A trio of Dance Dance Revolutions

Just like last year Konami is preparing three Dance Dance Revolution games. The PlayStation 2, Wii and Xbox 360 each get one. Before the announcement we discovered two of them DDR X (PS2) and Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 (Wii).

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 was the one we missed, but I’m sure the announcement isn’t a surprise. Some of the features are brand new like the emphasis on character customization. In City Mode players dance off against computer controlled bosses and earn parts to build their own character out of 400 parts. Once you pick an outfit, hairstyle and face you can bring your dancer on Xbox Live as a custom avatar for the weekly tournaments. Universe 3 has 70 songs with the ability to create your own with a DJ Mode. Konami hasn’t gone into details about how DJ Mode works. Is it an MP3 importer or a full music creation tool?

Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 has character customization too. Sort of. You can place your Mii on stage, but Konami hasn’t shown any screenshots with a dancing Mii. Finally, you can have your Michael Jackson Mii dance to “Black and White” by the pop icon. Other songs in Hottest Party 2 include “Umbrella” from Rihanna, “Makes Me Wonder” by Maroon 5 and “We Got the Beat” from the Go-Gos. All the gimmicks that you loved or loathed are back too with new gimmicks like the Triple Stomp. The biggest gimmick is Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 aims to teach players actual dance moves in the Hottest Training Mode. I admit, I’m actually curious about this.

While Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 and Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 are adding new features, Dance Dance Revolution X is more of the same. The big change is really the graphics. Cel-shaded gangster rappers and spilt screen close-ups make Dance Dance Revolution X superficially appear different. The other change is a new LAN mode that lets players connect multiple PlayStation 2s together until you have eight dancers. Konami hasn’t announced any of the 70 songs, but glancing through the screenshots the Time Hollow theme song is in this for sure.

Screenshot comparison time! From top to bottom: Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3, Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2, Dance Dance Revolution X.

Which one will you choose? None is a valid option.

Images courtesy of Konami.