DDR EXTREME 2
New songs, new modes and a whole lot more Raging Lumberjack Style. We go feet-on with Konami's latest DDR offering.
Published: August 31, 2005
It used to be that previewing and especially reviewing a Dance Dance Revolution game was something we could cruise right on through. There were some new songs, most that we wrinkled our noses at because they were more license- than import-heavy, and we'd move on.
Then Konami had to go and make the latest one, DDR EXTREME 2 (yes, it really has all caps like that), all intriguing. It wasn't just that a lot of classic songs were being brought over, or that some of the licensed stuff didn't look half bad this time, or that it was bringing back EyeToy support, or even that it would all finally be playable online against other PS2 gamers (something the Xbox versions have enjoyed for a while now).
No, it was the new Dance Master Mode that had piqued our interest most. A handful of songs (we counted somewhere around 20-25 or so while we were playing, but that was just a couple of run-throughs before a funk started stinking up the office and some people didn't want any more stank) are spread across a grid with interconnecting lines.
By playing through all the songs on a particular section (it took two runs on the first section and will take considerably more on the second), you'll unlock the next section and all the songs it offers. All the songs at the starting point begin on the easiest level, but as you play through and unlock more, the difficulty slowly increases. It's a great warm-up for beginning players or, like most of us who haven't played a DDR game in years.
As you progress along the grid completing songs, you'll earn points for every arrow in a song you nail correctly. These points can then be used to unlock new music, courses, outfits (complete with adorable little placeholder stick figures in the early build we were using), info on how to unlock hidden arrows and sections of Dance Master Mode, custom arrows and more modes and branches for the grid.
It's a simple little add-on, but the menu is available at any time (with a tap of the start button), and adding points and an unlockable element to something that normally just gets opened up with lots of play-throughs. It's not anything new, but at least you now have a purpose for replaying all those songs.
As for the other modes, we couldn't go online (it would just crash), but the Free Play and Advanced modes split things into an easier no-game-over and traditional arcade style of play, respectively. Diet Modes is more or less the exact same as in previous games, so creating a player, setting your weight and then outlining all the criteria for that session will be familiar to anyone who's played before.
For those that haven't Lesson Mode takes you through the basics and Training Mode allows you to refine particularly tough songs as much as you'd like. You can still create your own arrow set up in Edit Mode, too if that floats your boat. Some of the upcoming sections, like a preview of the next Karaoke Revolution game and something called My Room weren't functional yet.
The Dance Master Mode is at the top of the list and is clearly the focus of this version, and rightly so, since it's really quite addictive. In fact, this is probably most addicted we've been to a DDR game in a long, long time. Part of this stems from the fact that the music selection is probably the best a US DDR has ever gotten, with plenty of songs and remixes from middle and early Japanese Mixes, and even the licensed music is pretty decent. You can check out the full list of songs we're allowed to talk about by clicking here.
There's still plenty of time and work that'll have to go into the game before release at the end of next month, but as soon as we can grab a build that has more of the features implemented and pass on the details accordingly. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go stomp around while people laugh and point. Rrrrraging Lumberjack Style!
Then Konami had to go and make the latest one, DDR EXTREME 2 (yes, it really has all caps like that), all intriguing. It wasn't just that a lot of classic songs were being brought over, or that some of the licensed stuff didn't look half bad this time, or that it was bringing back EyeToy support, or even that it would all finally be playable online against other PS2 gamers (something the Xbox versions have enjoyed for a while now).
No, it was the new Dance Master Mode that had piqued our interest most. A handful of songs (we counted somewhere around 20-25 or so while we were playing, but that was just a couple of run-throughs before a funk started stinking up the office and some people didn't want any more stank) are spread across a grid with interconnecting lines.
By playing through all the songs on a particular section (it took two runs on the first section and will take considerably more on the second), you'll unlock the next section and all the songs it offers. All the songs at the starting point begin on the easiest level, but as you play through and unlock more, the difficulty slowly increases. It's a great warm-up for beginning players or, like most of us who haven't played a DDR game in years.
As you progress along the grid completing songs, you'll earn points for every arrow in a song you nail correctly. These points can then be used to unlock new music, courses, outfits (complete with adorable little placeholder stick figures in the early build we were using), info on how to unlock hidden arrows and sections of Dance Master Mode, custom arrows and more modes and branches for the grid.
It's a simple little add-on, but the menu is available at any time (with a tap of the start button), and adding points and an unlockable element to something that normally just gets opened up with lots of play-throughs. It's not anything new, but at least you now have a purpose for replaying all those songs.
As for the other modes, we couldn't go online (it would just crash), but the Free Play and Advanced modes split things into an easier no-game-over and traditional arcade style of play, respectively. Diet Modes is more or less the exact same as in previous games, so creating a player, setting your weight and then outlining all the criteria for that session will be familiar to anyone who's played before.
For those that haven't Lesson Mode takes you through the basics and Training Mode allows you to refine particularly tough songs as much as you'd like. You can still create your own arrow set up in Edit Mode, too if that floats your boat. Some of the upcoming sections, like a preview of the next Karaoke Revolution game and something called My Room weren't functional yet.
The Dance Master Mode is at the top of the list and is clearly the focus of this version, and rightly so, since it's really quite addictive. In fact, this is probably most addicted we've been to a DDR game in a long, long time. Part of this stems from the fact that the music selection is probably the best a US DDR has ever gotten, with plenty of songs and remixes from middle and early Japanese Mixes, and even the licensed music is pretty decent. You can check out the full list of songs we're allowed to talk about by clicking here.
There's still plenty of time and work that'll have to go into the game before release at the end of next month, but as soon as we can grab a build that has more of the features implemented and pass on the details accordingly. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go stomp around while people laugh and point. Rrrrraging Lumberjack Style!