However, as a minor irritation, when selecting the oni difficulty in game play, when players switch songs, the game automatically defaults the difficulty back to beginner instead of heavy and if players forget, they’ll have to suffer a beginner step chart or end the current song and go back through the menu. A minor point to make, for sure, but it still makes for an irritating exercise for expert players.
Elsewhere, aside from an ear-grating announcer (which I also turn off), the sound and control of Universe is just as tight and pleasing as ever. The pad controller, which features a cord thanks to Microsoft’s proprietary policy, works just as well as any other dance pad bundled with a DDR game. By scraping up four pads, Universe steps in as the Xbox 360’s answer to a fun multiplayer party title. Unfortunately, to make the multiplayer modes work on foot, players are going to have to pony up for more pads or hope they have friends with extra dance pads.
Players worried about Universe being a mere Ultramix upgrade won’t have to worry anymore. The game’s featured songs are 100 percent original to the title and thanks to downloadable content, Universe should have players occupied for quite some time (or until the next version is available). Through edit, online, party and challenge modes, the title makes for the most enjoyable entry into the series Konami has released to the United States in the past couple of years.
Dance Dance Revolution Universe is rated E10+ (Everyone 10+) by the ESRB for Lyrics, Suggestive Themes.
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