Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 3 is the fourth installment in the Wii series of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) games. Coming into its twelfth year of dance rhythm games from Konami, Hottest Party 3 keeps a very traditional style to its predecessors. There is one addition that is new to the series this time around that may stir things up a bit however, and that's the integration of the Wii Balance Board. Even with this addition does the game offer something refreshing in the decade old series?

DDR: Hottest Party 3 is a traditional music based rhythm game where players step to the beat on four arrows arranged on an included dance mat as their digital arrow counterparts ascend across the screen. The songs included in the game show either the original music video, or a selected in-game dancer on a bright coloured stage dancing along to the song.

The big feature with the Wii versions is that the remote is also available to use along with the dance mat to have left and right hand punches thrown in with the stepping. For people looking for a little more motion or workout it's a handy addition. The other mode that's new to Hottest Party 3 specifically is the option to replace the dance mat with the Wii Balance Board, which is a great advantage since the provided dance mat is rather cumbersome to use. The problem with the mat is that it slides around on the floor very easily and has no way of telling where the arrows are without looking directly at the ground while still trying to keep up with the arrows on screen. With the Balance Board nothing moves about and there is a set footing where everything is precise which in turn makes playing the game a lot more fun.

There is also a multiplayer mode available, but it does require a dance mat for each player, which means purchasing extra dance mats on top of the game itself. Either that or if a friend brings a mat with them can more than one person play at a time to battle for higher points. The nice thing about DDR though is that players can just take turns playing on one mat fighting for high scores and it does make for a decent game to play with a group.

One of the big fun factors that varies beyond the method of play is the music itself within the game. Hottest Party 3 features roughly 50 songs, however only 30 songs are licensed tracks from major recording artists, the rest of the tracks are all original songs from the game which are usually very poppy techno songs. Granted the songs in the game vary a little, most songs are either modern pop songs like Rihanna or Lady Gaga, or 80's tunes including the likes of Rick Astley. Although the tastes in the music may vary, there just isn't enough music to have everyone enjoy what they are playing, especially compared to most music games of modern day.

Beyond being a limited number of songs, they are also samples of the original recording. Each song runs for about a minute and a half and cuts before the song finishes. Not to mention there is a really annoying voice over that comes through both the television speakers and the remote speaker. Phrases such as 'This groove is almighty,' and 'No one moves like you' play over and over every ten seconds, and it's way more annoying that it is helpful to keep the player excited and moving. For fans of music this title may feel like more of a game with music, rather than a music game.

Also adversely to the advantage of bonus features available on the Wii, there is the issue of the game's presentation. On a standard definition television, the game looks reasonably good and is very vibrant looking with massive amounts of multicoloured clothing on characters and incredibly flashy backgrounds. When playing on a high definition set however, all the textures turn very pixelated and blurry making any of the characters hard to make out. Music videos don't look too much better, but are at least a little more bearable to watch comfortably.

Hottest Party 3 falls into a very unique area when it comes to an audience that may pick up on it. There is a little extra content for die hard fans of the series to jump into and play with, and for newcomers to the series there are the modes such as Balance Board mode and exercise mode that could hold some interest beyond the frustration of the clumsy dance mat. So it really does rely a lot on the music of the game and what accessories are available at home to play the game with.
Conclusion

For the hardcore, as long as there is a good third party mat lying around it may hold some value to play. As for newcomers to the series, a Balance Board is highly recommended, otherwise the dance mat may lead to some extreme frustration when playing. Beyond the physical limitations of the game, it's really hard to play this game without thoroughly enjoying a decent amount of the songs in the game, so take a look at the songs featured to see if it is worth it on a personal level.