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| .............CONTENT
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Since then, I've managed to kick the maraca habit. Oh, it's true that I glance over at that long, yellow box in a loving manner that's only equal to that of a mother bird looking at her chics. But, I also know of the pain. It took less time to kill my nasty Track & Field addiction back in the 80s, but the maracas were strong - almost too strong. DDR had been out for a while then, but as I patted my Dreamcast on its lovely off-white lid, I would just be thankful that none made their way to Sega's wonderbox. It seems as though a higher power wants me to do more than sit around and complain. Nay! Something, or someone, wants me to break a sweat! I had resisted DDR, not only for fear of pulling a hemi, but also out of sheer terror of looking ridiculous - note: I would be by myself while playing it, and yes, I'm aware that going at maraca combat with the gusto of a rabid Charo can be seen as far worse. Deep down, I think I was only scared of getting addicted to it. Oh, it's easy to hide the fact that I'm shaking maracas around, but dancing on a pad? There's just no way explaining yourself out of that. For those unfamiliar with the DDR series, it involves dancing on a pad (think of the NES Power Pad) to various tunes in an attempt to time physical action with onscreen action. To be more precise, the pad works as the controller, with an arrow for each direction, as well as the start and select keys, and two buttons. The non-arrow buttons are used to navigate the menus, while the arrows, also used for navigation, are the primary buttons for the game. During rounds, arrows for each direction will go upwards, towards a lined set of arrows, if the arrow going up is in the arrow at the top, stepping on that direction will register it as a hit; the more precisely timed the step, the better the score, and they also link together for combos. It sounds simple, but it goes beyond that. There will be moves that require re-positioning one's self on the pad, as well as jumping to combine pressings for multiple directions at the same time. Konami has licensed genuine tracks from established artists (such as Kylie Minogu and The Crystal Method), which total to 65 songs and over 100 minutes of music. The music, of course, helps to keep the beat of the player so they can press the arrows without falling over themselves. It's much more of a workout than it would seem. While that wouldn't seem like something all that enjoyable, the inevitable happened to me as it does to most people who try it - I became strangely addicted to it; but really, my torrid affair with the maracas should've told me this was a foregone conclusion. As I look for someone to blame for this unhealthy (re: about the only healthy thing I do) practice, I could only see the name Peter Nguyen on the address tab that it came in. Well, Peter, I hope you're happy. Well, maybe you aren't, since it seems I'm still alive, and it would appear that the training lessons were indeed intent on killing me or any other newcomer. I am glad that training is there, though: with 3 sessions and 7 lessons within each, the basics are covered thoroughly with repeated visual displays and hands-on lessons. I made the mistake of thinking the game was silly and I wouldn't need to learn anything that it could teach me, well, nearly tripping over myself taught me otherwise. Damn this natural adversity to rhythm! Those trying the game out for the first time will also take note that training isn't really a training mode for them; training is just for practice, which made a lot more sense once I decided to check out what the other menu options were for - interesting wording. However, both are helpful and do what they can to prepare the player for the onslaught of the main modes. All modes have a set amount of tracks, with more to be unlocked, that feature the player's time above the titles as well as how the accompanying steps will be comprised of - which means there's either air, freezes (keeping the foot on the arrow and letting go with the string ends), taps, and so on. Be sure to check the manual first, a slight difference might mean more than what's wanted. The arcade mode is represented by Game Mode, which also boasts a new Beginner mode, and it also allows for those with multiple pads to play with a friend or use both for themselves. Surprisingly, the other modes are very solid and contain just as much, if not more, play-time than Game Mode. These modes are: Training, practicing for difficult songs; Lesson, this mode serves as the tutorial; Endless, this unlockable mode plays every song as one continuous loop; and my favorite, Workout Mode. While the workout mode isn't new to the series, it is to me, and I was surprised at how robust it is. It allows players to enter their weight, set goals of calories to burn, save their progress, and also shows how much calories were burned per song and their relation to how many miles jogged and laps swam. For those with older releases, an Edit Mode allows custom steps to be made and played on the other releases. To keep the player abreast on whatever they've unlocked, or changes that have occurred, there's also an Information mode as well. In all, a large amount of solid features that have at least one thing to suit anyone semi interested in trying it out. Despite not really advancing the series any, DDRMAX2 still carries the franchise well. With that said, I have to also say that it pains me to play it. Not because of the physical interaction (which can easily be balanced with a few cigarettes - only if you're over 18, kids! - and eating an entire large pizza while watching the Family Guy series on DVD), but because I hate the music. The high-pitched squeals and noises, with random club vocals, just isn't my thing. Other genres aren't really the suited for what the game is going for, unfortunately; ah, the things I put up with to keep the beat - but, between you and me, Kylie isn't so bad, is she? Graphics: 6.5/10
Control: 9/10
Overall: 8/10
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