Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix

The game itself is very simple in concept, but a cool idea and well executed. Dance to the beat, incidentally putting your feet on the right buttons at the right moment. I actually got it as an excuse to exercise, and it's definately aerobic.

In normal mode, too many total misses will end the song and the game is not too polite about your lack of dancing ability, but there's also a training mode if you just want to practice and not worry about how many times you miss. With a good selection of songs and different difficulty levels, it should have great replay value. As a gamer, I think the whole DDR concept is a little flimsy, but as someone who needs an excuse to exercise, this is a hell of a lot more interactive than any workout tape, treadmill or stationary bike would be.

So as a solo game: 3 stars.
As a group game: 4 stars, fun with friends.
As a way to get exersize: 5 stars.


XBox Live Makes This Game A Winner- Partial Song List   November 21, 2003
Michael Dao (Norwalk, CT)
30 out of 32 found this review helpful

I've just purchased this game, and I want to provide any potential buyers of this game with a partial list of what songs can be found in this game. There aren't as many songs as I'd like but with X-Box Live you can download both additional song packs and play online against other people. As of this writing, November 18, 2003, there has been one song pack released on XBox Live

Licensed Songs
Ian Van Dahl feat. Marsha - Castles In The Sky
Paul Oakenfold - Ready Steady Go
Who Da Funk - Shiny Disco Balls
Masai - Do That Thang (Mash Radio Edit)

Konami Originals
dj. TAKA - 0.59
NPD3 - AFTER THE GAME OF LOVE
Riyu Kosaka - Candy Heart (vocal version)
BeForU - DIVE
TaQ - DXY!
RevenG - exotic ethnic
BLUE DESTROYERS - Hypnotic Crisis
L.E.D. LIGHT feat Goro - INFINITE PRAYER
N.M.R-typeG - KEEP ON MOVIN' (DMX Mix)
OKUYATOS - Kind Kady
STONE BROS. - Let the Beat Hit 'Em (Classic R&B Style)
SySF feat. Anna - Look To The Sky (True Color Mix)
Jonny Dynamite! - On The Jazz

STM200 - PARANOiA ETERNAL
Togo Project feat Sana - Sana Mollete ne Ente
Crystal Aliens - SEXY PLANET
D.J. RICH feat Tail Bros. - Superstar
L.E.D. LIGHT - The Earth Light
2MB - TRIP MACHINE (LuvMIX)
Thuggie D. - ABSOLUTE (Cuff-N-Stuff it Mix)
NM feat Thomas Howard - Ballad For You
NAOKI - CAN'T STOP FALLIN' IN LOVE (SPEED MIX)
Scotty D. - DROP THE BOMB - System S.F. mix
TaQ - Electro Tuned (the SubS Mix)
DE-SIRE - Healing Vision
NAOKI 190 - Hysteria
Thuggie D. - INSERTION (Machine Gun Kelly Mix)
Thuggie D. - Keep ya body movin'
2MB - La Senorita Virtual
SHIN Murayama feat Argoe Phine - Let's talk it over
tiger YAMATO - Luv To ME
L.E.D. LIGHT - Overblast!!
dj. TAKA - Quickening
DIVAS - Secret Rendezvous
Caramel.S - So In Love
jun - Sweet Sweet Magic
Thuggie D. - There 4 You
RevenG vs DE-SIRE - Tsugaru

Song Pack 1
dj TAKA - Abyss
Naoki - Burnin' the Floor
Tomosuke - Mind Parasite
Mr. T with Motoaki. F - Burning Heat (3 Option Mix)
ric - in my eyes

There are also 9 unlockable songs.

A lot of these songs can be found on the PS2 versions of DDR. On its own, there aren't enough new songs to warrant purchase from someone that already has the two PS2 DDR games.

However, this game is XBox Live enabled, allowing the download of new songs. That feature alone is worth the price of admission. With other versions of the games, you are limited to what songs the game had. Not so here. Theres already been one song pack released, and inevitably there will be more.

Other interesting features include the ability to play with four people at once, and you can also compete over the internet via XBox Live.

On its own this game would rate four stars for someone new to DDR. It would rate three for someone that already has the PS2 versions of the game. However, the sheer expandability that XBox Live offers the game makes this a five star game.


DDR Has been a long time fav; glad it's out on the X   September 11, 2003
Donald Smith (Martinez, CA United States)
24 out of 30 found this review helpful

I have been enjoying DDR for years in the arcades and then on the PS2 at my friends house. I have "wasted" enough money at ther arcade on this game to buy a gaming system probably.

I am glad that I am finally able to bring it home and use it there. You have to buy the controller separately, but it's worth it. It take's all the fun out of the "dancing" if all you do is sit there pressing buttons. You gotta get up and shake your bootie.

There are some nice features, including the fact that it is ready for Xbox live. You can go online to compete with this game and defeat all your friends without having to go down to the local pizzaria.

Also, if my fiancee think's I'm not getting enough excercise, I can turn it over to "calorie counter mode" and it will keep track of the calories burned as you dance your way to a thin waist.

*****************

Final Thoughts:

I'm glad this is coming out for the XBox, but it's great on any platform, including the ones that are in pizzarias.

Also, when you bring it home you can hone your skills, that way when you ARE in the pizzaria, you can show up all your friends.


fun game, great exercise   February 2, 2004
B. Morrison (Tulsa)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

One of the reviews here mentions that there is no training mode, which made me nervous to buy this because I am not much of a dancer. So I would like to start the review by saying that there is a training mode and it is easy to find. Right on the main menu it says "Training Mode." You can use it to slow down the songs or add a metronome to the sound to help you keep the beat.

My wife and I have been having a great time with this. It only took a few tries to start getting the hang of some of the easier songs. My nearly 60-year-old mother also had a blast with it. She even jokingly told me "You are not allowed to come visit anymore without bringing your xbox." She and several of my friends have asked for a price of the whole set up after trying ddr ultramix because it was so much fun. So from my mother down to a 15-year-old in the family, it it has been a great, fun game. Although from a family game perspective, I was a little surprised at how the 10-year-olds who tried it could not get past stomping on as many buttons as fast as possible without even watching the screen.

The exercise mode is also interesting selling point. It tracks each controller port as an individual so that you can have up to four people keep track of their calories burned over time.

Several of the reviews mention that you can download extra song from xbox live, but they do not mention that each song pack of five songs costs 5 bucks to download. I would prefer to see songs sold individually so that you could choose songs for your skill level. I would also be better if you could listen to the songs once before paying for them.


Great new possibilities, but why one-player?   October 8, 2003
Jeffrey Martin (Concord, CA USA)
12 out of 23 found this review helpful

Wow! This should be a lot of fun with the XBox Live support. I only have two problems with it, but they are BIG ones.

First, I already have the entire (US) DDR series on PS2, and I have pads for it as well. I feel a little miffed at the idea of having to buy a new pad for a different system. The XBox Live support may make it worth it, but that's at least $70 right there just to play the game right.

Also, while the multi-player portion is inherent in XBox Live, they seem to have omitted it from the non-connected portion of the game. Why on earth is this one-player?? Certainly the XBox can handle multiple players with such a (graphically) simple game. From the description, it appears that the XBox Live support is only for high-scores anyway. It's unlikely that they would keep the home version single-player if there is an online multiplayer mode.

I want to give this 5 stars due to the new features for a surprisingly fun series, but lack of multiplayer (I have XBox Live, but not everyone who will want this does) and a switch to a new system make it hard to give it that high score.