Customer Reviews

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 with Dance Mat

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This version is plain annoying. It introduces some interesting features, but it takes far too much time to load and has no way to quick retry a level other than waiting for it to end, seeing your score, the load screen again, the main screen, and then selecting it again (and once again the load screen). Game could be fun, but it's way too frustrating. You're supposed to be spending your time DANCING not sitting in load screens. Also, they did away with the very useful tutorial mode that taught you step combinations, which was very helpful for improving your step skill. Why even bother making a game if it isn't at least going to be as well designed and polished as its predecessors. I wouldn't inflict this game on anyone.

I have been a big fan of this series mainly on the Playstation 2, but I decided it was time for a upgrade, so I bought the ddr3 bundle pack. SUPER disappointment, the songs minus 2 or 3(at best) are from bands who are either completely unheard of, or have absolutely no talent, musical capabilities. They might as well have gotten some of the songs from American Idol participants.

Since I'm pretty good/experienced with this type of game, I started right off from the start trying songs on the difficult setting, I was making B's and C's, but couldn't figure out how in the heck I was missing some of the steps. Sure enough my dance pad was a complete *DEFECT*, the back and left arrows have a complete mind of their own, sometimes they respond and sometimes they don't. It took like 5 tries to beat one of the npc's on quest mode, not because the song was hard, but because it was a slow song(with maybe 25 steps at most) and my back and left arrows stopped working about every 2nd step.

As a professional programmer, I can also add that someone did a terrible job writing the code for this, I can run to the bathroom and back before the load screen finishes, which would generally be o.k. in the event that the graphics were so amazing they would blow your mind, but they aren't and the music is terrible, so no excuse for horrible load times.

Bottom line?
If I could get my money back on this purchase, I would!

I haven't played too many of the "Dance Dance Revolution" games, nor their Marxist alternative, "Dance Dance Counter-Revolution". This particular version reminds me, at least somewhat, why I haven't played too many of them.


First, let's start with the dance mat that comes with the game. It isn't bad or anything, but it's actually a little too big for me (I tend to miss the back button a lot), and it tends to slide across the carpet pretty easily. After each dance session, I have to readjust it. I'm not sure what can be done to resolve that issue, though.

Second, the songs. As you've probably heard by now, several of the ones mentioned on the box ("Tainted Love" and "Sweet Dreams" for example), are missing. I emailed Konami customer service and they were quite good about it and sent me a nice box of DDR swag to make up for the error. So that was good, but the songs being missing is not good. Admittedly this is isolated to this particular version of DDR, but even the songs that are included with the game aren't very good, memorable or popular.


Third, the difficulty. I've found the other DDR games to be somewhat challenging, but this one is a little beyond that. Even on the most basic setting, I have a tough time merely completing the songs, much less scoring well. I still haven't gotten better than a "B" grade.

The graphics and such for this game are decent and about what you'd expect, though the load times are very annoying, and in quest mode there's not an option to repeat a song you messed up on; you just have to go back out of the screen, go through the menu, and start again.

This would've probably been a good first effort, but the thing is this is NOT a first effort and Konami could, and should, have done much better.

I bought it as a fun and cheap exercises tool (for adults too). I take a week to practice through the beginner level and start burning up calories and feel fun in the basic level. Totally agree that the game is not well written. It takes long time to load and you need to press "A" to go through the meaningless messages. Every time you fail a song, you have to go back and select again and again. Well, I see it as a chance to get water and rest a bit between songs. As game progresses, you can unlock more songs and clothes. This game should last at least 2 months for me.

This game is very fun, but i cant beat many of the challenges, i have an older version for PS2 that is much better because it has more popular songs and i can actually beat it. But this is a good game and if your just looking for a work out this is perfect. Also its fun for parties if u have more than 1 mat.

The game is great, but the mat is ultra sensitive.
It jumps ahead with just a small tap.

Its been a while since I bought the first iteration of the DDR series on the PS1. So I have to say that this is a definite upgrade. It has a extensive training mode, a lot of songs, and was responsive when I played it. My wife loved this for Christmas because she can dance for achievement points. I am sure that having the last release of this game this one might not seem so great, however if you have been away for a while it really is impressive where they have gone with it.

I've only ever owned DDR previously for my Xbox (minus the 360) - but I owned all 4 games that came out on that platform, and was getting pretty close to mastering them all. When I upgraded to an Xbox 360, I decided to get the latest DDR for it as well, and well...it's frustrating.

It seems like the Konami folks have yet to master the perfect puzzle of what fans are looking for. I like the fact the game is challenging in the sense there are all kinds of ways to play it with all sorts of bonuses and mini-games, but not when those challenges feel unattainable.

My least favourite part of the Xbox DDR games was doing the dancing challenges (ex: get a perfect score on 10 bars of a song), and they've unfortunately transformed the quest mode, my previous fave part of DDR 4 on Xbox, into challenge mode. The level one challenges and level one dance-offs are pretty fun (and more interesting than what DDR 4 ever was on Xbox), but beyond that the game is pretty impossible. Dancing without the arrow guides? Arrows disappearing right before you're supposed to step? Sped up arrows? Only stepping on indistinguishable 'quarter note' arrows? It's frustrating and no longer fun, and also very time-consuming to get in and out of challenges.

Additionally the play lists aren't as diverse - at least not from what I've played and unlocked. The original DDR games featured classic disco tunes, modern hip hop and pop, the best of the electronica world, some fun ethnic-inspired tunes, and a bunch of random Asian techno acts for an eclectic but balanced mix. This latest addition to the series has a very limited number of familiar songs, and the rest kind of overlap - nothing really stands out for me.

Some fun new stuff? The party mode games are pretty fun, although likely a product of the first two Xbox 360 DDR games and not really new. Shopping for clothes for your so-called customizable dancer is fun and interesting. I like the 'bonus stage' in the regular game mode where you dance to earn a new song (however challenging it may be). The dance-offs in quest mode are way more fun than the challenges. The workout mode just attaches itself to whatever mode you're playing in to let you know how many calories you burnt at any one point.

Overall though, I'm sadly disappointed with this DDR, and wondering if Konami will ever get it right...

Several "big name" songs are missing from the game but are still advertised on the back of the box. Tracks like "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", "Sweet Dreams" and "Tainted Love" are not in the game. A fun game despite this painful disappointment.

I've always enjoyed the dance games, but I never really got into the Dance Dance Revolution at the arcades, perhaps because when they were released I was no longer venturing into the arcades. I was more familiar with games like Bust A Groove which was a controller based game that required you to follow the big and insert the correct controls before the 4th beat. I loved that game with a passion and wish there were more like it, but this pad based game is at time a bit too advanced to the average gamer like me. Unfortunately, something as simple as that is enough to make a game not that enjoyable. I think if they slowed it up a bit, added some bigger music hits, and a half decent story line, it could be a halfway decent game.

Y.F.S.