Publisher: Konami

Developer: Konami

MSRP: $39.99

ESRB: Everyone

It’s hard not to look silly when you’re frantically hopping around on a DDR pad, but the ridicule is perhaps lessened when you’re dancing to songs that everyone’s at least familiar with. That’s the biggest new feature of MAX2; you’re now treated to tunes from artists like Dirty Vegas and Kylie Minogue, often with their real-life music videos playing in the background. It’s just what this series needs to further instill itself into mainstream gaming.

Unfortunately, even with a few trendy hits, many of the tunes are reused tracks from previous installments—and they’re not even the best ones at that. This pretty much means one thing: MAX2 is for DDR novices only. It’s likely the best version of DDR yet—it’s the most polished, with arguably the best roster of songs—but it’s not all that different from the first MAX. Even hardcore fans of the series probably won’t see the need to own this latest installment.

That said, for those of you who have yet to join in on the DDR fun, this is the version to get. There are lots of cool little items to unlock as you go, and the overall presentation is at its best here. MAX2 also retains the great Workout mode—it’s the perfect way to lose pounds while gaming! Let’s just hope Konami will be able to come up with some new gameplay innovations for the next DDR installment, not to mention a wider variety of music. Most of those mind-numbing techno tracks make me want to jump off a bridge.

Rating: 4 Stars

Copyright © 2003 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.