Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE 2

The craze that is Dance Dance Revolution has changed very little in the past 10 years. The mechanics of the game, which incorporates elements of the older family “board” game Twister, have not changed at all.

You get a mat, you have music, and you have to match your foot taps on the arrow markers on the mat with the on-screen prompts. It’s seemingly simple, but you can (and will) work up quite a sweat gyrating to the beat and prompts.

It is a game, though, that has captured the imaginations of a lot of people and is very successful. So along comes DDR UNIVERSE 2, from Konami for the 360, which brings back most of the game modes familiar to long-time fans. But DDR UNIVERSE 2 has incorporated a couple of new modes – freestyle and quest – and also has a super easy mode that is more than forgiving.

The freestyle mode is just that. There are no on-screen prompts that require you to push arrow ‘X,’ you make up your own rhythm and dance beat. Quest mode is akin to a role-playing element within the DDR world. You work across Dance Dance islands, competing in DDR events and gaining fans. Each city has different fan-base requirements and this mode does allow up to two players to compete.

The other game modes should ring familiar with DDR fans. You have the workout mode, party mode (which has 11 sub-categories – and includes the freestyle mode) and the challenge mode. The UNIVERSE 2 version also comes with a training mode to help those who may not be DDR pros the opportunity to get their feet moving to the beats in order to challenge later on. Edit mode allows you to create custom dance moves.

A big part of this game is, of course, the musical elements and UNIVERSE 2 has more than 70 songs spanning the decades starting back in the ‘70s. You will hear songs from Outkast, Herbie Hancock, Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, Keane, Men Without Hats, Tipsy and so on. Jukebox mode allows users to play the musical selections without having to leap up and down on the mat … err, dance, that is.

The graphics are a blend of bright and color backdrops with animated figures up to videos from the songs. Imagine the confused look on the faces of younger players when they watch the video for The Safety Dance and try to make sense of the lyrics.

This iteration of DDR does have a couple of new ideas tossed into the mix but much of what is here has changed little over the years since the inception of the franchise. That is a good and bad thing – the good being that newcomers to the series will have an absolutely terrific time with this title; the bad is that there is little here to recommend it for DDR veterans.

The game does come with a dance mat and features Xbox Live multiplayer competition.

This is a game that is both a physical challenge as well as a delight for family members of all ages. With the inclusion of the freestyle and super easy settings, the age range of its appeal got much broader.

DDR UNIVERSE 2 is a solid addition to the 360 world of gaming. It does what we expect from the series and provides both a challenge and entertainment.

Gameplay: 8.0
It’s not new, it’s not innovative, but hey – it still works.

Graphics: 7.8
Nothing spectacular here and the videos can be a little fuzzy splayed across a big HD screen.  

Sound: 8.0
A nice selection of songs.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 6.5
Been there and done that – several times before. Give credit for the super easy mode, but the freestyle mode is buried and not overly easy to finds.

Multiplayer: 7.7
You can sweat it out in turns. Again, this is old hat for the series – still viable, but not innovative.  

Overall: 7.7
Not much new here to entice DDR vets to leap in with both feet. Those that have never played a DDR title will find this very nicely handled. The look is – generally – well handled, though the on-screen prompts can get muddled in the wash of colors. But in spite of the lack of many new ideas here, UNIVERSE 2 still challenges and entertains, and that is what any title should aspire to.