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Platform: PlayStation 2
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Publisher: Konami
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Developer: Konami
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Medium: DVD-ROM
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Players: 1 - 2
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Online: Yes
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Also on: (n/a)
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What DDR fans have come to expst.
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It's been a while since I've played a DDR game. Ever since the series first hit America back in 2001, I was pretty adamant about picking up the latest version, to the point where I spent an embarrassing amount of time with Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix. But then, about the time DDR Max hit PS2, the series and I just started to grow apart. Oh sure, I'd still get the latest mix and play it for a bit, but I wasn't so gung-ho about getting it immediately upon release, and as time passed, my dance pad saw less and less use. I didn't end up grabbing DDR Max until DDR Max 2 came out, and it wasn't until DDR Extreme was upon us that DDR Max 2 earned a place on my shelf. And just as I was getting ready to go get last year's DDR Extreme, DDR Extreme 2 appeared at my door.
Despite my lack of experience with DDR Extreme, I still have a decent idea of what it brought to the table. I know there was a nifty Mission Mode, and the various EyeToy mini-games were considered more of a novelty than anything else. Looking at the songlist, it appears Extreme was also a decent mix of classic DDR songs (.59, Kick the Can, Drop the Bomb) and newer, licensed material (Planet Rock, Move Your Feet).
Unsurprisingly, Extreme 2 continues this trend, mixing contemporary tracks (Sean Paul's Get Bust, Fatboy Slim's Wonderful Night, Sneaker Pimp's Spin Spin Sugar) with the more traditional DDR songs (Butterfly (Upswing Mix), Boom Boom Dollar (K.O.G G3 Mix), Brilliant 2U, Dynamite Rave).
But here's where Extreme 2 changes things up a bit. In previous DDR games, the bulk of the songlist was unlocked through continual play, the general rule of thumb a new song for every five songs played. Unfortunately, Extreme 2 does away with this. Instead, Extreme 2's unlockable songs are tied to performance, such as earning high scores in the various gameplay modes or accomplishments in Dance Master Mode, similar to Extreme's Mission Mode. Presented with a specific song and challenge, players must pass this challenge to proceed to the next song, eventually unlocking new characters, songs, arrow designs and gameplay modes in the store's shop. Once unlocked, items can be purchased using points earned from playing through the game.
On paper, this sounds like a great idea. Not only does this increase the replay value, but now players are forced to improve if they want to earn new songs. And honestly, it's a very welcome addition to the franchise, because it genuinely does increase the replay value while helping players to improve. My only complaint is that Dance Master Mode is mandatory if you want to unlock certain items.
The challenges start out simple enough, and that's the first problem. DDR experts, and even moderately-skilled DDR players, will find themselves bored for the first few hours of Dance Master Mode. But as the challenges pick up in difficultly, they quickly become ridiculously demanding, and the casual fans will find themselves scoffing in disbelief at what they're expected to do. Progress is also tied to the quality of your dance pad, as all-but-the-most-expensive dance pads occasionally don't register steps or register them too late. This presents another obstacle with the challenges, especially those restrict the amount of steps one can miss or require a player to get only "Perfect" or "Great" ratings in regards to the timing of their steps. Oh sure, one could use a controller to pass some of the challenges, but isn't that defeating the point of Dance Dance Revolution?
Extreme 2 is also the first DDR game to feature online play. Due to technical difficulties outside of my control (in other words, my ISP's firewall) I was unable to actually play online. I have, however, heard complaints that it's not possible to choose the specific song you'll be playing in Head to Head mode. I've also read reports the scoring between players of different difficulty levels is unbalanced, with players on Light sometimes beating those on Heavy even if the Heavy player has less missed steps or a higher combo. I've also heard complaints regarding cheating, which sadly ruins the functionality of the online score rankings. It seems there's no method for online players to swap step charts created in Edit mode, which seems like an odd exclusion for an online community like this.
Extreme's Watch Me Dance and Hands & Feet EyeToy modes return in Extreme 2. Neither is particularly groundbreaking, but Hands & Feet provides a nice change of pace, especially for fans of EyeToy: Groove. An advanced mode supplies additional challenge for the extremely skilled, with Course (play through a set list of songs), Endless (play until the dance meter reaches zero), Combo Challenge (play until your combo ends), and Survival (play until you get four "Good" steps) gameplay types available to test one's skills. Apart from this, Extreme 2 packs the standard assortment of DDR familiar to fans of the series: Free Play, Lesson, Edit, Workout, and Training. Also worth mentioning is included Karaoke Revolution Party demo, a nice touch for those of us too shy to rent or purchase the Karaoke Revolution games.
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 is pretty much what DDR fans have come to expect, that is, a new list of songs and a few new gameplay modes. Though I'm not particularly thrilled with the accomplishment-based method of unlocking songs, it's more of a minor annoyance than something that breaks the game. And personally, I think Konami deserves kudos just based off their ability to produce four PS2 DDR games that don't share any songs between them. Sure, Extreme 2 won't make any new converts out of those that already dislike DDR, but it'll satisfy those looking for a new list of songs and modes to play, and frankly, that's good enough.
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