| The first dance outing for PlayStation 2, Dancing Stage is a fairly straightforward tale of up, down, left and right. Arrow points up, you press up, either on the joypad or the dancing mat you cannily bought to accompany your secret camp shame.A typically joyous selection of ultra-camp high energy pop has been signed up for MegaMix, including offerings from Elvis Presley, Ms Dynamite, Kylie Minogue and S-Club Juniors combined the usual mix of J-Pop that Konami has found a niche for making.It's kind of difficult to know what more there is to say about MegaMix'it has been a great hit in the arcades, seeing off somewhat plagiaristic competition from several Korean dancing arcade manufacturers to become the distinct market leader in the'make yourself look stupid, unless you happen to be a beautiful Japanese girl'dancing genre.Fans of the series will be pleased to see the return of the workout mode, which counts expended calories as one plays. Also featuring is a practice mode, as well as a straight conversion of the coin-op smash hit.The subtleties hidden away in MegaMix will not be lost on the hardcore dance'em up fan, with freestyle, on-beat extra button or pad presses awarded by the usual canned applause and'You're doing great!'voice sample. Yay! Busting out extra moves will also unlock some other goodies, including more, faster Konami J-Pop. One gameplay addition that graces DSMM is the press and hold move, which requires players to hold down a single direction for a number of beats, instead of just tapping it as has been the standard.The latest offering from Konami's Bemani range of family orientated games, MegaMix is one of the sweetest and most deliciously camp console gaming experiences to be had. |
