Rock Revolution

$20, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS

Teaches: music, rhythm, rock music

CTR Rating: 88%

CTR Review

Everyone's heard of DDR, or Dance Dance Revolution, with the dance mats that plug into a game console. You place the dance mat on the floor in front of your TV and try to follow the music, represented by a moving stream of dots, with your feet, to score points and unlock harder songs. The first DDR titles were released in 2000, helping to inspire titles like the Guitar Hero/Rock Band craze. So it makes sense that Konami gets back into the act with Rock Revolution (not to be confused with Activision's Guitar Hero Revolution).With Rock Revolution, you can either use a traditional game controller, or one of a number of guitar controllers. There's also an optional six-pad drum set that plugs into your game console (Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3 - sold separately) that lets you tap along to 40 mainstream songs. Unlike Guitar Hero and Rock Band, there is no vocal track. The Nintendo DS version comes with fewer songs (20) and you use the stylus to match the beats. Our testers liked this title, noting that it has a similar interface to Guitar Hero -- with a power meter and whammy bar. The main difference is that the drums use more buttons. All in all, Rock Revolution has a professional feel, works with a variety of peripherals and has a clean design. However, it's similarity to Guitar Hero might make you wonder if you really need another similar type of program. Buy it or borrow it. All platforms are rated T, except the Nintendo DS which is rated E10+.