Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2

Dec 11, 2007

As a numbered sequel released within the same calendar year as its predecessor, any discussion of Dance Dance Revolution Universe 2 is bound to focus heavily on the word "still." As in, this is still essentially the same admittedly cool game we played earlier this year. And several years before that as well.

Like the dozens of Dance Dance Revolution iterations released in the last decade, Universe 2 finds players stepping on a floor mat in time with the arrows displayed on screen, with about 70 songs (including "The Safety Dance" and remixed tracks from Keane and Outkast) spanning several eras and genres of dance and pop music. Such gameplay can still be experienced in a seemingly endless amount of ways, whether via the arcade-style game mode, workout mode, several party variations, and four-player online/local multiplayer battles.

Universe is still undoubtedly the prettiest of the DDR sub-series, with seizure-baiting high-def video montages (or a licensed music video) flickering behind your gyrating avatar of choice. And as with the first Universe title, the premium "downloadable" tracks are actually included on the disc and listed in the manual, so you're merely paying to unlock existing content. That is - yup - still annoying! See, you're catching on.