Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 2

Last year, when Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution hit the Xbox with the release of Ultramix, it did so in style.  Ultramix featured a good mix of new, old and licensed tracks, an easy to navigate interface, and Xbox Live support.  With these features, Ultramix stood as one of the best DDR games to come out in a while.  With Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 now out on store shelves, Konami is again providing the same bevy of options, although now with new songs thrown into the mix.  While Ultramix 2 doesn’t bring any new features to the Xbox game, it gives DDR fans what they want with a ton of new tracks and the same great Xbox Live support. 

Ultramix 2 features more songs than last year’s installation into the series, which is a nice touch.  This year’s mix is also a lot more varied, featuring a nice mix of J-pop, bouncy house techno, and even some strange pockets of ska and classical music.  The game is very much largely unchanged, with no new additions to the tried and true step-arrow formula.  Essentially this is the same game of DDR you’ve been playing for years, albeit with some new songs.

Something that Ultramix did last year that was admirable was the interface.  In previous versions of DDR on other systems, the standard game mode would only allow you to complete a string of three songs before kicking you back to the title screen.  However, in Ultramix, you could play as many songs in a row as you wanted without the game intervening and rolling the credits.  Ultramix 2 keeps this intact as well, making the interface very user friendly and keeping the flow of the game moving.

The game also features some pretty compelling Xbox Live features, allowing you to square off against other DDR fanatics from around the country.  Aside from online multiplayer, you can also play up to four players against each other competing for the highest score.

The graphics have been subtly improved from last year’s Ultramix.  There are now more cel-shaded dancer models to hop around in the background as you dance away in front of the TV screen, and they’ve been modestly graphically improved, featuring sharper textures and more detail.  The interface also has a nice clean look to it.

Whereas the first Ultramix had a fairly narrow-scoped tracklist, Ultramix 2 offers a very intriguing blend of music.  The game features the standard J-pop anthems and techno music, but also has some licensed music like Paul Oakenfold’s remix of Rubberneckin’ by Elvis and I’m in Heaven by Jason Nevins and Holly James.  Aside from the usual techno and J-pop, there are also some ska, samba, and drum n’ bass tracks to shake things up a bit.

Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 2 doesn’t really change anything or bring any new additions to the DDR formula, but remains a solid entry to the series by taking the additions of last year’s version and adding a larger library of more diverse songs.  Fans of DDR should definitely check this one out if they haven’t already.  

Gameplay: 8.5
This is DDR through and through.  The songs have been changed and the interface has been made more user friendly, but this is essentially the same game you’ve been playing for years.  Those of you who love DDR will love this game, but those of you who don’t will not likely have your minds changed by Ultramix 2.  

Graphics: 8.0 
Sure, DDR Ultramix 2 won’t dazzle you with its graphics, but there have been some subtle improvements made.  The menu navigations have a nice new aesthetic to them, and the dancer character models have some nice looking new textures.

Sound: 8.5
Ultramix 2 features a lot more songs than the first Ultramix, plus the track listing is a lot more varied, with a nice blend of a variety of different genres and themes.

Difficulty: Medium
 

Concept: 8.5 
While it has nothing new, Ultramix 2 features a revised interface and a nice blend of songs, making it a very good entry to the series.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Xbox Live support, plus a four-player mode if you’ve got enough pads and a huge enough room, both of which are pretty sweet.

Overall: 8.6

Although it doesn’t bring any particularly new concepts to the table, DDR Ultramix 2 is a very solid game, offering the great features of its predecessor coupled with a good mix of songs.  DDR fans will need to pick it up for the new songs, but those unimpressed by last year’s entry will probably experience the same results this time around.