Ignition Pad Score: 82% Developer: RedOctane

Function: Since Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series exploded onto the scene in 1998, many American gamers have slowly begun to embrace it as their main source of home entertainment. Whether playing it for personal enjoyment or as a challenging fitness program, everyone needs some sort of dance pad controller for the full effect. Here's where RedOctane comes in. Enter the Ignition Pad, RedOctane's newest installment in their line of DDR pads and accessories. Specially designed to cushion your feet while allowing for improved button accuracy, this model comes equipped with an inch-thick layer of foam padding between the top and bottom layers for the best home DDR experience possible... at least, that's what its designers were aiming for. But does the Ignition Pad really pass the test as the most effective soft pad on the market?

Performance: Actually, yes! It's far from perfect (more on that later), but RedOctane's clearly done their homework during development, even implementing contributions from some of the best DDR players in the States to address the errors of older models. The biggest problems gamers encountered in the past have involved lousy circuitry, flimsy layers bunching up on fast songs, and lightweight pads sliding all over the place. Much of this can be fixed with a decent mod job, but RedOctane sought to get it right without requiring a trip to Home Depot. For a soft pad, the Ignition Pad thoroughly impressed me after just a few plays. I've owned many pads -- three different soft pads (two modified), one hard plastic, and now this one -- and I have to say this is the quietest, most comfortable one I've ever used. I'm sure my neighbors downstairs can appreciate the foam layer zipped snugly in the middle of the pad, and after having to use an older RedOctane model taped to a slab of particleboard for the past few months, my feet are definitely ecstatic. Since there's no hard material to break or external wiring, the Ignition Pad also gets two thumbs up for durability. Stomp on it, throw it around, drop a few bowling balls on it... and the pad should still be fine for at least a few more thousand plays. Well, that's the impression I get, anyway. Yet perhaps the most thoughtful feature lies in the four arrows' raised button areas, so newcomers can feel where to step while playing without having to glance down at their feet. I remember having to constantly look down several times per song when I first started out with Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Mix on my Dreamcast two years ago, simply because my pads at the time were too thin and unstable to stay in one place for more than ten seconds. These days I'd never have to do that with any competently modified pad, but the Ignition Pad addresses the issue nicely as well. RedOctane also expanded their sensors across the full borders of each arrow to decrease missed steps and boost sensitivity. They might've made it too sensitive, actually, but I can't really say it'll hurt your combos one bit. One of the first songs I tried on the pad was 'R3' on Maniac, and I nailed a full combo with around a 95-percent Perfect score. I've done slightly better on my modded pad, but this wasn't bad at all for a first try on a new pad! Just for fun, I also lined up the Ignition Pad with the modded one for a few games of Doubles (where one player uses two pads), and while I did see some sliding on harder tunes, I was able to land a few 100-something combos despite the difference in size and texture of the two pads.

Features: Arcade-sized circuitry for higher accuracy 1-inch foam insert for comfort and noise reduction Raised, reinforced arrow buttons for enhanced feel Lights along upper rim when arrows register Gripping bottom layer to resist slipping or sliding

Drawbacks & Problems:: It's great that RedOctane opted for a smaller, arcade-sized pad with sensors spanning the entire arrow pads for the sake of precision, but this coincidentally creates a maddening inconvenience for DDR players with big feet. See, whenever I stand in the middle of any other soft pad while choosing a song or difficulty, there's no problem; because I wear a size 12 shoe, however, some part of my foot is somehow always touching an arrow when standing directly in the middle of the Ignition Pad. This means I have to stand awkwardly sideways or get on my tiptoes and hope the song doesn't suddenly change before I pick it, or stand completely off the pad and press the arrows from there. Even if my feet are planted on the two blank bottom corner arrows, something will always register as if I'm standing right on top of the button. I'm sure this problem could be remedied by producing a larger version of the pad, or elevating the buttons slightly more to prevent these 'ghost presses' from happening every single time. Another setback involves the Ignition Pad's unnecessary light weight. It may seem meaty for a soft pad, but even with the gripping bottom layer at its aid, slipping will occur on faster songs. After playing 'Drop Out' on Maniac just once, my Ignition Pad ended up nearly diagonal and about 2 feet away from where I initially started -- causing my performance to garner quite a few Boos and Misses on a song I usually almost full combo every time on my modded pad. To RedOctane's credit, though, theirs doesn't slip nearly as much as other unmodified soft pads, and I didn't really encounter any problems on slower songs with difficulty ratings under 8 feet. I can't suggest any safe ways to make an Ignition Pad heavy enough to withstand slippage (unless you want to secure it to a large piece of plywood using duct tape and hard plastic floor covering, which I'd also advise against because of the pad's design), so you might just have to deal with stepping extra-lightly for those high combos. In the end, this is the best mod-free soft pad I've used so far -- but considering its suggested retail price of around 120 bucks and those few pesky drawbacks inherent in all soft pads, the truly hardcore may want to stick with modifying a regular pad to their specifications, or even attempt to build their own hard pad first. However, if all you're using is a standard softy and you can't stand another broken combo because the damn thing bunched up on your carpet again, head over to RedOctane.com immediately and get your very own Ignition Pad. You'll be thanking me later when you're in the best shape of your life!

-Ben Monkey, GameVortex Communications AKA Ben Lewis