Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA (game & dance pad) (PlayStation 2, 2006)

DDR Supernova offers fun and challenging play, and is probably one of the best from the DDR series. Supernova has some great trance/dance songs including Armin Van Buuren's - "Shivers" and songs by Ferry Corsten and Paul Van Dyk. It has plenty of licensed songs, as well as pop songs that everyone will recognize such as "Since You've Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson, and "Jerk It Out" - Ceasars. The layout and game play style is very similar to DDR MAX 1 and 2 with game, workout and endurance modes.

The only thing that really bothered me was the unlocking system. You have to complete different challenges (like, "Complete five songs with an A grade or above" or, "Choose (some song) and beat it", etc) and then complete a final "Showdown" challenge. It's a nice idea for beginners, but it's a complete joke if you've played the game before. You have to beat the different challenges at the Beginner/Easy level to earn the Showdown, and then the Showdown is a tutorial of sorts (basic things, like "Don't step back to hit the down arrow, turn your body and step" and "Don't return to the middle of the pad between steps").

The dance pads that comes in the bundle is actually pretty good. The underside is thick with a protective rubber padding to prevent sliding on hard floors. If you are ready to make the jump though to the good pads, stick with getting just the game and buying a set of Red Octane pads with foam inserts for heavy DDR action.