In the Groove

[Tain]

I can't make my own soundtracks to these damn games!

Stepmania. And Vib-Ribbon's sequencer didn't really have to find the BPM of a given song.

[Geen]

I picked up In The Groove for my financee yesterday and played it some as well.
I'm not a DDR freak by any means, but I like a game of easy every now and then.
The steps seemed fine, you can turn off the wacky crap like hand presses (Three arrows at once, wtf?) and the music was good.
If anything, much better than DDR Extreme, still don't like as much as DDR Max 2 so far.

[Cheebs]

My copy just came in. I've only had a little bit of playtime, but already I can tell this is better than US DDR Extreme. In the Groove does things DDR should have done a long time ago. Songs have 5 difficulty levels instead of 4 so you're never stuck with a bunch of songs that only go up to a 6 or 7 difficulty like DDR. Songs have tons of modifiers. The interface looks better. The mines are a great touch (take feet off of the arrows when they pass). If you like DDR, you'll like this game. Great production values all around.

[ChaoofNee]

Oh shits, it's out early?
Now I have to waste some Anime Next money on this. Damn.

[Cheebs]

After some more play I have some more impressions: The most glaring thing you notice is that the steps are much better than DDR while the music is much worse. None of the music is flat out bad...but most of it is very generic. There was even a song that was trying really hard to be "Healing Vision" complete with steps that felt Healing Vision-esque. But as I said the step patterns do rule. If they ever make an In the Groove 2 with better music it will reign supreme as 4-panel dance game champ. Until then you have your choice of better music or better steps with DDR and ITG.

The difficulty seems to be in the ballpark with DDR. A "7" in ITG is a little bit harder than a "7" in DDR for example, but still close enough that if you can handle a DDR 7 you should be fine here as well. I took one look at a "12" difficulty and tried passing with the controll pad. No such luck. Insane, insane step patterns for the hardest of the hardcore. But there's not too many of those and every song goes down to difficulty 1 or 2.

The grading system is a different animal than DDR entirely. Steps that count towards your combo are "great", "excellent", and "fantastic". I suppose this corresponds to DDR's "great", "perfect", and "marvelous". Anyway, the good news is that you can score "fantastic" in the regular game mode (unlike DDR) and the windows seem small enough to really test you. As I was saying the grading system is entirely different. Each step is worth a certain amount of percentage points and you see your percentage total rise as you play. If you get 100% that means you hit all "fantastics". I full-comboed a song and ended up with a percentage in the low 90's. The game gave me an A-. I'm going to guess that A+ is the best grade you can get, and I'm going to guess that an A+ is really freakin' hard to get.

As for the interface, it looks much nicer than DDR Extreme US, but it has it's problems. For one, you can't see at a glance what songs you've passed and what your letter grade was. All you get is a stat screen that pops up when you're "on" a song in the scroll wheel that shows your highest percentage.

[EMAGDNIM]

I have played this in the arcade and it was fun (fun when you turn off the gay bombs and hand presses). The songs are harder on the higher difficulty settings (nothing a DDR player can't handle).

The songs are interesting and its generally fun to play (A VERY nice change from DDR)...

[Sl1p]

The steps are much better than DDR while the music is much worse.

This is really all that has to be said about In The Groove. I really like what I'm playing (Despite playing it a few times in the arcade and being completely indifferent to it) but it's just flat out ghetto.

And for the record, if a song has more than 10 Mines in it, I turn them off. Hands on the other. . HAND OMG LOL don't bother me as much and are fun in the silly Pump it Up scheme of things.

It's just that. . it's one thing to be difficult in terms of awkward steps. . it's another thing to be difficult because you're concentrating too much on deciphering the crap you're seeing, as opposed to what your feet are doing. DDR is not a thinking game. I can play a game of DDR, hold a perfect conversation, play Guitar Freaks and Para Para Paradise at the same time (Word). When In The Groove forces me to think by shoving a bunch of mines in the way of the arrows I need to hit, I just stop. There is no "groove" to be found in gameplay with mines. Just inconvienance.

[ChaoofNee]

Speaking of ITG 2 and PIU...

Roxor Games, Inc. is proud to announce their partnership with Andamiro Co., Ltd. to create the next generation of arcade dance games. Their first collaboration, “Pump It Up: In The Groove 2,” combines Roxor’s unparalleled gameplay, music, and graphical content with Andamiro’s co-development support and superior cabinet construction, featuring a beautiful 33” flat screen and an acoustically tuned stereo system for total immersion into over 130 interactive dance songs. This new edition of Pump It Up features all 71 original hit In The Groove songs with new Expert steps, plus over 65 new songs, for a total of 1,100 dance routines featuring ITG’s popular four panel layout. This is the first title in a planned series of new arcade games developed in cooperation by Roxor and Andamiro, bringing cutting edge content and hardware to gamers starved for new, exciting arcade experiences. Pump It Up: In The Groove 2 is now available from game distributors nationwide.



In The Groove 2 New Features:

• Over 65 new songs for a total of over 130 songs from new artists and familiar names

• Over 500 new dance routines, totaling over 1,100 routines from step artists in the dance game community

• Over 25 new courses, for 50 courses total between Marathon and Survival modes

• Unlockable songs and Expert steps to provide new challenges

• Up to 5 difficulty levels per song, per style, accommodating all players from first time beginners to dance game experts

• Novice difficulty with helpers like Traffic Light and Constant Scroll to assist players who are just getting started

• All new graphics featuring new In The Groove characters

• 2 new arrow skins provide new visual feedback options during gameplay

• Greatly expanded compatibility for USB memory cards

• New arrow type: Freeze Rolls will keep you on your toes



In The Groove 2 New Play Modes:

• Survival Mode: Beat the clock by stepping perfectly to challenging patterns

• Fitness Mode (for fitness centers): Set calorie burn or player time goals and track your progress



Returning Features:

• All 71 original In The Groove songs

• 3 styles of play: One Player, Two Players, and Double

• Fast menu navigation and longer songs - spend more time playing

• Arrow types like mines, hands, and quads will have you making new kinds of moves

• USB Memory Card reader lets players take advantage of tons of great features

• Expert difficulty steps challenge even the most hardcore players

• Over 50 modifier options for creative challenges

• Mod Stacking: Select multiple mods on each line for thousands of combinations

• Choose between multiple arrow skins to suit your taste

• Unlock codes are entered by players



Returning Play Modes:

• Dance Mode: The traditional mode of play. Dance for fun, or compete for personal and machine high scores

• Battle Mode: Play against a human or computer opponent in a tug-o-war meter competition. Confuse your opponent with arrow modifiers while fending off attacks

• Marathon Mode: Play a series of songs nonstop and try to survive tricky scripted modifier sequences



USB Memory Card Features:

• Download steps online and bring them to the arcade on a USB memory card

• Use the memory card to save player profiles, options, high scores, and more

• Track and view comprehensive stats using any web browser - even share your performance data with friends

• Machine high scores are saved on the memory card too; post the latest high scores for favorite machines online

• Save screenshots of your greatest achievements directly to the memory card and post them online

• Participate in official Internet Ranking and see how you stack up against the rest of the world

I blatantly stole that from DDR Freak, because they're hardly human beings to begin with.

[Geen]

Little off topic, but the idea of the USB memory card becoming an arcade standard has me excited. Hopefully ITG2 isn't the only game that is going to use that idea.

[EMAGDNIM]

. it's one thing to be difficult in terms of awkward steps. . it's another thing to be difficult because you're concentrating too much on deciphering the crap you're seeing, as opposed to what your feet are doing. DDR is not a thinking game. I can play a game of DDR, hold a perfect conversation, play Guitar Freaks and Para Para Paradise at the same time (Word). When In The Groove forces me to think by shoving a bunch of mines in the way of the arrows I need to hit, I just stop. There is no "groove" to be found in gameplay with mines. Just inconvienance.

Good point you brought up...come to think about it, its VERY true...