Dance Praise

Details: Category: Computer; By ccgr; 03.Nov; Hits: 13819

System Requirements
Windows:98/ME/2000/XP
Mac:OSX
500MHz CPU
100MB HDD space
128MB RAM 8X
CD-ROM
DX 9 compatible sound and video
USB ports for connecting the dance pad

Thanks to Digital Praise for giving us this game to review!

Dance Dance Revolution has become quite popular in the US. It?s great to see a Christian version hit the market. I must admit that I was a bit concerned at first. I was thinking that it would have songs like Shine Jesus Shine and others that Ned Flanders from the Simpsons would listen to. To be quite honest, I was pleasantly surprised with the great selection of music provided. There are over 50 songs and there are various music genres like Techno, Rap, and Alternative Rock. All the songs are done by top Christian artists like andy hunter, David Crowder, Steven Curtis Chapman, Newsboys, tobyMac, ZOEGirl etc.

What Dance Modes are there?

For all the Dance Modes there are three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium and Hard. Of course there is the standard dance mode when you dance to a song, keep your life bar up and get scored at the end. If you want more of a challenge, try the Arcade mode. In Arcade Mode you have score increasing and decreasing arrows. There are also bomb arrows that if you tap on them, will cause a cloud of smoke to appear and make it harder to judge when to tap the dance pad. So in Arcade Mode it is okay to miss certain arrows. For those wanting to lose weight there is an exercise mode, which you can set a goal of how many calories you ant to burn, or by how long you want to dance for. Finally the most challenging mode depending on how mean the leader is: Shadow Mode. In Shadow Mode the leader makes up dance moves for the other person to do.

What is the Game Play like?

The first thing that caught me off guard was how different this game is from traditional DDR. Instead of the arrows floating up, they are floating down. Unfortunately there is not an option to flip it around for those used to it the other way. There seems to be a little more forgiveness on the timing. Although the hard difficulty mode is challenging; it is not quite hard enough for the DDR veterans who like the Paranoia songs.

Graphics/Interface

The interface is pretty easy to maneuver and use. Many of the game elements look the same when it comes to the song selection. One feature I like is the Tune Into You mode, which chooses and adjusts song difficulties depending on how good/bad you do. The Dance Pad configuration is pretty handy and easy to use. You can customize the dance arrows and backgrounds when dancing. I like how you can see the song lyrics in the background.

Sound

This game is all about music and this game will not disappoint in this area. It is great to see a DDR game where you do not have to worry about sexual or drug overtones in the songs. This is an ideal game for church and youth group gatherings. The music quality is good and it uses a proprietary song format.

Bugs

I only noticed a couple minor glitches in this game. Even when playing solo mode if someone steps on a 2nd dance pad it will influence the game of the main player. I can say from experience that this game does alt-tab very well so if it does get interrupted you can go back without any problems (other than a lower score if you got interrupted during a song). One other complaint I have is that this game doesn?t disable the screensaver, so if you are having a long dance session, it will get interrupted.

Final Thoughts

Overall I?m impressed with this game and would recommend it to any church or any DDR lover. There?s a wide variety and a good number of songs to dance to. This game retails for $49.99 and that?s including a dance mat. They also have specials with foam mats for those wanting a better quality mat. You can buy the game at many retailers including Covenant Games