is actually worth buying. To make matters worse, you can't add your own music. Other games have allowed you to listen to music straight from the Xbox's generous hard drive, but not DDR Ultramix. This just seems like a waste of great music. Sure there's a Battle Mode, Workout Mode, Challenge Mode, Edit Mode (to allow you to create your own steps to existing songs) and online play, but when you are finally sick of playing the same old songs, you have no creative control over the new songs you'll be hearing, if you can get stomach the price for downloading them to begin with. To be fair, this is a good version of DDR. It isn't poorly put together, the music isn't bad, and you can get it in a bundle with a VERY nice dance pad (also made by Konami) for a low price. The dance pad alone is worth $50. Hordes of elitist DDR players will ridicule this game for not including "Oni" mode, (a very difficult way to play), as well as for not staying true to the arcade by including the arcade songs. But, if you aren't too snobby about your dancing games and play this game just to have a good time, you probably will. When judged by what it contains rather than what it lacks, this game is truly worth your time. -scott- |
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The first aspect that I'll discuss is presentation.
Ultramix has a whole new face, and it's hard to dispute that fact
that this is the best looking interface in DDR history. With
a sleek silver look, it's much cleaner and less busy. The dancers
that dance in the background look better and much less blocky.
The steps and the effects are top-notch. There really isn't
much to complain about when it comes to the way that this game looks.
But, as they say, you can't judge a book by it's cover, and unfortunately
for this game looks really aren't everything.
Now let's talk about what might have been
the icing on the cake: online play and content downloads. When
I saw that this game would allow you to play over Xbox Live, a service
that I already use and love, I was ecstatic. Xbox Live is an
amazing concept: bring gamers together online in a simple, easy-to-use
manner for one low yearly price. When you get bored of playing
with yourself, you can log on and have countless competitors.
Great, you can do that with three other people here, and one really
couldn't ask for a better way to play with others without hiking dance
mats and PS2s around. I cannot understate how revolutionary
this feature is for the sport that DDR has become. But there
are other, more sinister forces at work here . . .