You gotta MOVE YOUR FEET

By JILL BUNDY
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- "What the heck are they doing?!" was the comment made by most passers-by as two New Castle High School students played the Dormax 2 Dance Dance Revolution.
When I was in high school, eight years ago, there wasn't much to do during winter break. My friends and I would hang out at Perkins or Denny's, play Nintendo, or shop until we ran out of money.
Now, if you want to find your friends, you can probably find them playing Dormax 2 Dance Dance Revolution at the Southern Park Mall, the Skate Connection, Kahunaville, or a number of other places.
This new arcade game combines coordination, rhythm and excitement. It stands about 6 feet tall and almost 3 feet wide.
How it works
The player stands on a low platform, serving as the game board, with four touchpads on the ground around the player, to the left, right, front, and back. There is a television monitor on the front, almost the entire width of the game itself, which prompts the player's movements.
After depositing the 50 cents per player, the game begins.
The screen prompts the player to select the number of players, either one or two. The player(s) then select the song that they want to "dance" to; there is a list of about 25 from which to choose.
Then the screen changes over to the game and the action begins.
The screen lights up and vibrant colors move around the screen to the rhythm of the beat. There are four arrows at the top of the screen, one for each pad at your feet.
A set of colored blocks starts scrolling up from the bottom of the screen, which prompt the player to hit a touchpad with their feet.
As the scrolling blocks hit the top of the screen the pads at the player's feet light up, corresponding with the arrows on the screen. The player is to hit those buttons with his or her feet; for example, if the color hits the arrow pointing towards their right they are to hit the button to the right with their foot. The blocks scrolling up the screen move slowly at first and gradually increase speed as the song continues.
The game totals the number of times that the player hits the correct pad, and that becomes his final score. If the player successfully connects on more than half of his touches, he is advanced to a second round, where the action starts all over again.
It isn't easy
Trust me; it is harder than it sounds. I played with a few girls from New Castle High School and did not do nearly as well as they did. I cleared the first level and was advanced to the second round, where I was quickly eliminated. I just couldn't figure out how to get my feet to move that fast!
But, the girls that I played with were awesome.
Bryana Servedio, a sophomore from New Castle High School, was my competitor.
It seemed like she didn't miss a step. I was watching the screen flash "Miss! Miss!" at me. When I looked over at the screen in front of Bryana I only saw "Perfect! Perfect!" flash in front of her.
It became very evident that I was out of my league with these girls.
Arielle Brice, also a sophomore from New Castle, Pa., owns a home version of this game, which is available for most game systems for approximately $15. Arielle said that "it is so much fun! All you have to do is keep up with the beat."
A workout
The girls played for about an hour before deciding to get their shopping done. One of the girls, Christina Liverani, said that she "sweat more playing the game than doing 'Buns of Steel'."
It is definitely a workout. Deidre Bovo related this game to reading music, because the player almost has to be able to predict what is going to happen next.
Several people stopped to watch them play as they were leaving the mall. Many of them made comments about how they wouldn't be able to do that even if they tried and wanted to know how the girls kept their feet up to tempo with what they were watching on the screen.
After my own failed attempt, I wondered the same thing.