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Jan 13th, 2008 at 19:20:49 - Dance Dance Revolution (PS2) |
GAMEPLAY
For the amount of time spent playing the game over, it is not a game that I have found to easily tire of. Of course, the physical activity does become burdensome, but the fun is always there because you can play one song after another in the game's Training Mode. I mostly play in Game Mode, which is like the arcade version. Meaning you play a total of three songs, assuming that you don't fail on any song, and are graded on each song with an averaged grade at the end of the three songs. This gives a more realistic feel, because in arcades you will have to pay money in order to play, so it's best not to fail for that would be a waste of money. Like playing any other game, the player has to get into a certain zone of play, where nothing is distracting them from the arrows, because as the songs get harder he arrows come up faster or in strange sequencing. Depending on how fast the song is, and arrow can show up every four beats or two beats. That makes a slow song. Songs in Heavy or Difficult, usually have sixth or eighth notes. And it only gets harder from there. It is mildly disconcerting if you fail to finish a song, because a song automatically stop when the Beat Bar is empty. The Beat Bar is a bar that cuts across the top of the screen and shows how well you are doing. If you do not miss a beat/arrow, then the bar would accumulate until it is full. But every time you do miss an arrow the bar goes down, until there is nothing left. That is when you fail the song
There are a lot of modes that I have explored in the game. Training Mode, Story Mode, Game Mode, and even Workout Mode. Workout Mode is a handy way of estimating how many calories you have lost while playing the game. In this mode you can set it to a target time, or even a target amount of pounds you want to loss. Of course, the calculations are not perfect, but I still find myself using it because DDR does prove to be a good amount of work out. Furthermore, it's fun for all ages. My parents and a lot of older people play it, and some get really good. It is a good cardio exercise, and works a on hand feet coordination.
DESIGN
I think that this is a very new innovation in game design, because the player is able to do more than press a couple buttons on a controller or D-pad. It combines music and media with gaming, and is a good source of exercise. The game has many design elements that are new, I really enjoy the amount of participation a play gets. However, I do not like the fact that they added the Steller Story Mode, it makes unlocking songs tedious and tiring, because the only way to pass a certain song in that mode is getting a perfect score, which could take days, because something could always go wrong. This game also allows the player to challenge themselves. You can do so by picking a particularly hard song, and play it over and over again to master it. The more songs you play and master the more songs you unlock. And the key of the game is to unlock all the songs, but there really isn't an official end. You can play as long as you like.
I have also noticed that the game fosters a lot of social interaction between the players and the audience. It is a game that people can sit around and watch, because there is a lot of action that revolves around the screen and the players. It is a game that even the audience can get in on, coaching the players and giving their two cents to technique and everything.
The game does not get too complex as long as the player does not want it to be. I think it's a great design because the player can physically choose how they wish to play, easy, hard, medium. There are even options that allow the play to change the speed of a song x2 or even x8 beats. Also, a player can mess with the arrow presentation, making them vanish before they hit the top or remove them entirely and play based on memory. It is just ways of developing one's skills in the game, but is not required to play the game. I believe this is one of the greatest traits, because a player is able to find his or her own individual preferences and styles when it comes to playing. There is never just one way of doing things, which makes this game interesting. You can always find a way to challenge yourself.
Finally, this game's reward system is taken after ranking and grades, even in the console editions. Depending on the song you play and how well you play it you obtain points, and in the end, if the points are high enough, you are able to enter your name on a list of high scores. The grading of a song is between E and AAA, depending on how many arrows you've missed and how many you've hit on time. Also, depending on how many points you obtain you are able to buy characters and settings. Now, characters work a little differently in this game than most, because a character is just a sprite that dances along on screen while the song is playing. Usually as a player the character serves no purpose what so ever, but it does become a target of interest for on lookers. As a player I've rarely noticed the characters or music videos playing in the background during a song, because all my attention is devoted to the arrow sequence, but when I step away and watch some one else play I find it fun to watch the characters and videos that I normally miss out on.
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Jan 13th, 2008 at 17:24:53 - Dance Dance Revolution (PS2) |
SUMMARY
Dance Dance Revolution is a game where the player is expected to press down a sequence of arrows with his or her feet, on a dance pad that can be connected to the system, as the arrows show up on the screen. The object of the game is to try and not miss a single arrow in order to get the highest grade. Grade can range from E to AAA, and the songs all have three levels of difficulty, ranging from Beginner to Heavy, and some even have a Challenge mode, which is the most difficult. This game, created by Konami, has many versions with the most recent version dubbed Supernova, which features English and Japanese songs to dance to.
GAMEPLAY
Dance Dance Revolution(DDR) Supernova is what I have been playing. I am familiar with most of the other DDR versions, starting from 4, which makes Supernova version 9 or 10 I'm supposing. Thus, I expected the gameplay to be about the same, with the exception of newer songs. This game is not like other video games, because DDR and similar games like Guitar Hero and Drum Mania put the player in even more participation that other games. You are actually expected to dance according to the arrows that scroll along the screen, or else fail the course. It is common misconception to belittle these kinds of games, because it seems easy enough to execute. However, when I play I feel an overwhelming amount of pride and a constant need to get better and better. Like any other video game, I feel like DDR is about progress, and the object of the game itself is to unlock songs as you go along. You unlock songs by performing well on another one.
This is a game that combines physical activity and video gaming, you don't have to know how to dance to be able to play this game, because it trains you from the beginning. When you shuffle through song titles, it usually allows you to choose difficulty and shows how fast the song is in beats per minuet, and has a chart that displays how much "voltage, freeze, stream, air, etc." there is in a song. That just means how much the arrows flow, if there are a lot of freeze arrows, or a lot of jumping. So there is little surprise. Also, the more you play, the more you have an understanding of when is the best time to press down on the arrows. Like I said, it's a game about progress, and you can play with two people, Versus Mode, or one person can even play with two pads, which is called Double Mode. You would assume that there would be little player interaction because you would need to concentrate, but I find myself always talking to my partner, whether it be complaining about how easy the song is, or how hard it is.
On the console edition of the game DDR Supernova has a Story Mode called Stellar Master. This is one way to unlock more songs, and must be played in order to obtain all 200 something songs. This mode starts off easy, but gets increasingly harder in order to hone a player's skill. It is a nice device for assisting the player, but I find that it jumps too much in difficulty, or expects progress to quickly, which is why I don't like playing this mode. I enjoy this game because it gives the player the freedom to choose whatever song he or she would like to play.
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tako_yaki has been with GameLog for 16 years, 9 months, and 18 days |
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