busy at work

move over PS2

So I don't really keep up with gaming, but breaking DDR news from E3 2005!!!!!

DDR Ultramix 3 (Xbox)
PlayStation 2 and Xbox owners who are into Dance Dance Revolution games will have something new to... well, dance about this fall as Konami is working on a new game for each system. The games will feature plenty of changes, improvements and enhancements over previous DDR releases.

The new Xbox game will feature a completely new interface. The graphics are designed with a cool underwater style to them, but the menus will also provide easier navigation.

Hardcore online gameplay is also being maintained, with support for four-player action, new downloadable content after the game's release, and support for uploading customized dance-step charts for others to try out. And the Quad mode, which enables one player to traverse across four pads, will again be provided.

Enos states, however, that the Konami really strived to make the offline game more robust in DDR Ultramix 3. For example, a new Freestyle mode offers a drastic change from the main DDR gameplay. He claims that it's the perfect mode for someone who's perhaps a bit intimidated by the main gameplay modes, because there's no formal sequence set up for the player to replicate.

"The goal of this mode... it sort of abandons the whole game mechanic, where you have to follow along with the dance steps to the music and hit corresponding arrows on a dance pad," Enos explains. "Instead, you walk up to the dance pad, you pick a song and you can dance however you want to."

He continues to say that the game tracks your moves and looks for specific sequences, but completing those chains brings "eye candy" onscreen, where fireworks may go off, the in-game crowd might cheer and the dancers in the video may do something special. Enos added that this is a great mode for little kids who can't follow an intricate sequence of arrows scrolling by, but are still intrigued by the game.

DDR Ultramix 3 will also feature a new mode called Quest. In it, you're tasked to create a dance team as you cross the U.S. Challenges will be offered, and completing the objectives will add members to your team.

Konami is also adding a Jukebox mode that'll enable you to play the music from the game with the background graphics, without the gameplay getting in the way. With over 70 songs expected to be offered right out of the box, it'll provide plenty of entertainment for a party or gathering of friends.

Speaking of a big song library, as it did with DDR Ultramix 2, Konami plans to offer downloadable song packs that you can purchase to supplement the library of tunes that comes with the game. If you've already purchased the two existing song packs -- which increase the total songs offered by 60 -- for a previous release and they're on your Xbox's hard drive, you'll also have access to those in DDR Ultramix 3. And you can bet that Konami will offer more song packs on top of what it already has.

With the Xbox version a couple of months farther away than the new DDR Extreme 2 for the PS2, there's a lot more features to be hammered out and announced before the game comes out. Make Yahoo! Games your DDR headquarters, and we'll offer you updates on both games as we receive them.

Holy crap, am I excited!

posted by shelly @ 8:22 AM