1. PlayStation Portable
2. Pump It Up Exceed

Whenit comes to dancing games such as Dance DanceRevolution, I've been called a veritable dancingfool. The only problem is that I can't dancebut, man, can I act like a fool.PumpIt Up: Exceed, is based on the incredibly populararcade dance game that is now available on thenext-gen consoles. If you're a fan of DDR andalready have your mat handy, I want you to sitdown for this next sentence. You must purchasea different mat for this game. Yes, that's right,more expenses must be incurred. I certainlywas appalled at first but after careful considerationI've reached the conclusion that this game benefitsfrom the new mat design. There is a button inthe center which adds a whole new dimensionto the game in terms of flexibility.

PlayStation Portable

This isn'tjust a novelty, which I was suspicious of atthe outset, but a significant element that contributesto the evolution of the genre.Tothe outside observer the addition of the centerbutton may seem innocuous, but it adds to moremoves. There are now five onscreen icons andfour combos to watch for. There is one arrowat each corner of the mat. Combos can be madewith any of these arrows since you can standon the center button and any one of the arrowsat the same time using only one foot.

The centerbutton also acts as a modifier. As you can imaginethis will have you all over the map…er…themat. You'll be doing some mid-air twists andturns which are more akin to that of an acrobatthan a dancer. Hope you've got some pretty strongankles or you might just snap them. Don't worryabout the mat itself, it will stay in placedue to it's sticky backing, as long as you placeit on a smooth surface.PumpIt Up: Exceed features more than 100 songs fromthe likes of Crystal Method to Elvis Presley.There are also lots of Latin, Hip Hop and Koreantunes, many of which I'm sure you've never heardbefore but the beats are infectious nonetheless.All of the tunes are catchy and upbeat.

Theonscreen icon display is much easier to readthan that of DDR even if there are more commandsto follow.Thoughit may be easier to read it's not necessarilyeasier to beat. Exceed is much more difficultthan the standard dance games. The difficultyranking goes from normal to nightmare and allpoints in between. Some songs will require alot of sweat and practice. You're incentiveis not only to be the best at parties and head-to-headcompetitions, which require two mats, but alsoto compete against the world. If you do wellyou will receive a 16-digit code that you canenter on the net to post your ranking for theentire world to see.

Pump It Up Exceed

If all else fails, at leastyou had yourself a good workout.Backgroundgraphics run the gamut from the surreal to theunreal. At no time do they interfere with theicon display but after going through the songa few hundred times you will begin to noticedifferent things going on in the backgroundthat will keep your mind off of your lousy technique.Menusand songs are accessed by the mat. The onlydownside is that you have to get off of it toselect a song so that you're not accidentallytriggering any buttons with your big feet. Afterall that jumping around those couple of stepsstart to add up. The better the shape you'rein the longer you'll be able to play this game.I'm not that old but I'm not in such great shape,but after a few weeks of playing Exceed I expectto be in excellent form.

Too bad beach seasonis coming to a close. They need to come outwith the sequel sometime in April next year. PreviewBy ChrisDancegames have made the journey from Korea to NorthAmerica. The games have been a success hereand now there is a new one on its way.PumpIt Up is also a successful series that startedin Korea. It's more about real dancing and timinginstead of just timing like DDR and other dancegames that have been released recently.

Playerswill try and match the whole dance routine andtheir score will be based on the way the hitthe right pads and the timing as well. A bitmore complicated than the other games in thisgenre.Exceedis the latest game from the Pump It Up series.Gamers can expect a wide range of music in thegame. Ranging from Dance to pop and a few oldersongs as well.

The real difference between thisone and other dance games is the fact the realfocus is on the right and exact dance steps.While Koreaese gamers already know the seriesand the games are in the arcades over there.FewNorth American gamers have ever seen this Arcademachine here in the North American market. However,since it seems gamers have taken to the wholedance genre it looks like Pump it Up: Exceedhas a good chance here as well. I don't havea full list of features yet.

I can tell youthat the game will have a worldwide score boardfor both the PS2 and Xbox version. Take a lookat the first Screen shots and watch for an updatewith all the features as soon as we get them.