Dance Dance Revolution: Konamix: Latest Hit Company: Konami Only five weeks away from shipping time, Dance Dance Revolution Konamix has American fans clinching their teeth in anticipation. Even though Konami's had their hands full with location testing DDRMAX 2 (the 7th installation of the arcade series), and developing the first DDR release for PS2 in Japan, Konami of America has a massive marketing scheme in place for the most comprehensive DDR release to date. But how does it all stack up so far? First off, nearly every aspect of Konamix has been 'upgraded' to a 4th Mix interface (this includes song categorization, scoring systems, user interface, and graphical style). Most players should appreciate this step up from the first U.S. release's primitive design, yet fans of the import 5th Mix's sleek motif may feel a bit left out. From a logical standpoint, Konami has no excuse for implementing an older, less polished model when 5th Mix blazed along at 60 frames per second on the PlayStation last year. Visuals aside, Konamix?s bread and butter lies solely within an eclectic mix of original tunes previously featured in every preceding Japanese DDR release, with a few added bonuses thrown in to boost U.S. exclusivity. Making sure not to leave anyone out, Konami has even included several tracks from the ultra-popular Beatmania/DDR Club Version series (?Diving Money,? ?The Earth Light?) as well as 2001?s DDRMAX (?Groove,? ?Look to the Sky?). 52 songs round out the total selection, including 20 unlockable tracks to keep players guessing at every turn. Here?s a list of available songs so far (caution: may contain spoilers!) .59 Absolute Afronova Primeval After the Game B4U Baby Baby Gimme Your Love Brilliant 2U Burnin? the Floor Can?t Stop Fallin? In Love Celebrate Nite Cutie Chaser Dead End Dive Diving Money Don?t Stop! (AMD 2nd Mix) Drop the Bomb Dynamite Rave End of the Century Groove Higher Hysteria Let Them Move Look to the Sky Luv to Me (AMD Mix) Make a Jam! Make It Better (S0-Real Mix) Make Your Move On the Jazz Orion.78 (Ameuro-Mix) Paranoia Patsenner Perfect Free Salamander Beat Crush Mix The Earth Light Think Ya Better D Wild Rush Most notable among gameplay additions are Solo Mode (a more challenging 6-panel adaptation from DDR Solo 2000/DDR Solo 4th Mix), Nonstop Order (where players can finally customize their own uninterrupted four-song marathons), Edit Mode (U.S. gamers? first chance to create and save their own steps without having to import), and an enhanced Workout Mode which tells players how many calories they?ve burned depending on weight, song speed, and additional factors. Harkening back to 4th Mix also provides the 2-player Battle option for songs never included in the original 4th Mix roster, and the ability to play 6-panel versions of tracks from all previous mixes only means more exclusive material than ever before. From the looks of our preview version, Konamix promises something for players of any caliber, old school or fresh meat. While the selection runs extremely thin on licensed tunes, KOA has intentions of including more in future stateside releases, assuming Konamix pulls in enough profit to place the American DDR scene parallel with that of Japan in the near future. That said, look for this gem to hit shelves April 23, and watch this space for a full review forthcoming next month! -Ben Monkey, GameVortex Communications AKA Ben Lewis