In the Groove

So far, I think it's great. I'd say it's more directed towards hardcore players since the difficulty now goes up to 13 rather than 10, and I've seen a lot of crazy people at ITG arcade machines. The song selection is decent, imo. I'm a fan of Smiley and KaW so far. The 2 minute songs really wear you out a lot more than DDR. The steps are also designed much better than the ones on DDR.

A few complaints I have...

- event mode quits when you lose.
- quitting (holding triangle) doesn't cause the game to autosave. it autosaves when you lose.
- load times are longer than ddr load times.
- my pads aren't too great so they hold down buttons when i'm not pressing them, making Lemmings on the Run impossible to beat since it hits all those mines.
- songs a taking a while to unlock. (played maybe...20-30 songs so far, unlocked 2 songs)
- i miss the bar.
 
Ah EGM said that kind of stuff to "how it's more towards hardcore gamers". Normally I don't like following game reviews, but it's interesting to see if matches etc. But I tend to like shorter, but intense umm workouts rather than eudurancy ones (since 2-min songs can work you out). I'm assuming in In the Groove, it has that quick step (1/8 kind of steps) in it too?

Interesting on the load time. Isn't it because it has really no fancy graphics, shouldn't it be faster to load? Or are the songs you're playing difficult?-- I'll probably check the post tomorrow. Thanks for the small review. Seems like a bitch to unlock songs. Hopefully they're worth it.
 
in the groove came out on console?? The arcade(8 on the Break) i got to is where they nationally distribute the arcade game...It is for techno cheesy fans..the only thing i like about in the groove is all options it has that DDR doesnt have well they are meaning less but fun to use like drunken mode as for example..IMHO i think both dance games have ultra cheesy music in them...not saying all the songs are but some are just cheesy..
 
I've never seen an ITG arcade machine, but since I've heard the song selection is "cheesy," I may wait for this one to drop. Also, has anyone played that imitation DDR game with the arrows on diagonols? What's its name? How is the song selection on it? I've seen it at a few arcades, but have passed it up for DDR, becuase I would guess it is pretty bad, since there's never anyone playing it...
 
[quote name='1SwtDeception'] According to EGM the music is "for cheesy techno fans only". Just curious.[/QUOTE]

The same thing can be said for pretty much every title in the DDR library. I like In The Groove better though because it isn't filled with annoying J-Pop tracks and cutesy animations. I thought Extreme had the best music but it seemed too dumbed-down and aimed more towards casual DDR players.

Bad music or not, I still play them because they are fun games.
 
Pump it up? And the song selection for that is awesome. I say it's a lot better songs than DDR's. And yea..I don't think I ever saw the arcade machine for In the Groove.


Wait integralsmatic if you're saying the music is cheesy for In the Groove how is it compared to DDR's? Just wanting to see where your kind of taste is from and see if it aligns with mine. BTW nice Tila sig+avy, but there are a lot of ones where she tres sexier ^^.

edit: norkusa-- I like those kind of J-pop stuff. Get me more in sync with the game= more workout. Otherwise yea it's great if it's fun, but to me it's better if I can get into it.
 
I just played for about two hours this morning after it finished downloading (I'm getting it as soon as GS here gets it, calm down everyone ;) )

I have to say I'm liking the song selection more than at least the US versions of DDR, and I'd almost compare it to the JP versions. I guess I'm a sucker for "cheesy techno" and "eurotrash." It should be noted that there are a couple of tracks from E-Rotic included (they did some stuff for the earlier DDR mixes)

I also really like the new elements (hands and minds). They take a bit of getting used to, but somehow they seem like they fit right in, and add a bit of fun to it.

My only real big complaint would be the loading times. Yes, I know load times are just a harsh reality, but it seems kind of strange to have such long (and so many for that matter) load times, when DDR has almost none.

As far as the reviews go, I already covered the music selection, but for difficulty, I'd say its nto much more than DDR. There is ONE song that is higher than 10 on hard (Pandemonium, 11). The "hardcore" stuff isn't there until expert. I havn't personally played Medium or lower, but I've heard that Easy is almost too easy. That said, I really wouldn't see much of a problem for casual/new players.

So I guess overall, I'd have to say this:
It's DDR, but only in the sense of the gameplay mechanics. The music is quite different, with much less pop/J-pop, and a lot more straight up techno. The extra elements (which aren't really included until Hard/Expert) are, I'd say, a refreshing change, since nothing's been changed in DDR since 6th Mix. For most DDR fans, I'd say get it, but if you're unsure about the song selection or anything else, try it first.

EDIT: I forgot to cover the cheese factor. I'd actually say that the music in ITG is quite a bit LESS cheesy than DDR, contrary to the reviews I've read.
 
[quote name='Battousai1002']
- songs a taking a while to unlock. (played maybe...20-30 songs so far, unlocked 2 songs)[/QUOTE]
You get a new song every 10 songs you play...or.....



Enter this at the title screen to unlock everything from the get-go. You'll see some blue sparkly things if it worked:

URURLDLDURDLULDR
 
[quote name='1SwtDeception']Interesting on the load time. Isn't it because it has really no fancy graphics, shouldn't it be faster to load? Or are the songs you're playing difficult?-- I'll probably check the post tomorrow. Thanks for the small review. Seems like a bitch to unlock songs. Hopefully they're worth it.[/QUOTE]

The songs I'm playing are difficult (8-11), but I don't know if that's why it takes so long.

[quote name='Rig']I've never seen an ITG arcade machine, but since I've heard the song selection is "cheesy," I may wait for this one to drop. Also, has anyone played that imitation DDR game with the arrows on diagonols? What's its name? How is the song selection on it? I've seen it at a few arcades, but have passed it up for DDR, becuase I would guess it is pretty bad, since there's never anyone playing it...[/QUOTE]

I haven't played Pump it Up very much, but from what I saw, it looks like it has a lot of K-pop (korean), like how DDR is with J-pop

[quote name='b0bx13']You get a new song every 10 songs you play...or.....



Enter this at the title screen to unlock everything from the get-go. You'll see some blue sparkly things if it worked:

URURLDLDURDLULDR [/QUOTE]

Sweet. Thanks.

As for the cheesiness issue, I think DDR's music selection is cheesier. ITG has more of a...xenon/vanity angel/so deep/frozen ray/etc. feel, and I like those more.

The hands and mines are really cool. The mines piss me off a little cuz my pads suck, but they're interesting. Dawn's a cool song to check out the hands thing with.

Another difference between the 2 games is that ITG's steps are much more rhythmic, like on beat. There's rarely steps that are not red, blue, or green. (red-on beat, blue - 1/2 beat, green - 1/4 beat)
 
Can someone post a songlist? Or would it even matter since I'm guessing I wouldn't recognize anything on it.

If anyones wondering about Pump It Up, you can basically consider it the Korean version of DDR. I have a couple Korean friends who love it cause of the music. I think its fun since its a change up from DDR's step layout, but I never got very good since I'm so used to DDR.
 
One more complaint. The offbeat arrows are orange instead of purple. It's harder to tell the difference between red and orange than it is red and purple. The arcade version had purple arrows.
 
[quote name='1SwtDeception']Pump it up? And the song selection for that is awesome. I say it's a lot better songs than DDR's. And yea..I don't think I ever saw the arcade machine for In the Groove.


Wait integralsmatic if you're saying the music is cheesy for In the Groove how is it compared to DDR's? Just wanting to see where your kind of taste is from and see if it aligns with mine. BTW nice Tila sig+avy, but there are a lot of ones where she tres sexier ^^.

edit: norkusa-- I like those kind of J-pop stuff. Get me more in sync with the game= more workout. Otherwise yea it's great if it's fun, but to me it's better if I can get into it.[/QUOTE]

thanks...otm chose the pic..i know there are alot of pics where she is much sexier but i left that decision up to Senior Uno Track he is making me a Francine Dee Sig as we speak. i def like you may valentine sig i always thought she was one of the sexiest anime characters i have seen...i dunno how that will come off but its MHO. well i have played ITG 1 and ITG 2 just was released at the break so i dunno how good the music is in that one.i havent had a chance to play it...i just thought some of the songs in ITG were cheesy like queen of light and that scottish sounding song but i do like songs like georgetown and which mc was that..i mainly like songs that have a good beat to it and just dont have cheesy vocals like papaya or seroirita even though the steps for seniorita are fun to do. basically if it falls into vocal happy hardcore or a cheesy eurobeat im turned off...everything else like A or Frozen ray im good for...i mean i still like doing groove 2004 because the song is good...i should go back and try out ITG 2 and see how that sounds...they are both fun games just some songs i think are cheesy and some are...i havent played ITG for like 3 months(Working on the car and work it self) but i really want to play agian after just talking about it.
 
You guys actually found copies of In The Groove? I've been everywhere within 50 miles and only about three of the stores I visited received it. Of those stores, each only received ONE copy for the store.

I wish I liked EA titles, movie knockoffs or the FPS genre since those are never short on hand.

Ordering online at this point is pointless since nothing wil arrive till next Tuesday, but I may fear that may be the only option at this point.
 
Mine is sitting at home since I preordered it. There is an arcade ITG close to me and that is very fun.
 
Do you guys think the ITG Official pad is decent enough as a temporary solution?
I want to order the ITG Bundle that redoctane.com has on their website for $64.99.

It's only until I have more money for something better, I used to play on the Official Konami pads and they actually lasted me for quite sometime, so I think I can manage. :D
 
[quote name='therealdeal19']Do you guys think the ITG Official pad is decent enough as a temporary solution?
I want to order the ITG Bundle that redoctane.com has on their website for $64.99.

It's only until I have more money for something better, I used to play on the Official Konami pads and they actually lasted me for quite sometime, so I think I can manage. :D[/QUOTE]

Don't get the ITG Official pad. It's the same as all the other flimsy mat-style pads. It slides around and doesn't respond well. It makes playing DDR and ITG totally frustrating and unenjoyable.

It costs more, but do yourself a favor and buy the RedOctane Ignition 3.0 pad. They are 100x's better than those cheapie pads. I got one myself but I think I'm going to return it and upgrade to the $200 Afterburner pad soon. It's still a great pad, I just want something more like the arcade.
 
ITG sounds interesting, I have never played the arcade version before (arcades are almost non existant in my area and the few arcades around that have DDR machines all have Extreme which I am tired of). Plus any music game that has some new songs from E-Rotic and Missing Heart sounds great (since Konami doesn't seem to have new songs from Dancemania artists). I just hope there is a deal on it somewhere
 
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