My new nickname in school is "Butterfly". Here's why.

Supposedly, over 60% of Americans are categorized as "overweight". With fast food places, candy, and soda within easy reach, I am not surprised. Video games could have been an easy excuse for this big problem (excuse the pun), but with more interactive titles becoming available, video games can actually be a way to lose weight. Sure, you may want to go out and buy a $250 Nintendo Wii and then pay to buy extra games and some rechargeable batteries, but for those who own a Playstation 2 (or Xbox) there is a cheaper and possibly more athletic way to work out. This is Dance Dance Revolution.

The series originated in Japan, and in the 1990s it became very popular. According to Wikipedia, someone decided to bring the game over illegally to the United States. Eventually, Konami decided to make sequels and start selling them here for the Playstation. There are actually many variations of the game, and I own two. Dance Dance Revolution: Extreme 2 is one of them.

How To Play

There are many various ways of playing, but each version has the same basic rule. On the top left or top right of the screen, there are four arrow outlines (Left, Down, Up and Right). As the song plays, filled-in arrows appear from the bottom and scroll upwards to align with the outlines. As with other games such as Frequency, Parappa The Rapper, et cetera, you must press the corresponding buttons just as both meet each other. Depending on how well you time the button presses, a bar at the top of the screen fills or decreases. The goal is to time the presses as perfectly as possible, keeping the meter full. Perfect presses increase the score, misses reduce it. The resulting scores convert to "money" which players can spend on new music, outfits, game modes, hints, or even new arrow designs.

Most people may only go as far as use the controller, using both the directional and shape buttons in tandem to work the arrows. However, like me, you may also purchase an aftermarket dance pad (or a flimsy Konami dance pad) to do a full workout. People have been known to lose weight using the dance pad, but it is the user's responsibility to lead a healthier lifestyle in order to get best results. It is also possible to use two dance pads at once, either for one person to use or two people to battle each other.

There are five modes of play; Beginner, Light, Standard, Heavy, and Challenge. There's even an in-depth tutorial mode for first-timers. I have gotten my aunt to play the game due to the tutorial mode, and without it I'm sure she would not have been too interested in trying it out.

Music/Sound

The game includes over 70 songs and 100 minutes of music, including songs from The Chemical Brothers, Sean Paul, Jennifer Lopez, Fatboy Slim, Britney Spears and Donna Summer, as well as many game-exclusive songs that have either been DDR classics or new hits from DDR "celebrities" that are well-known to die-hard fans. They range from slow dance to techno, trance, funk, R&B, rap, and many hybrids that blend two or more genres together. There's a good chance that everyone will find at least one song that satisfies them.

Because the game is generally taxing to play, Konami has thankfully decided to cut the length of "real" songs down to around two minutes or so. The editing is flawless, and so they still feel complete despite their shortness.

Graphics

Dance Dance Revolution has, in my opinion, some of the most fantastic visuals in a video game this side of Rez. Colors throb, pulsate and jive to the beat of the music, and the generous use of bright colors help add to a feeling of excitement and euphoria while dancing on the pad. To some the "music videos" accompanying each song might distract beginners from concentrating on the arrows, and most of the time you may not even bother looking at the video itself, but overall it even keeps spectators fascinated with the hypnotic flashing and swirling of the images. DDR has always been a party game, plain and simple, and it definitely looks and feels the part.

Players may also select from many available avatars that dance on-screen to the music. I have no idea as to why they were even included because they in no way follow the steps themselves or help the player; they just dance in the center of the screen on their own agenda as if they're dancing in a two-person disco.

Difficulty

After playing DDRMAX, DDR: E2 is like jumping from sixth grade to high school senior. Some songs are harder on Light than others are on Standard, and by the time you're in Heavy mode, expect some anger. In other words, you might feel like dancing on your PS2 if you aren't patient enough. I recommend that beginners start playing the game with the controller, graduating to the dance pad once comfortable. But when the game's difficulty level exceeds their physical limits, it is better to go back to the controller. This is probably the only shortcoming of the game, though die-hards have been able to memorize the dance steps and work the dance pad blindfolded, so maybe it just adds to the game's attraction.

A Game For Everyone

"Hey, butterfly, great job!"

When schools start using Dance Dance Revolution as an addition to their curriculum, you know you have something big on your hands. In fact, my school had a week-long DDR match-off. Inspired by the school-wide event, I brought in DDR: E2 to my choir class as a separate dance-off. Those who played ranged from short to tall, large to thin, fully mobile to handicapped (one student got to use his crutches on the dance pad and surprised everyone with his score). I got on the pad and started dancing to a fast song called "Butterfly". With people cheering, clapping to the beat, and others trying to match my steps on invisible dance pads, the room became filled with excitement, laughter, and extreme shock as the typically shy, boring Scott suddenly started working up a storm in front of an audience. I am now known as "Butterfly", and it's a name I'm proud of, as feminine as it sounds.

Anyone can get up and play, as long as they understand the rules. Kids as young as five have played the game on higher difficulty levels (see the March issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly for evidence), and as I've said my 30-year-old aunt has played it. However, this game requires good hand-eye coordination.

Hands can play an important role as well. With optional EyeToy hook-up (which I have), not only can you use your feet but your arms as well. This can become extremely confusing at first, but you can get used to it in a matter of minutes. Step, step, wave, wave, step, wave, wave, wave, step, step...

Other Modes

Before accessing other modes, the player must first start playing one song before advancing to the next one, the next one unlocking the third one, et cetera. Some can up the difficulty level by having the arrows pop up at the last second, or you might be told to only press yellow and blue arrows rather than red ones, or even be told to not press any arrows at all but need to reach a certain point level by stepping randomly in areas not occupied by them. It adds variety that everyone will enjoy.

Other modes include Endless, which keeps you playing as long as possible, a Combo mode that encourages you to get the longest combo possible, a Survival mode that has you play as long as possible without missing any more than four steps, and a Course mode that has you complete certain courses that raise in difficulty (similar to Oni Mode in DDRMAX).

Konami has even been kind enough to add an extensive Workout Mode so you can keep track of how many calories you have burned since you started your DDR regimen. This can be converted into the equivalent of how many times you've "jumped rope", distance you've "swam" or distance you've "ran". Plus, the Workout can be customized to your tastes.

Can't get enough of the game by yourself? If you have broadband you may also go online and dance with others around the world. From the sounds of it, it is worth the purchase price alone... unfortunately I have not been able to try out this feature.

Overall

Even for someone like me who cannot dance, Dance Dance Revolution: Extreme 2 will turn you into a dance master. And, you may also lose weight. Can you feel the burn? Butterfly can.

~Scott