DDR Hottest Party
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Posted October 5th, 2007 at 9:43pm
by Kit Pierce
Dance Dance Revolution can be found just about everywhere. An anchor of the Playstation lineup, there’s a DDR on just about every console there is. Now that includes the Wii. Full disclosure — In playing Hottest Party, I was able to come to a quick realization about this game: I suck at DDR.
As far as DDR games go, this one isn’t groundbreaking by any stretch. Unlike the Mario-themed DDR game for the Gamecube, however, Hottest Party is a full-fledged DDR game like you might see in other incarnations. Aside from putting the Wii’s Gamecube controller ports to good use for four-player local multiplayer, Konami brings a little waggle to the Hottest Party. Yes, you can elect to introduce synchronized hand motions into your routine. The waggle isn’t by any means a precision inclusion — you simply have to shake the correct hand when a Wiimote icon hits the top of the screen. Not to worry, this is a user-selected option for the DDR purists our there who don’t like chocolate in their peanut butter.
The gameplay isn’t at all surprising. It plays just like any DDR game. You select one of 50 (surprisingly well done) tracks to dance to, and then choose one of four difficulty levels for the steps of the dance. The difficulty ranges from ridiculously easy to utterly insane with a minor variance between songs determined by the song’s tempo.
When you start the track, arrows float up to the top of the screen to the beat. You have to step on the corresponding arrows with your feet in some configuration when the arrow hits the top. Protip: bounce to the beat. It’s the only way to win. Get combo multipliers for dancing the steps in succession and rack up the high scores. DDR tracks points and achievements as you go so you can gauge your improvement along the way.
I was nervous about the inclusion of hand motions with the game, but it’s a non-issue. The accelerometers in the Wii Remote and nunchuck are up to the task, and I never missed a hand motion to the fault of the controller. My own wretched lack of coordination, yes, but not the fault of the controller.
For the price of $69.99 retail, you get a game and a bundled floor mat. This is the same sort of mat that could be used with the Gamecube version of DDR, so if you have any of those laying around, invite some friends over and enjoy the multi-player modes. Classic battle mode appears in this version, where you use the Wiimote to send blocks and extra steps to your opponent. There’s a Fiendly sync mode as well where all the players have to hit the pad in the correct order and rhythm for anyone to score points. DDR is far more fun when you surpass merely looking goofy in front of your friends to having to look goofy in unison with them.
If you’re more like me, the “Lifestyle” aspects of a DDR game on the Wii intrigue you. The Wii begs its players to get on their feet and move, and DDR epitomizes that concept. Hottest Party is no exception. It includes the workout mode of DDRs past where players can set their weight and punch in their goals of Kcal burned per minute. Based on your performance, the game will track calories burned and time played for your workout routine. I need to take more stairs at the office because the default 30 KCal routine wiped me out, but it’s obvious that a dedicated player can really gain a fitness benefit from Hottest Party. While DDR won’t teach you how to dance, it will get you on your feet and moving, and that’s a good thing.
The graphics are well done. Clearly there’s a delineation between the graphics for the player and the graphics for the spectator. Animated dancers and backgrounds go well with the dance tracks, but the stylized characters ultimately are eye candy for the onlooker. Even though there’s constant motion in the background, I had an easy time focusing on the clearly animated arrows floating up to the top of the screen. Your milage may vary.
The box boasts 50 tracks from the last four decades. Most are from the last decade or so, but throwing in Disco Inferno hits that “four decade” bit. You’ll recognize many tunes, and even the ones that may be new to you are well done and engaging — perfect for a frenetic game like Hottest Party. My only major gripe with this game is the announcer voice. Quick to praise a perfect game, the announcer also berates you just as fast when you bomb. I can get with this if I’m sucking mightily on the hardest difficulty — the sort of hubris that makes me think I can pull that sort of thing off has derision coming — but when my five year old bombs the beginner level, that’s just not right. Still it’s a minor quibble for an otherwise good game.
The DDR formula is hard to mess up, and the Wii-specific enhancements are really quite fun. Giving this game a four, one needs to realize that this is a solid gaming experience that doesn’t bring any real innovation to the genre. Still, DDR Hottest Party is a solid addition to the Wii’s library, getting you on your feet in style.
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GameLedge » Super Smash Bros. Delayed — Yoshi Pissed
October 12th, 2007 at 9:44 am
[…] a sec, this list is already wrong. I reviewed DDR Hottest Party already, and it’s on the list for November. Hm… maybe I fell into a time warp into the future? […]