by Nonsequitur

Created on: January 19, 2007   Last Updated: July 20, 2011

It is rare in the video game world that a phenomenon like this occurs, mixing appealing music with physical activity that defies the critics of television who say that video games and the like are creating a world of couch potatoes.

Dance Dance Revolution, produced by Konami (and known as Dancing Stage in Europe), is a game that makes the player respond to the beats in music using a dance pad with four arrows. The arrows correspond to arrows on the screen that a player has to match with his feet on the dance pad, success depending on how closely the player steps in time to the song's beats and rhythms. The timing is rated by how closely it corresponds to the song, and "Perfect" and "Great" ratings in succession lead to combination points, or combos.

Subsequent versions of the game, released as mixes, improve on the original formula. Examples include the following:

• Allowing multiple players to play simultaneously

• Various types of quest modes where various new dance locations are opened when a  certain amount of points are reached

• Fitness modes that track calories burned based on the number of steps, air time (i.e., time spent on jumps, etc.) beats per minute, etc.

• Game modes that allow you to "unlock" new songs within the game based on performance

• Customization options that allow you to modify the types of songs, the beats per minute, etc. to your tastes, health and/or weight loss requirements, etc.

The game is simple but addictive, fast-paced (as long as you choose it to be, of course), and easy to learn. It also makes you work up a sweat while having fun, which is an ideal environment for the reluctant exerciser. Nor do you have to be a fan of pumping house music as the styles vary from hip hop to rock to swing and even remixed oldies and salsa.

XBox Live and other web-accessible game systems allow you to download new songs directly to the game in newer mixes - be on the lookout for the song lists for each of the mixes as the variations between them get hazy beyond Ultramix 2, and unless new innovations are released it is really the songs that lend the most appeal.

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