DDRU2 improves on its predecessor in almost every way, bringing a true DDR experience to 360.
First and most important is the music. The song list was unfamiliar to me, so playing through these songs proved to be a very pleasant experience. The songs have been improved dramatically over U1, replacing many of the slow R&B songs with faster and more fitting techno, pop and a more impressive showing of J-pop. Each song feels much more unique and is much more addicting to dance around to than any one song in the previous game, save for the few J-tunes in U1. Additionally, the songs appear and feel to move faster as well, giving some slow songs a quicker, faster paced feel to them. All of this means the music in U2 is much more suited to regular DDR players, instead of beginners. All of the usual genres are shown, focusing mainly on techno, J-tunes and R&B. The gameplay is the same formula used since the beginning of time. The core gameplay is fine, and U2 adds a freestyle mode along with a much improved quest mode. In fact, the quest mode is now playable...a considerable change from U1's broken and buggy quest mode. You now run around a series of islands, engaging in battles, fanfare and other events. You are paid based your performance, and are now awarded songs as rewards for beating certain battles. This all adds up to a much more engaging and fun quest mode, and requires much less frustration than the first. Every other mode from previous DDR's stays intact, with no changes.
The graphics stay sharp and impressive, and still maintain a stable framerate during most songs. I can not say how the arrows flow in the hardest difficulties, but the speed of the lower difficulties is always playable. There are new dancers to play as, and the quest mode allows for some customization as well, but as usual, the graphics come second to the gameplay.
DDRU2 is an impressive showing, and while it may not live up to the PS2 versions, it shows hope that the series is headed up. The game retails for 70-80 dollars, depending on the store, and comes with a mat. The mat is identical to the one included with DDRU1, so the mere 20 dollars it adds to the bundle is forgivable.