Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2
Score: 93% ESRB: Everyone 10+ Publisher: Konami Developer: Bemani Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Rhythm/ Party
Graphics & Sound: Ahh, Dance Dance Revolution. Those of you who are addicts like me know exactly what I mean by that statement. For the last ten years now, Konami has found a magical way of making us gamers get off of our lazy butts and enjoy exercise. Not just enjoy it, but play for so many hours that we pull muscles and can't walk the next day. I know I'm not the only one out there to have a DDR-related injury! Well, when they introduced the Wii version, they added the ability for us not to only exercise our feet, but our arms as well. Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 is the sequel to the latest full body exercise that DDR has evolved into. If you have played the previous Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party, then you'll know pretty much what this one looks like graphically, but with some pleasant surprises. The characters have gotten a makeover and now look much better than they did before. You have the choice of 8 characters when you start the game. You can unlock more character options playing in the Groove Arena. I mentioned in my review of Dance Dance Revolution X that it was lacking in licensed songs. Well, I found out that's because they're all in Hottest Party 2. Granted some of them are older songs, but who doesn't love "classics." Some of these include "Bust A Move" (by Young MC, not a cover), "We Got The Beat" (originally by the Go-Go's), "Umbrella" (originally by Rihanna), and many more.
Gameplay: As in all the recent releases of DDR, there are still several different modes available for you to choose to play. For unlocking new songs, you'll need to play in the Groove Arena. When you select this mode and then select your characters, you'll start out in a training arena to get you used to the game. You only have to pass one song to complete it, though, so it's not like you have to spend long in training. I do like the fact that the training does now teach you to stand sideways and stand on the arrows instead of going back to the center like it did in the first DDR games. Anyway, after you get done with the training arena, it'll unlock some more for you to choose from. Each arena has different songs for you to play and new ones in there to unlock. After you beat their conditions, you'll unlock them for the other modes of play. Free Play Mode is where you go when you just want to choose songs and play. You won't have any conditions that you have to beat to get past songs (other than not failing). You just pick a song, pick your difficulty and play. Workout Mode and Training Mode are still there as they have been for years. They are exactly what they sound like. Dance 'N Defend might sound like something new, but it's really just what was called Battle in some of the other versions. The difference from it and Free Play is that you use you throw attacks at your opponent when you do well. But watch out, because they will throw attacks back at you. You have to be prepared for all kinds of weird arrows in this mode.
Difficulty: If you've never played before, Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 is going to appear quite difficult to play. Really though, it's not that bad. The Training Mode does a very good job of walking you through the steps and showing you how to play. You can keep the game on Beginner level until you get the hang of it. The addition of hand markers are somewhat difficult to get used to. They have changed them from the previous version so that they look different from the arrows, but I still had a tendency to step on the left arrow when I shook the left hand, just because there was something in that line of arrows, so my brain automatically moves my foot. Luckily though, it doesn't penalize you for extra steps, so even if you do hit the arrow and shake your hand at the same time, it will still count your hand movement without any problems. It does make you more prone to tripping over your own feet, when you're trying to move your arms and legs at the same time.
Game Mechanics: I believe I've said in a previous review that if you've never seen how to play DDR, then you've been hiding under a rock. Well, if you're still under that rock, I'll give you a quick review. You're going to see these arrows scrolling up the screen and permanent "target" arrows at the top. You tap the button that corresponds to that arrow. Simple, no? In this version, there are also hand arrows. They will only appear on the left and right arrow columns. When it is in the left column, you shake the Nunchuk. When it is on the right, you shake the Wii-mote. You can turn off the hand arrows if you don't want to deal with them right away. You can also play without using the dance pad by using the Wii-mote and Nunchuk. I've played quite a few versions of DDR now. I can't say that Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 is my absolute favorite, but it is working its way up there. The things that I mentioned were wrong with the previous version have been corrected. I'm still working on getting the hang of using hands with the feet steps. But even though I might trip a little more, it's still a great party game. I recommend you get this version, even if you have the last one. You know you want the new music anyway!
-Cyn, GameVortex Communications AKA Sara Earl
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