Mastiff games has formally declared war on Dance Dance Revolution with its release of Pump It Up: Exceed. With five modes, around a hundred songs, some new graphics, a different pad, and its claims to not be another DDR but rather a true dance game, it was time to put Pump It Up: Exceed to the test.
"...a true dance game..."
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One of the first things people will notice after they unfold the Pump It Up: Exceed is that the arrow locations aren’t in the same place as in DDR. The arrows are in the corners (upper left, upper right, lower right, and lower left) and there is a “middle” button as well. This button isn’t just for selecting things on the menu; it is an integral part of the dances. The pad is similar to the DDR pad with a somewhat sticky bottom so it stays in place while you’re jumping around.
The new configuration of the pad has a lot of advantages but at least one disadvantage. The disadvantage comes in using the pad to pick a song. You can move around the categories and individual songs while standing on the pad but to actually select a song you have to step off the pad. This is because the middle button picks the song, which takes a little bit of getting used to. While on the topic of menus Mastiff did well by breaking the songs into categories because there are definitely enough songs that scrolling through them all individually would be a real pain in the butt. Overall, the menu system and navigation work pretty well.
Enough about getting to the point of playing the game - the reason you’re reading this is to know how much fun you can have dancing to this game. By having the buttons at angles and requiring you to press the middle for the moves, the game makes it feel like you’re actually dancing. Also, Mastiff had the dances choreographed to the songs, so the moves you’re doing are definitely not random. The choreographers definitely had some fun making the dances up and unlike other dance games they require you to not face the screen at some points. This causes three things: the dances look more like dances, the dancers are more fun to watch, and the game is much more difficult than one might imagine.
I’ve played DDR a few times but I must say Pump It Up: Exceed has a rather steep learning curve. Even at normal the game is pretty difficult. There are 5 levels, normal, hard, crazy, freestyle, and nightmare. Normal, hard, and crazy are just your general level of difficulty progression. Freestyle and nightmare are at a totally different level. They require two pads but only one player plays on both of them. By having two pads the dances are… insane. Difficulty isn’t the only way the game gets more difficult - you can modify the gameplay at will. These modifications are called modifiers and do everything from speed up the arrows (velocity) to removing the arrows before they reach the top of the screen so you can to remember what was coming up (vanish). These modifiers are sure to stump even the best dancers the first few times around. There are a few modes that I found really interesting. One of these is survival mode where a player has to dance continuously until the game runs out of songs to play; to say the least this is difficult. Note: this is a hidden mode, so to unlock it you need to clear 20 songs in home mode. The other mode that intrigued (and annoyed) me was sudden death mode. No mistakes - you make a mistake, you’re done. Perfection is key and almost impossible. Dancing games aren’t only about how hard a game is but how good the songs are and how nice the visuals display.
"By having two pads the dances are insane."
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The Playstation 2 version of Pump It Up: Exceed has 101 songs available for your choosing, although not all of them are available instantly. Very few of these songs are licensed songs you’ll have heard but there are a few thrown in as well as a few covers of some more popular songs. Although most of the songs are from “no name” artists there is enough genre distinction that most players will be able to find a song they like. The graphics in Pump It Up: Exceed are pretty nice. Personally I found them to be much more eye-pleasing than DDR’s. This makes watching someone dance much more entertaining because let’s face it, if they suck you gotta watch something good. On top of regular color changes, fancy 3D animations, and things of the like, there are also music videos that play in the background. The disadvantage to all these things is at times they distract the dancer. It takes quite a bit of concentration to stay with the arrows and not lose track of where you should be at. In general I’d say Pump It Up: Exceed put together a game where the graphics are just about as good as the music.
Pump It Up: Exceed is a dance game, plain and simple. The modifications give it some extra replay time but the real lasting appeal comes from trying to perfect your moves, become a better dancer, and watching your friends flounder about. It’s a pretty good party game as well and is sure to keep people occupied for quite a while. With five buttons placed in different locations the game requires you to dance, spin, and just move around in general. Mastiff has definitely brought something to the console market that has the potential to at least interrupt DDR’s monopoly on the genre. If you like dancing games, and want to try something that actually makes you dance; be sure to pick up Pump It Up: Exceed. If you’ve never played a dancing game, pick this up because it’s quite good, but be sure to take the time to learn to play since it is a bit difficult in the beginning.
