Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova 2
Score: 94% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Konami Developer: Konami Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Rhythm
Graphics & Sound: It's no secret that Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova was my least favorite DDR release yet. So given that the title Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova 2 sounded like it was going to be a sequel, I was afraid it was going to be my new least favorite. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. Graphically, it is very similar to the first Supernova. You'll see a lot of the same characters like Rage and Jenny, some with some different outfits. Ever since they put the first video into DDR, I've enjoyed it. It seems like with every new release since then, they've added more videos. Supernova 2 piles them on. Granted, you'll probably have to get a friend to play for you so that you can watch things like Ashley Tisdale's video for He Said She Said without failing the song. So let's be honest here, why do you really buy the new versions of DDR? It's the songs. There are 28 songs unlocked from the beginning. A large number of them you'll recognize from radio airplay, like Rock Your Body by Justin Timberlake, Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall, and even "oldies" like Take On Me by a-ha and Every Little Step by Bobby Brown. Of course, there's also your favorite classic DDR songs that you expect to see, like a Paranoia mix and a Trip Machine mix. No, I'm not telling you which mixes of them, you'll have to unlock and find out for yourself. There are at least 60 songs available total.
Gameplay: Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova 2 provides basically the same gameplay options as Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova did, the one difference being the mode that you use to unlock things is now called Hyper Master Mode. In Hyper Master Mode, to unlock the next level, you no longer have to beat every single song before being allowed to take the boss song challenge. Instead, you can skip straight to the bosses and unlock as many levels as you can quickly. You'll still have to play the songs to unlock them to buy in the shop, but this way you don't have to keep playing the same songs over and over again until you get sick of them just to try and get further in the game. There are 10 different levels total. If you have trouble getting to the higher levels, try using the Custom Modules. They're wonderful for getting past a song you're stuck on. You can buy them in the shops. If you want to just jump right in and play any of the songs that are available, you can do that in Game Mode. You've got the option of beginner, basic, difficult, expert, and on some songs, challenge difficulties. If you go down past challenge, you can also play with the options. This is where you do things like multiply the speed, make the arrows suddenly appear or disappear, hide the targets, and many more fun and exciting things. Also available is Workout Mode, which will import your workout data from Supernova. It's really nice not to lose that data! Training Mode is still there too, for those few people who have never played DDR before. Edit Mode allows you to create your own dance steps to the songs and save them to play. If you're sick of playing alone, you can use Online Play to compete against players all around the globe. Also available are your high scores under Records, Options to configure controller settings, Information about the game and the songs you have played, and Shop. The Shop is where you buy new music, courses, modes, arrows, custom modules, and characters. Finally, Advanced Mode is where you play courses and battle, and after they're unlocked, Endless mode, Survival, and Combo.
Difficulty: As has always been the case with DDR, Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova 2 is as difficult or as easy as you want it to be. Only this time, they made it much easier to unlock the rest of the game. The addition of modules was a wonderful change to the game. Instead of making it so easy that it wasn't a challenge for even the beginner player, or making it so hard that you had to be able to clear 10 foot songs to unlock any of the Advance Modes in the game, with the custom modules you can have the same songs modified enough that a medium skilled player can unlock the entire game, or modified enough that it will be challenging even for a DDR master. The nice thing about DDR is that since you can play it with a controller or a dance pad, when you get tired and need a break from one, you can switch to the other. This makes it so much easier to play the game for quite a number of hours at a time and not even feel like you've been playing the same game. Plus, there's only so many hours you can play on the dance pad on higher difficulties without sitting down for a break!
Game Mechanics: So I'm sure you're seen how to play DDR by now, but if not we'll review it. Dance Dance Revolution: Supernova 2 works exactly like all the previous versions before it. You'll see arrows scrolling up the screen. You hit the button on the pad (or controller) that corresponds to the arrow at the precise moment that the arrow hits the target arrow on the top on the screen. Easy enough? It's really not as complex as all that, and the Training Mode walks you through how to play very well. The pad that comes bundled with the game works pretty well. It's very accurate, just a little hard to keep still on the floor during faster songs. New to this game are the custom modules you can use to get you through Hyper Master Mode. As I said before, they're really helpful. If you want to make the mode easier to beat, you can use various combinations of modules including Assist Perfects which depending on the level raise your perfect count by various amount, Assist Judges which can change other ratings to perfects or possibly change your rating to a higher one, Assist Combos which raise your max combo, and quite a few more. There are also modules that could make the songs harder to pass, like Reverse, which reverses the direction the arrows scroll. Figuring out the best combination of modules to use isn't always the easiest thing to do, but it will get you past songs that you couldn't complete without them! As I said before, I was worried when Supernova 2 came out that I was going to like it even less than I did Supernova. I'm really glad that Konami listened to people's complaints and improved the game because I think this is now my favorite DDR in years.
-Cyn, GameVortex Communications AKA Sara Earl
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