DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution Max

First of all, I know I'm going to definately be flamed for this review. Dance Dance Revolution is, for those of you who don't know, an arcade game where you jump around on four arrows (On the floor, of course) trying to stay in beat with techno music. The game itself is easy, but mastering it is hard, because the game goes from "A blind man could do this" to "Am I supposed to grow another two legs for this???". Of course, the game is a cult phenomenon, and you get your usual gaggle of patent faggots calling themselves "DDR Professionals" making it look bad.

Dance Dance Revolution Max is, just like all other DDR games, just a mix of songs with arrows. Nothing much, which usually means its the exact same gameplay, the exact same style, except to different songs, and maybe new modes or features. This is actually a good thing, as the majority of us DDR players can barely handle 4 arrows, and adding some stupid s*** to the mix would probably be a bad thing for the franchise. Regardless, you can expect this game to be exactly like the DDR you played in the arcade.



Second of all, you need to realize this game is a freaking money pit. First of all, you must have a PS2 or XBOX (Preferrably PS2, because the XBOX version of DDR blows). Second of all, you must purchase the game. Third of all, you better go get yourself a god d*** decent pad, or you'll be playing with your controller. Oh, and remember, if you want to play multiplayer fairly, that's two pads. Just to give you a heads up, my entry level package (And I had a PS2 already) was $100, for one pad and the game (Note: I bought a special pad online, which accounts for the price, but I'll mention the pad later in the review).

The game itself has some pretty sweet tunes. However, they usually fall into the following catagory:

Catagory 1: Remixed stuff from older games.
While I love classic songs like Butterfly and Paranoia, it seems like Konami just fills every new DDR mix with remixes. Hell, to save time, they usually remix a song and have both versions in the game- nice, but I'd prefer an original song to the remix.

Catagory 2: Hell yes
There are usually about 10 songs per DDR that rock, and DDRMAX is no exception. In this case, songs like Stomping to my Beat and Exotic Ethnic make the call. Of course, I love Spin the Disc to death, but that's because I've memorized the pattern on hard, and I can show off. Hah.

Catagory 3: Hell no
Slow songs, remixes of s*** american bands, and the usual Japanese Idol song are usually featured in a DDR game too. Usually these are easy, but they turn off newbies: I mean, while everyone else is dancing to these extremely cool (Hard) songs, they're stuck to slow love songs. Usually, I skip over these.

A very mixed bunch. Just accept that in DDRMAX and about any DDR game you play, you will encounter about only 40% good songs and 60% songs you could do without. Its not a bad mix, but it's something that you'll have to get used to, as Konami has yet to make a mix that has all good, decent, fun songs.



Oh, and for you lardasses out there, this game is a great workout. This is probably the closest thing to Jump Roping you're going to get that's actually fun, so instead of doing three thousand jumps until your arms are sore and you're tired of standing in one place, this game is great. Also, it improves your ability to jump, so naturally I do it so I can jump all over the Martial Art studio floor like a d*** jackrabbit. Of course, this is also bad for those of you who hate exercise, and will probably die playing this game. Its all up to you: Exercise with fun, or no exercise whatsoever. Then again, why do you care?

DDRMAX suffers only from the price tag and some of the song choices. I would have preferred for them to stick all of the best songs from every mix into DDRMAX, naturally because DDRMAX was the first PS2 DDR, which means they could have done one hell of a compliation, but I can't complain too much. The best way to tell if you like this game is to go to an arcade with maybe $4 in quarters and try out a machine for 30 minutes. If you still like it, then go get this game (It's cheaper in the long run). If you are embarassed or feel like a dork, then don't get this game.

4 star(s) out of 5

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