The dance pad controller is a flexible pad emblazoned with the Red Octane logo. It's similar to other entry-level dance pads on the market today. It's not terribly well padded, but it's nice for a beginner set. Plus, I trust Red Octane to put out a quality product since they are well known for their higher-end dance pads.

Getting into the game is quite easy; simply plug the connector into the PS2. Since I'd never actually played one of these games before, I thought I would try out the tutorial. My first impression was that it is a bit hard to maneuver around the menus with the pad. The tutorial started, and it was very easy. Okay, now I understand what to do … but, how do I get out of this?

Once I made my way back out to the main menu, I started out playing a game in Dance mode. Novice Mode was as easy as the tutorial and renders the tutorial useless unless you want to try out a specific move. Knocking the difficulty up to Easy, I discovered that this is where a novice really needs to start. Once you understand how the game works, there's no reason not to skip right to the Easy level and go from there. But be careful before moving on, as the difficulty level seems to take a huge jump between Easy and Medium.

At the Medium level and above, the new modifiers steal the show. Arrows move, stop, and spin around. Mines that will destroy your hard work mean that you have to really watch what you're doing. You can also customize the modifiers for each song. The modifiers really add to the complexity, but one friend complained that after the arrows paused, they seemed to be out of sync with the music.

Other advanced moves require you to use both hands and feet to hit three or four sensors at once - a nice feature that should appeal to the expert players out there. For those players, there's also an Expert level, which is supposed to be level above other games in difficulty. In addition to the standard dance mode, there are also Battle, Fitness, and Marathon modes. You can play in two-player mode, with two people on two dance pads, or double mode, with one player controlling both pads. These features add up to plenty of options for the seasoned player, but are a bit out of reach for the newcomer.

The music was a nice mix of generic dance tunes. I didn't recognize any of the songs or artists, but it was pretty engaging nonetheless. The moves are well timed to the music.

I did have some trouble with the dance pad during gameplay. The up arrow sensor on my pad is very close to the center rest point. Every adult who tried out the setup found that they hit the sensor with their right foot when standing in the center. I found myself doing that so much that I started resting my right foot on the ground outside the pad whenever possible, sort of straddling the right arrow. That wouldn't be possible during a difficult game, though. Except for that annoyance, I found the controller well made and very responsive. It even held up to the merciless foot-stomping of my friend's young kids. I played on a carpeted floor, so if you have hard floors it may not have enough padding, but this seems to be typical of the entry-level pads out there anyway.

In The Groove has some interesting new features that should appeal to fans of the DDR games or other dance games, and the controller is a good start for the home player. However, I don't think it's the best choice for a novice. It makes a good entry-level kit if you can handle the higher levels of difficulty right away, but the lower levels are not as interesting and didn't keep me engaged. Menu navigation is not intuitive for a newcomer, but it was pretty easy to come up to speed. I really wanted to try out the modifiers and Marathon mode, but I just wasn't good enough yet. I will probably pick up another game and play with the Red Octane dance pad, then return to In The Groove when I'm ready for something more advanced.