Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 Description:

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 review:
5 stars (WOW!!!!!) - First off...DDR Extreme was the worst game I've ever played! Boring songs were everywhere! From start to finish, and "The Legend of Max" is toooooooo hard for anyone!



Fortunately, we now have DDR Extreme 2.



At first, I wasn't going to get it, due to the fact that it is the sequel to the worst DDR game in history. But it is actually very good. The graphics were awesome, the music selection was very fun to do, and i love the challenge.



Buy it, it's a much better game then Extreme!



The songs are just too good to be true. I heard most of the songs in the arcade version are on here. I really dont care about that, but songs like "Cartoon Heroes" and "Butterfly" make this game awesome! And that one song made entirely of that anime video. It was so cool.



Just buy it, because you wont regret it!
5 stars (BEST GAME EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - tHIS GAME IS SO COOL AND IT MAKES YOU DANCE BETTER (a big plus if you're in junior high). YOU CAN ALSO PLAY AGAINST REAL PEOPLE ONLINE.
5 stars (This is what "Extreme" was always meant to be) - I'm an enormous fan of Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series, and play the game almost every day of my life. The concept is so simpe - just hit the arrows once they're at the top of the screen, yet once you get going, it's a lot more addicting than you'd expect. What's incredible though, is that doing this for a long enough time can burn up some calories and tone up your calves. It was life-changing experience for me that out of nowhere got me from being lazy to athletic. It's getting bigger and bigger every day in the US, but too bad it still isn't as appreciated as it should be, thanks to monster franchises such as GTA and Halo.



DDR Extreme 2 is the sixth installment that Konami has released in the United States (seven if you count the Disney Mix), and it's by far the best one, and it proves to be a great comeback after the largely disappointing Extreme US (although that game is still the recommended one for beginners).



Hardcore fans of DDR will be most pleased to see not just the menu interface returned to normal (with the songwheel, groove radar, etc., that were removed for DDR Extreme US), but also a significantly better list of selectable songs. Such classics as "Cartoon Heroes", "Sakura", "Colors (For Extreme)", and a whole lot more, all made the cut and should not disappoint any true long-time lover of the series. By the way, instead of "Max Dot", the "boss song" in Extreme 2 is "PARANOiA Survivor Max" (which is acompanied by the original "PARANOiA Survivor"). Also worth mentioning is that US players finally get a taste of the popular song "Butterfly" with the upswing remix as well as "Boom Boom Dollar (K.O.G. G3 Mix)", also an old favorite. The selection of songs that everyone will recognize is also chosen much more cleverly. Instead of a bunch of songs from like 25 years ago like "Kids in America" and "Like a Virgin", we get some recent electronica/dance hits from the likes of Sean Paul ("Get Busy"), Fatboy Slim ("Wonderful Night"), Delerium ("Silence"), and more, although I don't understand what a horrible cover of "Oops I Did it Again" (not the one from 5th Mix AC) is doing on here (it's not the year 2000, Konami, and almost nobody even cares about songs like that anymore). The choices for repeats from older DDR games is also great. One big problem that Extreme US had was that it overrepeated stuff that already made appearances, which hogged up a lot of room for better stuff. This time, there are less than ten repeats, and almost all of them are from PS1 editions, which gives a chance for old fans of those songs to play them with much better graphics and a much better scoring system. I must admit, playing songs like "Dive", "Dynamite Rave", and "PARANOiA" is much more enjoyable to do on Extreme 2 than it was on Konamix with that slow transmission and poor scoring system.



Also worth noting are a few new features. Instead of simply playing songs over and over again to unlock new ones, you need to clear different stages in the all-new Dance Master Mode. Replacing Extreme US's Mission Mode, Dance Master Mode is loaded with several different scenarios with certain songs and a certain task to clear in order to advance to new stages. Along the way, you'll discover some unfamiliar songs on areas and must clear them. If you do that, they'll appear in the shop for you to buy with your credits (received for clearing songs, DMM or not). This is a wise strategy that adds a plot to the game and allows players to choose which songs they want at the same time.



Another addition is the Online Mode. This will allow players from around the world to go head to head with one another online, and yes, I'm sure that the population of onliners almost entirely made up of the masters that can receive an AAA on "PARANOiA Survivor Max Oni" with relative ease, but this is still a great way for those people to go seriously competitive without having to enter a tournament.



There were only a few noticable flaws. One is that the Training Mode was made less intuitive, as it takes a longer time to set up your song, although I am pleased to see that Konami brought back the feature of slowing down difficult songs to practice. The Party Mode (a feature that was full of many different mini games) has been entirely removed from DDR, and while I won't cry about that, the usage of the Eye Toy Camera is much lower, as the only time you actually use it is when you are playing the Hands and Feet Mode. One more thing, "Love Love Shine", one of DDR Extreme AC's most frequently selected songs (also one of my favorites), did not make the cut, but the similar "Candy*Heart*" is on, which also symbols that "Love Love Shine" is practically guaranteed to be on next year's installment.



With all things said, DDR Extreme 2 is easilly the best overall home version that the US can get their hands on so far. With an excellent song list, great new features, and excellent graphics, this game is a true winner. If you were unhappy with DDR Extreme US from 2007, you won't be with this, so buy it now if you're interested at all and start dancing the night away!



Two more words of advice:



1. I know that I said that DDR Extreme US was a disappoint among many people, but I also said that it was great for hooking new players. I highly recommend you to buy that game first, and then get this. Trust me - the layout is much friendlier to beginners.



2. If you are a novice player, stick with the plastic pads available in the stores (since they're easy to use and don't cost much), but be sure to use the metal arcade-style mats that can be ordered online if you're an expert (they're harder to get used to, but are more sensitive than soft pads and don't slide around to heavy usage). I recommend the ones from Cobalt Flux because they've held together for months and work marvelously.