Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party review

More than half of the 50 included songs are covers of well-known pop, rock, and R&B hits from the last 40 years. While some cover tracks hew closely to the original versions ("Caught Up," "1, 2 Step"), others are sped-up and "dancified" ("Lips of an Angel," "Clocks") with mixed results. Without master tracks, Hottest Party skips out on video backgrounds, instead employing only the floating platforms and vibrant, Tron-like settings seen in recent series entries. In place of a singular, gyrating avatar is troupe of synchronized dancers performing the specific routine tied to each track.

The simplistic Groove Circuit mode, which holds the key to the rest of the soundtrack (primarily Konami originals), is a welcome upgrade from the inconsistent Quest mode included in DDR Universe for Xbox 360. However, it takes only a few hours to unlock all but one of the songs, which is part of what holds Hottest Party back from rhythm gaming transcendence. The inclusion of Workout mode and a couple of new four-player gametypes can't make up for the lack of online play and downloadable content, while the gimped soundtrack (most recent iterations packed 70+ tracks) grants the game considerably less replay value.