Post by abrannan on Jun 13, 2005 22:26:41 GMT -5
Okay, well in the tradition that I started with US Extreme, here's my day one review/first thoughts about the Roxor/RedOctane co-creation, In the Groove...
In short, go buy this game.
If you're a stepper, go buy this game.
If you're a freestyler, go buy this game.
If you like a lot of jumps, go buy this game.
If you hate jumps, go buy this game.
If you play for a workout, go buy this game.
If you play to get high scores, go buy this game.
But seriously, take every complaint on these boards about DDR, and they've answered it with In the Groove.
I'll start with the music. It's much more American/European music than the J and K pop of DDR and PIU. The songs are 30 seconds longer, clocking in at an average of 2:00. Some songs make better use of this extra time than others, with interesting bridges and whatnot, while others merely throw in an extra chorus repeat. This extra length is great for workouts, and you heavy players will have a stamina shock coming to ya on the tougher songs.
The Steps. Before each song starts you get a little "music video" style credits in the bottom corner of the screen giving song title, artist, and the name fo the person (or persons) who did the stepcharts you're about to play. It's a good thing the charters are being given their due, because they've outdone themselves here. The steps are challenging, can be downright insanely hard without relying only on song speed for difficulty (Paranoia, I'm looking at you...), but at the same time, there's a better flow to them that "feels" more like dancing than DDR.
The interface: The song selection is a modified song wheel (more like Max/Max2 than Extreme) that lets you see 6-8 or so titles on the screen rather than the 4-5 of Extreme. Grades are given on a percentage basis, there is no numeric score, so higher grade stays. The interface even keeps track of "special" accomplishments, like Full Great combo, Single Digit Greats, and "Flags" (1 great full combos), and notes these on the song results screen. There's also a dance meter track that will show where in the song you missed steps, where your longest combo was, and even where you failed the song. During the songs, you have your selected skill level (Novice, Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert), the rating, the song title, and the song number (or event, for event mode) on the screen for easy reference. There's also a bar showing how far into the song you are. There's just a lot of little details here that show that this game was created by people as dedicated (or more) to dancing games than we are.
Modifiers: Everything under the sun, from the typical arrow speed (x1-x6, mimic a 300bpm, mimic a 450 bpm), and note coloration, to persepctive (arrows moving in or out of the screen). To some wild scroll options (left and down arrows scroll to the top of the screen, right and up scroll down), accelerating arrows, moving target bars. There are even handicapping modifiers to turn off jumps, mines, hands, 8th notes, and holds, or to add any or all of those to your songs. The net of this is that you can make the game as hard or as easy as you'd like.
I only got to play for about 2 hours, but my wife joined me. She doesn't enjoy DDR, but had a blast with ITG. She found it easier to follow the arrows, as the backgrounds are more subdued, and the arrows cycle only in the color of their beat, rather than the full spectrum as in DDR. She was cruising along to 3 "footers" by the end of the session. I haven't even touched the other modes yet (workout, Battle, and marathon (nonstop)).
In short, none of the disappointment I felt with US Extreme, and a game that has re-ignited my love of dancing games. Those of you who pre-ordered will not regret it.
In short, go buy this game.
If you're a stepper, go buy this game.
If you're a freestyler, go buy this game.
If you like a lot of jumps, go buy this game.
If you hate jumps, go buy this game.
If you play for a workout, go buy this game.
If you play to get high scores, go buy this game.
But seriously, take every complaint on these boards about DDR, and they've answered it with In the Groove.
I'll start with the music. It's much more American/European music than the J and K pop of DDR and PIU. The songs are 30 seconds longer, clocking in at an average of 2:00. Some songs make better use of this extra time than others, with interesting bridges and whatnot, while others merely throw in an extra chorus repeat. This extra length is great for workouts, and you heavy players will have a stamina shock coming to ya on the tougher songs.
The Steps. Before each song starts you get a little "music video" style credits in the bottom corner of the screen giving song title, artist, and the name fo the person (or persons) who did the stepcharts you're about to play. It's a good thing the charters are being given their due, because they've outdone themselves here. The steps are challenging, can be downright insanely hard without relying only on song speed for difficulty (Paranoia, I'm looking at you...), but at the same time, there's a better flow to them that "feels" more like dancing than DDR.
The interface: The song selection is a modified song wheel (more like Max/Max2 than Extreme) that lets you see 6-8 or so titles on the screen rather than the 4-5 of Extreme. Grades are given on a percentage basis, there is no numeric score, so higher grade stays. The interface even keeps track of "special" accomplishments, like Full Great combo, Single Digit Greats, and "Flags" (1 great full combos), and notes these on the song results screen. There's also a dance meter track that will show where in the song you missed steps, where your longest combo was, and even where you failed the song. During the songs, you have your selected skill level (Novice, Easy, Medium, Hard, Expert), the rating, the song title, and the song number (or event, for event mode) on the screen for easy reference. There's also a bar showing how far into the song you are. There's just a lot of little details here that show that this game was created by people as dedicated (or more) to dancing games than we are.
Modifiers: Everything under the sun, from the typical arrow speed (x1-x6, mimic a 300bpm, mimic a 450 bpm), and note coloration, to persepctive (arrows moving in or out of the screen). To some wild scroll options (left and down arrows scroll to the top of the screen, right and up scroll down), accelerating arrows, moving target bars. There are even handicapping modifiers to turn off jumps, mines, hands, 8th notes, and holds, or to add any or all of those to your songs. The net of this is that you can make the game as hard or as easy as you'd like.
I only got to play for about 2 hours, but my wife joined me. She doesn't enjoy DDR, but had a blast with ITG. She found it easier to follow the arrows, as the backgrounds are more subdued, and the arrows cycle only in the color of their beat, rather than the full spectrum as in DDR. She was cruising along to 3 "footers" by the end of the session. I haven't even touched the other modes yet (workout, Battle, and marathon (nonstop)).
In short, none of the disappointment I felt with US Extreme, and a game that has re-ignited my love of dancing games. Those of you who pre-ordered will not regret it.
