Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party

The Dance Dance Revolution series has just about seen it all by this point. Amongst zillions of installments in arcades and on multiple game platforms, we’ve seen DDR games where people sing, where people do arm motions in front of a camera… we’ve seen DDR games with Disney and Mario themes, we’ve seen DDR games spread to health clubs, gyms and even some schools. We’ve seen DDR on unlikely platforms like the PC and Game Boy Advance. Now, DDR is coming to Nintendo’s motion-sensing Wii, just in time to coincide with Nintendo’s appeal to the health-conscious crowd with their Wii Fit game.

For those wondering just how the DDR mat will hook up to the Wii, the answer is both mundane and practical – it’ll plug into the Wii’s GameCube controller ports, and will functionally be the exact same mat that GameCube players used in the Mario-themed DDR title. In other words, if you already have that game, you can hook up the GameCube DDR mat to use for a second player.

Of course, the standard DDR gameplay is still there, with co-op and versus play for those going the two-player route. However, the new feature that’s been added to the game this time around is new hand-motions players make with the Wii remote and nunchuck. These motions are shown on-screen via one of a few simple icons showing the move in question and are fairly straightforward, (although for those that find it too complicated, using just the DDR mat is still an option. If that wasn’t enough, the game also has star symbols moving along with the arrows that are apparently only there to throw you off.

The initial tracklist includes 25 songs, with an additional 25 that can be unlocked. The songs included with this game are mostly US pop music, from fairly recent hits like a remixed version of Coldplay’s Clocks to stuff stretching back to the seventies, including Call on Me, Disco Inferno, Hot Stuff, Karma Chameleon, The Sign and Summertime.

There’s no pricing info for the game just yet, but you should pretty much expect something comparable to previous releases. And no, don’t bet on any cross-compatibility with Wii Fit or its odd balancing peripheral. If you want to make the Wii your “get in shape” machine, you’d better pull out your wallet.

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It’s hard to say just how well your average “non-gamer” will take to the dexterity required to not only step on arrows to the beat, but do hand gestures as well. However, if nothing else, fans of DDR should look at this as an interesting new addition to the series.