Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Pump It Up: Exceed Review: Is it Worth It?

Pump it Up exceed cover art

Pump It Up: Exceed Review: Is it Worth It?

Pump It Up: Exceed, is based on the incredibly popular arcade dance game (Dance Dance Revolution) that is now available on the next-gen consoles. Developed by Andamiro and released in 2007 for home consoles this somewhat obscure Korean version of DDR might have some fans disappointed from the start. DDR mats are not compatible with Pump It Up: Exceed. Players must purchase a different mat for this game. Yes, that’s right, more expenses must be incurred. With that being said, the question for games is, is this game worth the money?

A 5th Button that Changes Gameplay and Challenge

Pump It Up screenshot
New buttons mean new dance moves for Pump It Up

After careful consideration, the conclusion is that this game benefits from the new mat design. There is a button in the center which adds a whole new dimension to the game in terms of flexibility. This isn’t just a novelty, but a significant element that contributes to the evolution of the genre.

To the outside observer, the addition of the center button may seem innocuous, but it adds to more moves. There are now five onscreen icons and four combos to watch for. There is one arrow at each corner of the mat. Combos can be made with any of these arrows since you can stand on the center button and any one of the arrows at the same time using only one foot. The center button also acts as a modifier. As you can imagine this will have you all over the map…er…the mat. Don’t worry about the mat itself, it will stay in place due to it’s sticky backing, as long as you place it on a smooth surface.

Massive Song Library

Pump It Up: Exceed features more than 100 songs from the likes of Crystal Method to Elvis Presley. There are also lots of Latin, Hip Hop, and Korean tunes, many of which were not widely known in the Western world before but the beats are infectious nonetheless. All of the tunes are catchy and upbeat. The onscreen icon display is much easier to read than that of DDR even if there are more commands to follow.

Though it may be easier to read it’s not necessarily easier to beat. Exceed is much more difficult than the standard dance games. The difficulty ranking goes from normal to nightmare and all points in between. Some songs will require a lot of sweat and practice. The incentive is not only to be the best at parties and head-to-head competitions, which require two mats but also to compete against the world. Players will receive a 16-digit code that they can enter on the net to post their ranking for the entire world to see. If all else fails, at least it’s good exercise.

Speaking of Exercise

All menus and songs are accessed by the mat. The only downside is that players will have to get off of it to select a song so that they’re not accidentally triggering any buttons. After all that jumping around those couple of steps start to add up. The better the shape players are in, the longer they’ll be able to play this game. This makes this a great game for after the holidays in case anyone overindulges.

Final Thoughts

Pump it UP arcade machine
An original Pump it Up arcade machine was directly imported.

Few North American gamers have ever seen this Arcade machine-style game here in the Western market. However, since it seems gamers have taken to the whole dance genre it looks like Pump it Up: Exceed has a good chance here as well. Easily worth the extra costs of getting a new dance mat.

To top