Dance Dance Revolution Universe

by Konami

Product Features

• More than 65 songs, including songs and dance remixes exclusive for the Xbox 360, licensed songs, and popular hits
• How To Play, Trial and Super Easy modes aimed at first-time players and beginners
• Relay mode lets friends and family play DDR like a marathon race -- players can switch off to other teammates and keep the party going all night
• Enhancements to features from the original DDR series, including Workout Mode, Edit Mode, Quest Mode, Party Mode and more!
• Xbox Live enabled online competitions and downloads

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000JV322S
• Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 11 x 4.2 inches ; 3.1 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: February 27, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,310 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #13 in Video Games > Xbox 360 > Rhythm > Dancing
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Edition: Bundle

Dance Dance Revolution: Universe Bundle continues the long DDR tradition of innovation and creativity. It's an entirely new game for the next generation! Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE, exclusively designed for the Xbox 360. DDR Universe takes the DDR series in new directions, with a super easy mode for beginners, and a relay mode that mode lets friends and family play DDR like a marathon race, allowing players to switch off to other teammates. It has has support for online competitions and downloadable song packs. Comes with exclusive Xbox 360 downloadable song packs

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat disappointing for experienced players, March 18, 2007

By 

Elihu D. Feustel "daringly" (South Bend, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dance Dance Revolution Universe Bundle (Video Game)

If you have played DDR on other platforms, you will probably be disappointed with this version. In particular:

The music selection was less varied than in past editions. There are licensed songs, but mostly older songs or "hip-hop" - there are not many current dance songs. There are reconizable artists doing songs for this mix (Midihead, Echo Image and Neuropa to name a few), as well as remakes of older songs (like Ecstasy, Insertion and Candy).

The doubles charts seem like they were designed at random. There is a progression of moves you expect to see based on difficulty, and they are very different from singles. The doubles steps don't follow that progression, and are not very new-player friendly. A 6-foot doubles looks like a singles song randomly tossed over 2 mats. This makes many of the doubles songs more difficult than you would expect from the foot-rating. Another problem with doubles is that you must select the pad layout EVERY TIME you pick a song. It would be nice if it would default to the last layout you picked.

The "improved graphics" do not enhance the game, but rather detract from it. DDR is a simple game - watch the arrows and step. The graphics and flashing tend to make it harder to see the arrows (although the movies are not harmful).

Lastly, the load times are significant - about 12 seconds per song. While not terrible, other platforms load faster.

The game includes "downloadable content" - there are 10 songs on the game that can only be unlocked through X-box live by paying $10.

There are also songs unlockable through "quest" mode. This is the worst type of unlocking system I have ever played on a DDR platform. In previous versions, there were finite tasks to do, which if you did, gave you the ability to unlock songs. This version is fluky - you travel around from site to site, and mainly compete to get your "fan base" up. A problem with this system though is even if yuo do a song perfectly (full combo it), you may not meet the objective. Another fluke you may see is being assigned to do 15 Freeze steps, and the song doesn't have 15 Freeze steps, so you fail again. The quest mode is more designed to waste time than add enjoyment to the game.

To the game's credit, it is very new-player friendly. It has a lesson based tutorial, and the quest mode will never kick you out mid-song (there is no life meter in quest mode).

Another good part of the game is there is a nice variety of difficulty levels for singles, right from the start. Some older versions had "gaps" where there might be only a few songs at a certain level (especially 8+). The challenge levels of the songs are nicely dispersed. One odd thing though - there are a lot more jumps here than other versions. This is good if you play for exercise.

If you are considering buying this, realize that your old dance pads will not work with this. The Konami pad included is pretty good for a thin pad, but you'll want to buy foam pads if you play the game a lot. If you are going to shell out $[...] for 2 "Beat pad pro" foam pads, you are better off giving up on the X360, and playing DDR on either the PS2 or Xbox. Both have better games, and a single set of Red Octane foam pads will work on both the PS2 and the old Xbox. There are much better games on the other platforms; on old Xbox, take a closer look at Ultramix 2 & 3. On PS2, look at DDR Supernova and Extreme 2, or "In the Groove" if you are a skilled player.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome game, terrible mat., April 11, 2007

By 

Kevin Nicholls "jaded, aging hipster" (Milford, MI) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dance Dance Revolution Universe Bundle (Video Game)

What's there to say about DDR that hasn't been said a million times before?

This version is great, though some of the songs are a bit old. And it looks awesome on an HDTV.

My only gripe is with the included dance mat. It's pretty bad, even as cheap ones go -- and for the sake of reference, the last mat I used was the Madcatz one for the Xbox, and it wasn't bad. This thing slips like crazy!

Since the included mat uses USB, you could just buy the standalone game and a better mat for about the same price. If I had it to do over again, I would have got the Xbox 360 Beat Pad or paid a little more for the Xbox 360 Beat Pad Pro.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Every Penny - And The Wait, March 7, 2007

By 

Smileypie (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dance Dance Revolution Universe Bundle (Video Game)

We started out by thinking that the original DDR for the XBOX (NOT 360) was compatible with our new 360. Not so. Pretty disappointed when we found that the plugs were different on the dance pad, and once we found a "joy box" that turned the xbox dance mat into a usb-type pad; it still didn't work. Returned it and skeptically ordered the 360 version with 2 months and counting for the release. It arrived last week, and I have to say, it is a LOT of fun! Our kids are on it constantly, it is great to get up and play a "game" and move around. Even the adults are on this thing. The beats are actually very well put-together. The tunes are beat-driven to help you learn from beginning all the way up. Once you pass and get a perfect "grade" by dancing the correct way on the mat to the song, it unlocks another song in the progression of difficulty. You can also log onto xbox live and compete against others live. Haven't done that yet, we are trying to not fall over and trip still! I recommend this to anyone who is sick of sitting on the couch and wants to try something new. Also has a workout mode. Believe me, 3 to 4 songs nonstop and you are working up a sweat without pressing the workout option. We just ordered another dancemat after exhaustive research. This pad slips all over the place, so get some velcro to keep it still when dancing. Check out the dance pad pro (on amazon). It has a port for your headset and of course eventually the karaoke games that will obviously come out in the future.

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