E3 2008: Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 Hands-On

By Chris Watters, GameSpotPosted Jul 15, 2008 10:47 pm PT

We hit the pad with the latest DDR game for the Wii and dance to a whole new soundtrack, as well as get a few new lessons for those with two left feet.

In honor of Dance Dance Revolution's 10th anniversary, the series is getting a number of new releases on various platforms. DDR: Hottest Party 2 is the second DDR title for the Wii and, like its predecessor, demands that players gesture with the remote and Nunchuk in addition to matching their steps on the DDR mat. A brand-new setlist and a few tracks catered to series newcomers make DDR: Hottest Party 2 an appealing title for experienced move busters and dance-floor first-timers alike.

For those new to the series, or perhaps who never got into the groove, DDR: Hottest Party 2 includes new lesson tracks designed to help you get acquainted with how to maneuver your way around the mat. Unlike previous lessons that merely offered text explanations, these songs come complete with video and audio aid, so they feel a bit like an aerobics lesson at the gym. Your trainer sings ahead of the beat and cues up a call-and-response dynamic, so when he says, "Right! Left! Right!," you answer by stepping right, left, right. Further along the lessons begin to incorporate the down arrow, but they first tell you to position yourself with, for example, your left foot on the left arrow and your right foot on the down arrow. This effectively instructs you in the best way to position yourself throughout various steps, so folks who find themselves tripping over their own legs will have some handy reference points.

In addition to these newcomer-friendly songs, there is an entirely new soundtrack that features mostly club-style music. These tracks come from Bemani, Konami's music video game label, and feature such series favorites as NAOKI and Terra. Konami hopes this blend of old and new will help broaden the appeal and accessibility of their venerable rhythm series. DDR: Hottest Party 2 is set to release this fall, so check back in the coming months for more.

22 Comments

  • Phantsy16

    Posted Nov 8, 2009 2:27 pm PT

    Natalie? Are you here?

  • NOOB4

    Posted Sep 14, 2008 10:24 am PT

    this one better be good,or else im never playing ddr again.

  • jokoo

    Posted Sep 7, 2008 2:42 am PT

    marioman50 Posted Jul 16, 2008 3:26 pm PT "So far I've predicted that this game will still fail just like the last one but who knows, right?"

    Are you an idiot? If it "failed" why would they make a 2nd one? Obviously it made money.

    You guys need to realize there is a huge market for party games. There are tons of people, especially for the wii that love stuff like this. So stop posting about how much ddr sucks, because konami has made more money off this series than any of you will ever see in your lifetime. The demand is obviously there. Its just not 95% of you techno dorks that read game spot.

  • gnutux

    Posted Sep 2, 2008 10:12 pm PT

    The things that bugged me in the first version is that all the settings are NEVER saved in free mode and the fact that it forces you to go head on with a competitor when you're not even ready or don't want to. That got me really pissed about Hottest Party.

    Also, to reply to one poster, you CAN turn off gestures but the damn settings never gets saved like I said above.

  • jcap669

    Posted Aug 29, 2008 7:54 pm PT

    The first game was...quite bad...and i regret getting it

    THIS NEXT ONE MUST MAKE ME FEEL HAPPY THAT I BOUGHT THE DANCE PAD!...

  • Chrism262

    Posted Aug 8, 2008 10:01 am PT

    A lot of comments about this game from people saying they are tired of DDR, etc. But you have to realize there are a ton of people out there, especially with the Wii who never played a DDR game before. They didn't have a PS2 or any other previous gen system. I personally tried DDR for the first time with The Hottest Party for the Wii. Although it scored very low I thoroughly enjoyed it and will almost certainly be buying this new one too. Still fresh to me!

  • leofiregod

    Posted Jul 20, 2008 7:57 pm PT

    never played DDR. I heard i'm missing out

  • TehFuneral

    Posted Jul 19, 2008 12:38 am PT

    Not my kind of games..

  • Macgyver40

    Posted Jul 18, 2008 12:19 pm PT

    one more time

  • lettuceman44

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 2:20 pm PT

    Not again......

  • chimera1984

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 7:26 am PT

    Your all saying that this game sucks and will fail, but what you gotta remember is games like this dont necessarily appeal the european and american markets, however they do extremely well in the asian 1/3 of the market, games like guitar freaks and drum-mania have been out there for years, yet were only just seeing them hit the mainstream. This one is just one konami have just kept going with, personally id like a new beatmania game.

  • grambyte

    Posted Jul 17, 2008 6:10 am PT

    When are they going to stop this nonsense... please give it up.

  • Hungry_bunny

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 4:51 pm PT

    Kinda tired of ddr.

  • marioman50

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 3:26 pm PT

    Agreb91: "In my opinion I think everyone has moved on to playing fake instruments." While movie directors and producers have moved on to creating dumb movies with laughable plots like spiderman 3. Seriously, I don't know how anyone could even like that cash-in or the terrible games based on it..

    So far I've predicted that this game will still fail just like the last one but who knows, right?

  • Bananaphone1

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 1:34 pm PT

    Agreb91> Are you just going to every DDR game and writing the same thing? Seriously, get a life.

  • MikeyIsPogi

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 11:25 am PT

    i hope there's an option to turn OFF wiimote & nunchuk gestures. >_>

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 11:22 am PT

    So many new DDR games, I'm gonna just choose one though.

  • Cube_of_MooN

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 10:01 am PT

    No thanks.... I'm all set.

  • CommanderShiro

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 9:50 am PT

    The problem with the recent DDR games are the songs. They just simply aren't as good as past DDRs like DDR Max I & II.

  • Agreb91

    Posted Jul 16, 2008 7:59 am PT

    In my opinion I think everyone has moved on to playing fake instruments.

Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 Quick Links

Summary | Reviews | News | Previews & Features | Images | Answers | Hints & Cheats | Forum | Check Prices

Check Prices: $48.99 – 60.6

GameStop $49.99 SHOP ›
Amazon.com $49.99 SHOP ›
Deep Discount.com $48.99 SHOP ›
advertisement
advertisement
Click Here
Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 Boxshot Enlarge the boxshot
Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2

Game Stats

Full Game Details »Close

Games you may like…

Users who looked at content for this game also looked at these games.

See More Similar Games
advertisement