Reviewed: February 21, 2004
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Konami
Developer
Konami
Released: October 21, 2003
Genre: Music
Players: 4
ESRB: Everyone
8
7
9
9
8.9
Supported Features:
Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution game has become a cultural phenomenon that will like be studied by future societies and perhaps even aliens monitoring our world from light-years away. Leave it to the Japanese culture to infect our bars with karaoke and our arcades with dance machines. DDR first appeared in 1998 and has since been featured in prominent TV shows like Malcolm in the Middle, Will and Grace,, and even a recent episode of I’m With Her just to name a few.
Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix is the latest incarnation of the series to hit U.S. shores, this time, for the first time, on the Xbox, and the game has never been bigger or better. With a massive library of techno house music, psychedelic animated backgrounds, and for the first time ever, online play, Ultramix is the culmination of all things dance and the ultimate party game.
As a club DJ for more than ten years I know a lot about music but I’ve never been the best dancer – curse of being on the wrong side of the glass. Breaking out the dance mat and attempting to play this game in the privacy of my own home with the blinds closed still takes a huge effort in blocking out any self-consciousness.
Admittedly, I’m much more comfortable and have better skills at playing this game with the gamepad, but using the controller takes away a huge part of what makes DDR: Ultramix what it is. For those of you who are extremely skilled, you can even hook-up two mats for 8-panel dancing - the ultimate verison of Ultramix.
Chances are if you are reading this review then you don’t need the gameplay explained to you, but just in case, DDR is founded on the principle elements of directional commands that rise from the bottom of the screen toward their matching outlines along the top. Your goal is to match those symbols precisely as they pass through their outline. In theory this sounds like an easy proposition, but just wait until they start throwing multiple directions at you at the same time, or perhaps combining “holds” (where you have to keep the button pressed for an extended duration) while continuing to match other symbols.
The speed of the symbols is based on the BPM (beats per minute) of the music and the number of symbols is based on your chosen difficulty. On the easiest skill level a song might have 80-100 steps in the entire mix, but on the Light setting this number doubles. Choosing Normal or Hard drives the difficulty into the realm of impossibility. Only professional dancers and speed freaks need apply.
Ultramix can be played with the gamepad or a dance mat or a pair of dance mats for even more challenging fun. You can also play two-player head-to-head or link a pair of Xbox’s together or go online for competitions with up to four players. Ultramix is going to be huge at your next party. There are more than 45 popular songs featuring some of the hottest mixes from world-famous DJ’s. This is the kind of music you’d hear in some of the best clubs and raves from around the world.
While distracting to those actually playing the game, spectators can enjoy plenty of funky kaleidoscope graphics with CG animated backup dancers that boogie down on the screen. As the dancer playing the game, it takes a lot of concentration to see “through” the distracting backgrounds and focus on the symbols.
There are plenty of game modes in this new version. Training mode gets you started with the basics while Battle mode offers point and a score battles for up to four players to compete for high scores. There is even a dance editor that lets you create your own custom dance steps.
Workout mode is an interesting variation that lets you pick a calorie goal then dance until you burn off those calories. Naturally, this only works with the dance mat; you won’t get skinny sitting on the couch mashing the gamepad with one hand and munching Cheesy Poofs with the other. An interesting feature is the ability to compare your dancing workout to more traditional workouts like jogging, jumping rope, or swimming.
The new Challenge mode is quite clever and extremely fun. You are presented with a list of challenges like getting five “five” perfects in a row or not getting any “boo’s” for a certain amount of time. Most of the challenges are fairly short and don’t span an entire song.
I supposed there are thousands of gamers out there who are better than me at this game. I can get perfect scores on the easiest level and usually AA or B scores on the Light mode, but moving into Normal or Hard modes is an exercise in frustration, especially with most of the music in this game being very fast techno and house tracks. I’m lucky to even finish a song as each missed step slowly reduces my dance bar and once I start missing steps I get all flustered and totally wipe out.
Ultramix features online play with plenty of modes and all of the matchmaking services you’d expect from Live. Most surprising was that the gameplay flows quite smoothly. For a game that requires precise timing, any lag would kill this title. Thankfully, there was none in the more than 40 matches I participated in. I must admit there weren’t a lot of people playing this game online on a regular basis, and it took me several days to log just a few hours of online gameplay.
Ultramix is not about the graphics, but even so they do a surprisingly good job for the most part. The symbols are generally easy to see and “holds” and “double-tap” notes are clearly indicated by unique symbols. Things can get distracting when the background gets cluttered with animated dancers and flashy effects.
The menus are simple and the scoring and music selection screens are colorful and easy to navigate. As you unlock new banks of music they are color coded so you know what’s new. The information on the HUD during the game is clear and easy to read provided you can take your eyes off the streaming steps long enough to read it.
As with any music or dance game the soundtrack is the driving force behind the gameplay. Ultramix features a massive song list ranging from dance, techno, disco, and some interesting hybrid mixes. Some of it is licensed and some of it is totally original and most of it is fairly obscure to the general public. Unless you are a professional DJ or a regular at the larger clubs you probably won’t have heard most of the music in this game.
A lot of the music is locked and you must earn a predetermined amount of dance points to unlock the next block of music. Once you have it all unlocked you will have a monster library of music to dance to and there is even more available for download on Xbox Live.
By the time you unlock and make your way through all the songs you’ll be ready to hear them all over again. The numerous modes, multiplayer gaming, and even the quirky potential to use this game to shed a few excess pounds gives Ultramix limitless replay value. Whether this becomes your next favorite party game or just a guilty pleasure you experience behind closed doors, Ultramix is the definition of addictive gaming.
You can find Ultramix with the Konami dance mat for $60 or if you already have a mat you can get just the game for $30. Definitely not a bad deal for the content and endless gameplay potential, and the added bonus of being able to download more music for a small fee has the potential to keep this game alive forever.
You’ll never catch me playing this game in the arcades but having Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix on my Xbox ready to humiliate myself in the privacy of my own home is undeniable fun. I suppose there is a certain demographic that will really enjoy this game (girls and anyone who can dance).
If you are looking for more popular music you might want to check out DDR2MAX for the PS2, but if you are in the mood for some killer techno tunes and house music then Ultramix is the ultimate selection of high-energy dance beats. Regardless of which system or which game you play, you won’t find a more comprehensive or fun dancing game out there.