Pump It Up Exceed is an answer to the ever-popular arcade and home game, Dance, Dance Revolution. It comes with the game itself, and a well-designed play pad with a center station and diagonal steps at all four corners. Plain and simply, this game is not for the average gamer. It is tough and challenging on many levels. The game setup allows you to play in home or arcade settings. The main difference here is that the home setting allows mistakes and you can finish the song, whereas if you have too many mistakes in arcade setting it is game over for you.

The game offers a wide variety of songs, of course set to techno music which lends itself to the fast-paced steps of the game. While I am no fan of this music genre, I found it appropriate for the game and bearable. The videos shown along with the music are odd, and have about the same feel as they would in a karaoke sushi bar (for good place to eat sushi and sing Korean karaoke in Fridley, Minnesota, contact me for directions).

The game play is fairly straightforward, as the rolling screen of arrows indicate upcoming moves and show you when you are in step. Again this game is challenging, as it will force you to coordinate your feet along with the steps. The more advanced the setting, the harder and faster the steps. This game will really force you to read and react. To really get good at this, most gamers would need hours of practice, unless they have been playing DDR or are just a natural John Travolta like Tomax is.

I would recommend this game to people that like Konami's DDR and want to try a different game in the genre. This would also be fun for parties and get-togethers with your friends. There's also the option of using this as a self-punishing aerobics workout, but that's an entirely different review.