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Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 Hands-On

Dance Dance Revolution is celebrating its 10th year, and we check out exactly why people just keep on dancing.

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Before Wii Sports or Wii Fit, you were most likely working up a sweat to Dance Dance Revolution, the rhythm game that had you jumping up and down on a pad that was essentially a controller. Konami's DDR franchise is still going strong with multiple releases of the dancing game across the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, and Xbox 360 this year. Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 for the Xbox 360 has the variety of modes that it is known for and an additional DJ mode where you can come up with your own mixes.

DDR's core concept hasn't changed over the years, and it's not as if it needs to change. We had a chance to preview it at this year's E3 Media & Business Summit, but this time, we took some time to look through all the modes to see what Universe 3 has to offer. If for some reason you haven't tried DDR yet, there is a mode completely dedicated for people who have never jumped up and down on a plastic mat to techno music. The different steps and combos are split into 11 basic lessons; then, there are an additional 22 lessons for some advanced moves. With some patience and quick feet, you'll get into the swing of DDR in no time. DDR veterans will probably never venture into this beginner mode, which is fine because there are plenty of other modes with which to work up a sweat.

Beginners can go through a series of lessons so that they can pretend to know what they're doing when the time comes to dance in public.
Beginners can go through a series of lessons so that they can pretend to know what they're doing when the time comes to dance in public.

The Game mode can be played with friends, and in it, you try to make your way through three stages without failing. If you want to be a dance pad hog, you can double up and play on two pads with another friend. A large living room and television is probably needed because these pads take up quite a bit of space. If you don't want the added pressure, you can always play in Party mode where there are a variety of ways to play with friends and family.

Party mode includes a Non-Stop Dancing mode, which is self explanatory. You can set your own lists or even set it to infinite so that the music never stops. Freestyle allows you do whatever you want with the dance pad without worrying about timing and following the arrows. You do have to try to keep you gauge above the fever line if you want to outdance your friends. In Attack mode, each arrow corresponds with a type of combo, and our goal is to have your bar above your opponent's bar. You can attack your opponent by bringing him or her down a level or recover if you've been bumped down already, as long as you can get five successful hits for one arrow type. Bomb mode is a frantic mode where you need to string five combos to pass the bomb to another player. You don't want to hold onto the bomb for too long or you'll be the one stuck with it when the song ends. Sync requires you and your friends to follow the right beat because the game ends if you fail to nail the step on great or better. Universe 3's scale of perfection begins with marvelous, then moves to perfect, great, good, and so on. Triple and Quad mode has you jumping on three or four dance pads if you're up for the challenge. Team effort is required with Relay where each player dances when the arrows show up on his or her section of the screen. Speed is interesting because your arrows will appear frozen onscreen, and your goal is to hit them in order faster than your opponents, regardless of timing. Point mode dings you whenever you accuracy is lower than your competitors. Finally, there is the traditional Score mode where you're just competing for the highest score.

There is definitely a lot of variety in the Party mode itself, but there's still more. Quest mode has you taking on smaller, bite-sized challenges where there are rules to meet and money to earn. You create your own avatar, and as you beat challengers, you can buy clothes and change his or her hairstyle. There are apparently more than 400 options to choose from, so you can have your very own customized dancer. The goal in Quest mode is to dance your way from the city streets to the Universe Tower in the center of the city.

Ten years and dozens of versions later, we still have the same basic gameplay.
Ten years and dozens of versions later, we still have the same basic gameplay.

Some DDR fans play to work out, so of course, Workout mode is included where you can input your weight and the game keeps a record of your sessions. You can dance against players from around the world by logging on to Xbox Live and downloading song packs when they become available. Training mode lets you practice with various tools that can help or distract you. You can switch on a metronome or have visual aids appear if you think they'll help with your timing. Edit mode is available for you to make your own unique steps for a song or change up the background as you're playing. The new mode that has been added is the DJ mode where you can bring up songs and mess with a turntable to come up with your own mixes. You use the analog sticks to scratch, the RB or LB to change the sound effects, and the triggers to control the fader. This mode might be cool at first, but it loses its appeal after a few minutes, considering this is DDR and the primary goal is to dance.

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 is yet another game in the long-standing series, and even though the novelty has kind of worn off, fans of DDR can still enjoy what Konami has to offer in this version. There are more than 70 songs that include music from the '70s to today and enough modes to keep the party going. The dance party starts October 14.

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