Op-Ed

Pump-It-Up vs. DDR

I've always been a dancer. It started when I was really little doing ballet, tap, and jazz. Then I fell in love with video games and discovered DDR. I love playing, it's extremely relaxing and I find that I constantly lose myself while playing. It's sort of that same zone that I get when I'm doing ballet. Nothing really matters but the music and the dancing.

DDR was a God-send. Now, when I wasn't doing ballet, I could lose myself in my own living room. I bought a few of the DDR games for PS2, I received one of the Metal Arcade Pads for my birthday. I was in heaven.

Until I received a copy of Pump-It Up. Instead of four buttons, there are five. The songs are faster, the dance moves are more difficult, and instead of just sort-of dancing, I can really dance and still beat the songs. The music is actually music I've heard before instead of a lot of random techno-esque dance songs. I think I have a new love in dancing games now.

But this really makes me think, was DDR the be-all, end-all of dancing games, the holy grail that so many people made it out to be? Or is there a whole other wave that will come around and it started with Pump-It Up? DDR has been retired for awhile; Pump-It Up is the new hotness in my living room. I feel really bad for the apartment below me.