When The Music Stops

Stepmania

The Dance Dance Revolution series may be a bit long in the tooth these days, but it's still the leading example of rhythm action success. In times when arcades are wheezing in their iron lung, its visible presence amongst today's lightgun and driving cling-ons has engendered a cult following. It's more likely than not because of both its physical nature and its role as a podium for skilled showmanship: compared to any other arcade game nothing, nothing will attract a member of the opposite sex more than simultaneously busting a string of Perfect moves on two dance pads at speeds of over 400bpm. Nothing.

Although that's more likely wishful thinking on our part as we bumble through the Easy version of S Club 7 in the PS2's Dancing Stage Megamix; their precocious teenage beat is Konami's sugar-filled pop counterweight to the traditional hardcore dance. If the series is ever to be criticised, it's in its failure to fully exploit the gap between those two extremes, particularly in the UK.

Unheard of by most, Codemasters did attempt such a thing with Dance Factory: a game with the ability to intelligently add dance moves to your own CDs. Unfortunately, as its obscurity has taught us, it never quite worked. The game was too random to appeal and without the sculpture of professional arrowsmiths, a little flat. Indeed, these kinds of games work best when the moves are planned in advance and synched to the beats.

Which leads us to Stepmania. Having been around the longest, Stepmania is one of the most comprehensive and well-laid out of all of these clones. The established website still regularly supplies news and fresh songs, as well as giving you all the pictorial knowledge you'll need to design your own. For those who can't go through all the rigmarole of downloading it all, though, the site also sells a compilation CD of dozens of original songs to purchase for a small price. All earnings of which go towards a self-run competition offering cash prizes to dedicated creators of original Stepmania songs.

As for the actual software itself, it shows all the hallmarks of a professional release. All modes, from solo to multiplayer, are accommodated, and the interface both mirrors and enhances the DDR template with its garish colours, static backgrounds and excitable SFX. Again, editing songs takes a minimum amount of musical skill, but it's self-intuitive enough to pick it up in no time.

Given the love poured into it, and the community's enthusiasm, there's no doubt that Stepmania is an essential download. Its ample charms readily evoke daydreams of your own self, feet of flame in a dingy Japanese arcade, egged on by attractive otaku (instead of bumbling on your bedroom carpet).

Frets on Fire

What does Guitar Hero give us that led those who played it to declare it as one of the greatest pieces of gaming to plug into a PS2 (and 'Eurogamer's Number One Game of 2006', naturally)? Two words: wish fulfilment. The Rock God fantasy may be a small-minded dream of faded rock journalists and mid-life crisis AC/DC fans until... until you strap a not-to-scale plastic guitar on your shoulder and channel the spirit of rock into your pudgy fingers. Then you realise what Tenacious D's semi-parodic worship of the taut-stringed totem means.

Even if it is relatively new, the fast-paced PC programming world has already seen a couple of software clones pop up on the scene. In particular, Frets on Fire, which let you physically use your keyboard Guitar Hero-wise. Cradle it upside down and let the F1-F5 buttons represent the coloured buttons of the GH guitar, and strum by hitting the enter bar. It's the best thing to happen to the keyboard since the Shift key, if still no real substitute for the real thing.

Since Guitar Hero is the least likely to require distracting background visuals, its clone does its job perfectly well. Like buying own-brand supermarket food, it's almost exactly the same, but doesn't have that brand cachet you'd most likely prefer. And obviously, it's cheaper. And by cheap we mean free. And, yes, given the fact you can import Guitar Hero songs you'll no doubt be buying the guitar and discs anyway, so everybody wins, don't they?

Alternatively, there's also Freetar Hero, another GH clone. While FoF requires OGG files, Freetar Hero uses MP3s, making things a little easier to setup. Although it is admittedly a little behind in terms of presentation, it still shows some promise.

As for songs, don't say we didn't predict it, but a quick search reveals evidence of Gitaroo Man tracks. Find us the tune from the first level of Doom and we'll die happy. Oh, and can you also use a Wii remote to play? According to Wikipedia you can. Oh, yes. It's, like, videogaming's most free-love love-in ever. Long may it rock.