DJMAX

The Good
I had found out about this game when typing O2Jam in google image search. A friend of mine said he always wanted to try it, but had problems running it. He also said it was closer to IIDX, than O2Jam. Curious about it I went and tried it myself. After being unable to make an account for the Korean servers, I made one for the Japanese servers. So this review is for the Japanese version of the game.

The first thing I noticed and really liked, was the interface. I loved the colorful neon lights. Everything is very bright and feels uniquely done. The menus were also in English, which helped me. I notice when going through songs, there is not only an image for each song. There is also a different image for the song, when you change difficulty.

The controls are also surprisingly nice. At first, the default controls seem to be modeled after a popular IIDX emulator. The way these keys were set, were very uncomfortable. Fortunately this game redeemed this easily. Not only do they give the option to completely customize the controls, they give an option for controls that are exactly like the ones in O2Jam. Also while playing a song, it tells you what key is which. Incase you lose your place

The gameplay at first is almost exactly like O2Jam. Even the freeze system is the same. What is different, is you get the choice of 5 or 7 Key. The notes are a lot bigger than the ones in O2Jam. They may even be bigger than the ones in Pop'n. At first I did not like this, but it kind of grew on me. Since I have to look at this as a different game, and this worked for it.

The grading system is far different than O2Jam, and really any other game of the genre. Instead of having "Cool"'s, Perfects, or Great Greats (aka Flashing Greats). You have Max's. When you hit a note at the most accurate point, you get a Max-100. When you aren't as accurate you will get Max-60's, Max-80's, etc. The Max's that you can get are all divisible by 10. With one exception the Max-1's. Another unique thing is when you last hit a key, a light will appear above it. If you don't hit a note and a note falls on that key with the light you will get a Max-1. This will allow you to keep your combo. When you pass a song, it will give you your overall accuracy.

Due to the grading system, the creators of DJ Max have decided to take a DDR route. The overall song list isn't that difficult for any veteran of the genre, but being the most accurate at them is. I have passed several top level hard songs on both 7 and 5 Key. Since my scores would be around 70%-90%, I don't stand a chance against many people in the Battle rooms.

One really cool idea they have for the battle rooms, is you can see every ones progress. You will see small windows to the right showing how well they are hitting the notes. There is even a window displaying every ones status. Also if a player bought a different DJ Max skin, it will even be displayed amongst the windows. For example once I was playing, and I saw the notes as eggs that hatched when hit on one of the windows.

Last, but not least. The game features videos for most of their songs that will play in the background during single mode. The quality of these videos definitely don't compare to those of IIDX, but they are enjoyable to watch. They remind me of the ones from earlier Pump It Up songs (Point Break, First Love, etc.). Where it's abunch of pictures, then some small animations during them.

The Bad
Though this had its charm at first, the Christmas music has to go. When going through the game menus, you will be accompanied by some of the most repetitive Christmas music. Hopefully in future versions this will be removed.

The grading system is unique, but suffers from some problems. The game will only tell you, your overall accuracy and breaks (misses). As opposed to any additional information. Such as how many Max-100's, or Max-80's I did.

Online play is somewhat of a disappointment. Almost no one plays 7-Key.All the servers are filled with people that just playing Single Mode. When you do manage to reach a versus rooms, they take forever to pick a song. I have no idea why, but i'll just be sitting there for 5 minutes with Christmas music jarring into my skull. Only hoping someone would just pick a song already. Also like O2Jam you can't pick your on speed modifier. Everyone plays on the same one. Some people who play aren't very friendly, and almost none of them know any English. For example, I was in a room just asking "Do you guys play O2Jam?" and I got kicked out. Since most people play alone anyway, I wonder why this is strictly an online game sometimes.

For some reason the text in the game on my computer is very tiny. It is barely readable, and I have no idea why. It makes conversing very difficult, or when reading some of the menus. It's actually not that big of a problem, but it an annoyance. My friends who also play this game, do not have this problem.

The music is a big dissappointment.With the exception of some really good stand out tracks. The rest of the music in the game is very bland. Not just bland, but boring. As if it was just there to fill space. The classical remixes, espacilly are laughable. Maybe I have just been spoiled by Banya's (from Pump it Up) or O2Jam's remixes, but this is just sad. What is also kind of laughable is the fact that several tracks start out by saying "DJ Max", incase I had forgot what I was playing.

When you pass songs you get money like in O2Jam. Unfortunately what you can buy with the money is rather lack luster. Your choices are buying a different still picture to represent you. As opposed to having a completely customizable avatar like in other online games. You also have to pay money each time you want to view a music video, without having to play the song. Probably the most questionable use is, you have to pay money to play in EX mode. EX mode is a challenge mode, where you have to pass songs with certain requirements. A friend of mine after spending a lot of his game money managed to pass one of the songs. He said he got barely anything for it.

Another thing is, is the fact you have to use the official website to launch the program. I find this really lame.

The Bottom Line
Those looking for a better alternative to O2Jam, may want to just look into IIDX. While those who merely want to try something different, or want to take a break from either of those games will have something here. This game isn't a total bomb. It has some fun and replay value. I still play it occasionally,. or whenever I can't get on O2Jam. Despite how empty the Japanese servers are, this game seems to of had some following in Korea. As DJ Max is headed for the PSP.