E3 2008: Dance Dance Revolution 3 Hands-On

Before Guitar Hero and Rock Band started matching friends against each other in frantic rhythm battles, Dance Dance Revolution was making people sweat to club music. This is the 10th anniversary of the venerable music franchise, so Konami is churning out three new games to celebrate. We went hands-on with DDR Universe 3 for the Xbox 360, which spices things up by including a new grading score, downloadable songs, and online play.

The core experience is mostly unchanged from previous DDR iterations. The music comprises dance, electronica, and techno songs--music designed to get your feet moving. Using a plastic mat that's bundled with the game (though an unbundled game is being planned for release as well), you step on arrows in time with the onscreen indicator. When you string together long combos and ultra precise moves, you can watch your score climb.

This time around, there is a grade higher than Perfect. The Marvelous score demands previously unheard of precision. Because of the intimidating nature of having an almost unattainable grade, you have the option to disable this score entirely. If you have four dance mats, you can play the game with three of your friends. For those who don't have that many pads, you can also go online to prove your worth head-to-head or with the leaderboard. Unfortunately, there is no support for the Xbox 360 Vision Camera planned at this time, so you'll have to use your imagination to see your friends awkwardly lunge from arrow to arrow.

The game comes loaded with almost 80 songs and there is DLC planned in the future. Currently, they are planning on releasing periodic song packs with eight to 10 songs. For fans of the series, DDR Universe 3 builds on the widely successful formula. Look for the final game this fall.