Dance Mat games
Dance mat games, like DDR (Dance, Dance Revolution) is dancing to music while you follow patterns on your TV
screen. Once available only at the arcades, now you can
purchase home versions. You move your feet to the beat and
are scored depending on how well you follow the patterns.
Some of the games include workout mode where you can see
how many calories you burned. It may sound simple but when
the patterns get going the feet get flowing and before you
know it you have worked up a sweat! It's more like playing a
game than working out. To make it even more fun, the makers
of the game have added a huge variety of background interest
to the screen. You can dance with different characters,
videos etc.
Note: If you decide to try
Dance Mat games I recommend purchasing quality pads such as those at
REDOCTANE. They will help cushion the joints. If you
purchase the ignition style pads you will not wear shoes
while you use them so padding is important.
Related info:
www.redoctane.com
www.ddrfreak.com
Article: A Fitness Revolution?
Certain video games can help one be physically fit instead of physically
out of it.
This is a review of the Red Octane Ignition Dance Pad by Openroad (who
gives the pad 5 out of 5 stars) at
www.epinions.com, and one of the biggest reasons I chose this
particular pad (it depends on how much $$$ you are willing to spend, as
with most things in life!):
For the best hi-Octane soft dance pad, turn the key on this Ignition.
Jan 11 '04 (Updated Jan 11 '04)
Author's Product Rating
Durability:
Pros
Looks great, softest padding for your feet, doesn't slide, almost
perfect button accuracy.
Cons
Still can't use your shoes on it, will wear out quicker than a metal
pad.
The Bottom Line
If you're serious about Dance Dance Revolution, the Ignition 2.0 is the
second best pad you can buy. Only metal pads last longer and play better.
Full Review
----- Red Octane in a Nutshell -----
Red Octane is a company most people are unfamiliar with, and they remain
unknown even to most video gamers. As a company they do two things; rent
games in a similar manner as Netflix rents DVDs, and manufacture dance
pad controllers for the insanely popular Dance Dance Revolution game
series. If you’re not sure what you need a virtual dance pad for, check
out my review of DDRMAX2 for the Playstation 2 to learn more.
Remember the old NES Power Pad controller for track and field games? The
one you learned how to pound with your hands instead of running on? Yep,
I got smoked by my cousins who were masters at the hand-running
technique. Where am I going with this you ask? The NES Power Pad looked
very similar to the modern dance pad, only the new dancing games are a
lot more fun. Several companies sell high end dance pads, and one of
them is Red Octane. They sell a large range of pads, from the top-end
$199 metal arcade pad to the lowly $49 beginner soft pad. Marketed
squarely in the middle of their product line is the item in the
spotlight today, the $99 Ignition 2.0 dance pad. The Ignition is the
highest quality soft pad available, and I’ll give you a quick rundown on
metal vs soft. The arcade is where DDR started, and since those units
can run upward of $10K each, no expense is spared for the dance pad
controller. For home use, you can expect much less use and abuse than an
arcade machine, but you can still get the same feel by using a metal
pad. Metal pads are the only pads you can use while still wearing your
shoes. All soft pads require you to use bare feet or socks, and the game
feels noticeably different without shoes.
Soft pads come in several styles, from the $15-$20 low-end pads from
Konami and Naki, mid-pack offerings for Red Octane and others in the $50
range, and the upper end Ignition model coming in at right around $100.
----- What’s so great about the Ignition? -----
The Ignition 2.0 is almost a full 2” thick, with a very dense rubber
core to absorb shock and keep its shape over time. The Ignition 2.0 pad
has a denser and longer lasting foam than the old 1.0 model. All low-end
pads are about 1/4” thick and have no padding at all. On the Ignition
all four directional arrows are covered in a heavy plastic, making them
feel quite different from the five soft unused spaces on the pad. This
gives you an increased situational awareness and allows you to “feel”
your way around the pad without looking down. Cheaper pads feel exactly
the same everywhere, and you often become lost as the pad slides while
playing.
Speaking of sliding while playing, all the soft pads have this problem
due to their light weight and the jumping required to dance effectively.
Metal pads don’t move at all, since they weigh almost 50lbs. The
Ignition pad stays in position on most carpets better than any other
soft pad I’ve used, and only requires adjustment every other game (each
game is three songs long) I’ve used a cheap Konami pad a little bit, and
I own the $19 Naki Intense pad. Both cheap models exhibited tendencies
towards drunkenness, as they slid and crumpled on almost every single
song.
The switchgear inside the button pads are professional quality on the
Ignition pad, and Red Octane claims they are “arcade quality”. I have
never had a single pad press go unregistered, and if I miss an arrow I
can be sure I screwed up and not my dance pad. Once again, I need to
take a moment and bash on the cheap stuff… the switches in cheaper pads
are much more likely to miss an arrow or two. I have a feeling the
switches are localized towards the center of each arrow in the cheaper
pads. This leads to missed steps as you stab wildly at the arrow and
only nail a corner. The Ignition pad is very good at snatching these
hard-to-register corner steps and displaying them correctly. I attribute
this to a larger switch area that covers the entire arrow surface.
The Ignition feels much better on your feet, and if you wear thick wool
or polyester socks you can dance indefinitely. NEVER dance with bare
feet, or you'll pick up some very nasty foot blisters. Cotton socks also
irritate your feet after about 20 minutes, which I why I recommend
synthetic sock material. The dense padding inside the pad makes a nice
shock-absorbing layer to keep your feet from contacting the floor.
The bottom line is I would recommend the Ignition to anyone that is
planning on playing DDR for any length of time. This pad can grow with
your as your skill level changes, and I'm now playing at the highest
skill level (heavy mode) and still scoring well. Whether you're
competing for points, using the workout mode, or just dancing for fun
you'll have a better game with the Ignition 2.0
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