ITG Bracket - Public Review

[BLueSS]

THIS THREAD IS ONLY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW!
..no matter how many times it's stated... :sigh:

All General Chat/Comments go in the other thread.

Please try and review as many files as you can. The more complete, the chances are your PR will be accepted.

This is how the public review works: *Changed a bit from last time*
Total Points Per Song /10
-Steps /6 - This is the same number the judges work with. Please try to play more than one chart if you can.
-Everything Else /4

The public reviews for each song will be averaged, and then multiplied by 4 to create the /40 of the /100 total points for each song in this round.

Any review can be thrown out by staff if deemed inadequate, irrational, or disrespectful. (Look at the KB ones for an example)

This thread will close at night around August 2nd.

[BLueSS]

BTW,

http://www.stepmania.com/download.ph...lueWater.smzip

Clear Blue Water is Officially DQ'ed - no need to judge it at all.

[hamm]

-Hamm's PR-
A New Ray of Light
First Impression: Wasn't sure how or if the song was related to Sonic the Hedgehog, but either way, brownie points from me for that.
Steps: Opening was great, in the early middle there were a lot of unnecessary hands. Though I did enjoy the 16th runs that went with the music, In the middle there were some 8th runs with mines and doublestepping, which seemed to flow badly. But, overall I think it was fun. 5/6
Hamm points: Losing points from me for unnecessary hands and lack of flow in the middle so 2/4
Total: 7/10

A Voice Spoke to Me
First impression: An overdone Bloodrush.
Steps: I found them to be unoriginal and virtually a carbon copy of ITG's Bloodrush. Wasn't a fan of the backwards hands in the middle or the triple tap hands at the end. 3/6
Hamm points: Slightly offsync, and the Bloodrush thing keeps getting to me. 1/4
Total: 4/10

Asteroid
First impression: Hm this person knows how to work with different rhythms.
Steps: The beginning was great although I couldn't quite hear what some of the gallops went to. The end seemed a little underworked as it was a bunch of two arrow runs (like Lemmings on the Run) Overall, fun to play. 4/6
Hamm points: Yeah, this was good except for the Lemming stuff 3/4
Total: 7/10

Bad Boy (AvM Remix)
First impression: Cheesey song, but who am I to judge?
Steps: Excellent use of mines and hands, odd rhythms, although technically done right seemed awkwards to me 5/6
Hamm points: Slightly offsync, not much though. No other complaints 4/4
Total: 9/10

Be Princess
First impression: Most annoying song I've encountered so far.
Steps: These were boring, seemed like the Boogie Down of the ITG division. Good use of mines though 4/6
Hamm points: Boring, and annoying. 2/4
Total: 6/10

Breathe
First impression: Not a fan of the song.
Steps: Freakin' awesome. I have no idea who made this chart, but I could not find any flaws with it. It had nice rhythms, steps, the whole deal. But... can't say I liked the up arrow freeze thing, aside from that, I love it. 5/6
Hamm points: Simply fantastic. 4/4
Total: 9/10

Cheap Trick Kinda Girl
First impression: Wow vids.
Steps: The rhythms were done perfectly, but the steps started lacking flow about 200 steps in, and with mines that's a killer. Really disliked the hands. Still good though 4/6
Hamm points: Whenever they said "Cheap Trick Kinda Girl," the BG video showed it, and it had lyrics anyways. And I require flow. 2/4
Total: 6/10

Days Dreamer
First impression: LOL WTF...
Steps: Beginning starts off with perfect rhythm, but throws in some unnecessary freeze arrows. Got boring near the end when it was all just an 8th note run. 3/6
Hamm points: This was quite possibly the creepiest song so far. Onsync, and kinda weird, but I seriously hate those hands that are directly at the end of a freeze arrow. 2/4
Total: 5/10

Devastation
First impression: Hay, I've met this guy before.
Steps: Interesting use of hands in the beginning. Less great at the end. I noticed the slower parts were a bit offsync, while the faster ones seemed all on. Don't quite understand why. But I thought it was an overall good file. 5/6
Hamm points: Sync. 3/4
Total: 8/10

Don't Cha
First impression: No, I don't
Steps: The opening was rhythmically good (except some random burst), but at the chorus it began to remind me of a slighly harder Lemmings on the Run. Dividing it into it's three parts (gallop step step, lemming run, and 8th/16th gallop) each part got individually repetative 3/6
Hamm points: This song... repetativeness. 2/4
Total: 5/10

Emerald Sword
First impression: Curious how to make it both hard and paddable
Steps: The runs kinda terminated at random points, becoming 8th runs which confused me. And 16th runs at 180 for that long is unheard of except for by Summer -Speedy Mix- 3/6
Hamm points: Video was great, steps were only kinda great 3/4
Total: 6/10

Endless Journy
First impression: Heh.. BG... "Endless" it's classic.
Steps: Was going to mention how they ignored a better rhythm, but it picked up after the first 15 seconds. Couldn't hear where the 24th's come in though. Quite the enjoyable file.5/6
Hamm points: bad gap 3/4
Total: 8/10

Graduation
First impression: mmm... Islandy
Steps: Began good, but became repetative. Really went downhill with the hands, overused. 3/6
Hamm points: hands at the end of a freeze arrow make me cry 2/4
Total: 5/10

Have You Ever Been Mellow?
First impression: absolutely the most disturbing thing I've ever seen in my life
Steps: Seemed a bit too DDR for ITG. Everything was a straightforward 8th run, with some deviation at the end. Boring. 3/6
Hamm points: Brownie points for being strange and disturbing 3/4
Total: 6/10

I Wanna Talk About Me
First impression: Bold for picking country.
Steps: Large lack of flow in the 16th run part. Offsync, but maybe due to natural BPM changes due to it being performed by a human. 4/6
Hamm points: Points for boldness, but it does that hand thing I hate (mentioned above) 3/4
Total: 6/10

Identity
First impression: The BPM Demons have my brain!
Steps: Hard, nice. Disliked the speed ups though. Otherwise I liked it. 5/6
Hamm points: Song was a pain in the butt sightread 2/4
Total: 7/10

Inner Universe
First impression: Well, I hope the steps don't go to the quiet background noises..
Steps: Almost total lack of flow, doublesteps galore. The quantization? ("Note" noteskin, brown/orange and green) Not fun at all 2/6
Hamm points: background noises were what the steps were to, very little thought seemingly put in. 1/4
Total: 3/10

Jump
First impression: Lol, my file.
Steps: Noticing now, that comparatively, my steps are practically the easiest. A little gimmicky at that. considering I can't give myself a fair judgement, I'll go with 5/6
Hamm points: My file, trying for least bias 3/4
Total: 8/10

Kiss Me
First impression: Maybe I'm not the easiest file
Steps: Some parts seemed awkward, even though they did in fact go with the music perfectly. Namely where the arrow are all yellow. I liked it a lot though 5/6
Hamm points: Movie a little distracting. 3/4
Total: 8/10

Mario Takes a Walk
First impression: Synced a beat and a half early?
Steps: Yeah, since it's synced really horridly it seems like the notes go to nothing. Too bad, seems like a good file if it were correct 1/6
Hamm points: My personal opinion, after syncing it again myself 3/4
Total: 4/10

Multiball
First impression: Hope it's good, It's MS.
Steps: During the beginning some of the 12ths aren't to anything, then there's the unnecessary BPM doubling complimented by doublestepping in the stream. Didn't like it at all 2/6
Hamm points: BG and Banner professional 2/4
Total: 4/10

Namida Girl
First impression: Catchy, I was expecting emo. (Namida means tears)
Steps: Quite good use of freezes. The run at the end seemed like it was just thrown in to make the file hard. 4/6
Hamm points: Bad gap, and hands at the end of freezes 2/4
Total: 6/10

Satellite
First impression: This song made me sad
Steps: The first half was a lot of straightforward steps on the 8th notes, which I didn't like. The creamy center contained freeze arrows that neither made the steps harder nor complimented the song, but the end was well done. 4/6
Hamm points: Didn't really like it, it was boring. 2/4
Total: 6/10

Speedy Cat
First impression: Red XIII
Steps: Uhhh wtf, incredibly difficult hands, and odd use of rolls. Steps could have complemented the music much better 3/6
Hamm points: Points for Esperanza-riginality 3/4
Total: 6/10

Startin'
First impression: I was expecting a bad chart
Steps: They had interesting flow, and followed the music perfectly. And for once, I actually liked the BPM change in here. Great chart. My only peeve was some bad hands 5/6
Hamm points: This made me happy 4/4
Total: 9/10

Stickshifts and Safetybelts
First impression: This song is not a song
Steps: Offsync. The steps seemed to work though, confusing. Lacked flow in the earlier areas, but regained near the end 4/6
Hamm points: Offsync 3/4
Total: 7/10

[Xythar]

So I decided, what better way to spend a Saturday than to PR the ITG bracket? :P

Take what I say with a grain of salt since I don't have a lot of experience with ITG. I still tried to pay attention to how songs flowed on feet however, going so far as to slow down the more difficult ones so I could try them on feet. OK, here it is:

A NEW RAY OF LIGHT

Hard: 2.75/3 Some of the 16th usage felt like it was a little arbitrary when it would be better served by following a prominent pattern in the song at the time, but that's really just a matter of taste.

Expert: 2.75/3 This one doesn't seem to have the same problem, all the notes made sense to me. Nice chart! It felt like there were double steps in a few of the 8ths, but there were none in the 16ths or higher... so was it intentional?

Everything else: 3.75/4 Nice song choice, nice graphics and I liked your trademark 'trick mines' at points in the song where you expect the melody to continue but it doesn't. The banner gets cut off in ITG however, or at least it does in my theme.

9.25/10 Good file all round! I didn't think it was quite as good as Grip, but it's still pretty cool.

A VOICE SPOKE TO ME

Hard: 2.75/3 Well designed steps with some nice crossovers (although also a couple of instances of double stepping, I think). The start of the slow part takes some getting used to, but it makes sense given the music.

Expert: 2.75/3 Pretty much the hard steps x2. That being said this was a pretty cool 13 all the same (although maybe closer to a 12... perhaps? Not sure) and would probably feel easily at home in ITG. People are going to hate you for those freezes, tho :P

Everything Else: 3.25/4 Great song choice for ITG, decent graphics.

8.75/10 If I was going by an arbitrary scoring system instead of a predefined one I'd probably have rated this higher, because it's pretty damn good.

ASTEROID

Hard: 2.25/3 I liked the switch from 12th gallops to regular 8th/16ths, and I especially liked the rhythm during the slowdown, but there are a few parts with hands that are perhaps slightly faster than reasonable and something of a case of Pointlessly Short Freeze Syndrome (henceforth referred to as PSFS). I still enjoyed it, tho.

Expert: 2.5/3 The two quads in a row I think might be kind of tricky to do, and there's more PSFS (see above). It sort of felt like the slowdown part from here should have been in Hard, and vice versa... but that's really just a matter of taste again. End run looked kind of painful, but this isn't bad. (I think I've seen those 24th bursts somewhere before... :P)

Everything Else: 4/4 While the stop was too long for my liking and readme was only the bare minimum of content, the fact that the graphics are good, and that you made your own song, AND that it was awesome, make me disinclined to give you any less than a perfect score in this category.

8.75/10 Not bad at all! You're an excellent music artist, and if you improve your steps further and you'll have quite the winning skill set

BAD BOY (AVM REMIX)

Hard: 2.5/3 Pretty good, but a bit confusing (possibly doublesteppy, I'm not positive) in parts. Not a lot else to say, to be honest, they matched the music fine if not being stand-out amazing.

Expert: 2/3 I really didn't think the 32nds were warranted in a 9, they show up a couple of times early on and then never again which feels a bit inconsistent in terms of difficulty. The stepjumps could also have been tweaked a little to make them more player friendly. 16th usage seemed fine, tho.

Everything Else: 4/4 Good graphics, good choice of music, no problems here.

8.5/10 Expert in particular had a couple of problems, but still pretty decent overall.

BE PRINCESS

Hard: 2.75/3 No major problems here that I can see. The jackhammer 8ths are a little harsh, but it's a valid form of difficulty :P There were a few relatively large empty spots that could use a 4th or two, but overall, this was quite a good chart.

Expert: 2.5/3 This feels like a real ITG chart all right, what with all the facing left :P Solid chart however, with well designed stepjumps and good use of 16ths - although I think a few 16ths early on didn't quite go to anything. You know, in the part that made me think I'd left assist tick on my accident the first time

Everything Else: 2.5/4 Pretty standard graphics, song is suitable in terms of being happy hardcore but the vocals CAUSE ME PAIN. x_x Also, Stepmania (for me at least) just cut off the song before the fadeout, that's something you probably should've addressed.

7.75/10 Pretty solid overall.

BREATHE

Hard: 2.75/3 Good chart, all the rhythms used made sense and were fun to play, and no obvious problems in step placement. However, I think the steps should have ended slightly earlier rather than you trying to put them down during the breakdown - the 12ths were a bit weird and I didn't much like the series of freezes on the same arrow.

Expert: 2.5/3 A bit like Bad Boy with the 24th bursts, but I think they work better here. This chart does feel awfully similar to Hard however, it feels like you mostly just turned a bunch of single steps into jumps, changed the arrows in the streams, added the 24ths and put mines everywhere. It's different, but not that different. The end does feel less awkward however.

Everything Else: 3.75/4 Good graphics, good song choice, but bare-minimum-content readme.

9/10 Pretty well done file overall however.

CHEAP TRICK KINDA GIRL

NOTE: The OSC5 administration should be aware that I played this file before it was released in the ITG bracket (for testing). Up to them as to whether they want to count this review or not.

Hard: 3/3 Really no problems at all that I can see. Fun steps, good use of 16ths, nice recurring 12ths bit, jumps on cymbals, and so on. Mines are also easily ignorable

Expert: 2.5/3 'Hard with more' again, but most of the extra 16ths make sense and the mines are still ignorable enough. Hands are nice and reasonable too, which is good to see. It does feel a bit heavy on the doublesteps and spins to me, tho.

Everything Else: 4/4 Fitting enough song, good graphics, excellent BG script (and detailed readme).

9.5/10 Great stuff!

CLEAR BLUE WATER

NOTE: I wrote this before I heard it was DQ'd, so I'll leave the review in. It's a shame, to be sure

Hard: 2.5/3 An authentic feeling Bend Your Mind clone! The hands are fairly well designed and reasonably placed, although I didn't really like the forced freeze spins as much (but BYM uses them, so I guess it's ok) and the gallops felt a bit arbitrary and would probably be better replaced with stream. These felt a lot like official steps, however, so that's cool.

Expert: 2.5/3 More freezes than an Ultramix song, but they fit the theme Pretty similar to heavy for the most part, but there were some crazy freezes in the middle that I don't even know how you'd do short of doing a handstand on the pad or something (stuff like hold D+R, then hold U+L while still holding D+R, then *release* D+R and continue holding U+L, then hold D+R again) but I think you'd probably just have to do a lot of little hops while holding your position. Anyway this probably shouldn't be a 12 because while it's beyond BYM expert in difficulty, BYM is only a 10. 11 would probably be more correct, but I'm not sure. Not bad, anyway.

Everything Else: 3.5/4 Pretty average graphics, but this is the best song I've heard so far in the bracket and excellent ITG material. Nice choice!

8.5/10 This certainly feels like it could be in the next ITG.

DAYS DREAMER

Hard: 1.75/3 These look alright at first glance, but upon closer inspection they're riddled with double steps and weird twisting that I don't think fits, and there's nothing overly imaginative about the rhythms used. It'd still be fun with better designed steps, I think. Also, this is a 7 at best.

Expert: 0.5/3 Sorry, this isn't great. The weird 24ths used early on don't seem to fit, but even if they actually do (I'm not positive) that's really the least problem. Steps placement is as awkward as Hard, there are a bunch of 32nd length freezes everywhere for no apparent reason (seriously, what was the deal with that? O_o) and a bunch of 8th length freezes at seemingly arbitrary locations later on. Add to this the 16ths while holding a freeze arrow and general lack of flow of the steps and I really didn't find this too enjoyable, sorry. It's also not much of a 10 but yeah.

Everything Else: 2.5/4 Alright graphics (although artist name is missing from BG). There are probably better Technic Beat songs to choose for ITG, but oh well.

4.75/10 Sorry. I enjoyed Metaphors and Ichirin no Hana was okay, but I've got some pretty severe issues with this file. Not your best :/

DEVASTATION

Hard: 1.75/3 No glaring issues with step placement, but it's like the chart can't decide what difficulty it wants to be and switches between really slow steps, or standard 8 foot type steps, or a bunch of 16ths, or that 24th machinegun run that was far harder than anything else in the song. It just wasn't terribly interesting or fun for me.

Expert: 1.75/3 Pretty much the same as Hard, but with even more variable a range of difficulty. The minespam towards the start felt pretty pointless and this is again not that interesting or fun. I don't really think the song helps, tho.

Everything Else: 3/4 The graphics are again pretty average, and you get a bonus for making your own song but much like Kang's 'Hell Fantasy' in TM6, while being a good enough song in its own right it's just not at all suited to any kind of dance game. Also, your sync does weird things later on... I'm going to assume it's still right since you made the song, but it's quite confusing.

6.5/10 To be honest, I think you should have made a second KB chart and entered the KB division instead. The song is much better suited to KB play, IMO.

DON'T CHA

Hard: 2.5/3 Not bad. A few double steps (like the parts where you have to crossover L-D-R and then hit L again right afterwards, that's a bit annoying) but other than that there's nothing wrong with it.

Expert: 2/3 I'm a little torn on these. The middle part with the 16th runs was pretty cool (especially the first few) but the one early in the song feels out of place to what surrounds it and there's more double stepping here. Also you face left waaay too much in these steps, but again was this done for ITG authenticity? Heh.

Everything Else: 3/4 Pretty average graphics, decent choice of song.

7.5/10 Not bad.

EMERALD SWORD

Hard: 3/3 No problems at all! Nice broken up 8th streams, well designed steps with good crossovers, and good use of jumps and mines. Well done!

Expert: 3/3 Brilliant! Well placed jumps, reasonably designed stepjumps, and well placed 16th stream that actually matches the song. Not to mention, no double stepping. No problems at all, excellent chart!

Everything Else: 4/4 Great graphics, cool song, hilarious video, decent enough readme and doubles steps! There's nothing more I could want, other than maybe a lyrics file but ITG doesn't show lyrics anyway, so that's not a problem.

10/10 That was legendary.

ENDLESS JOURNEY

Hard: 2.5/3 Not bad! A bit heavy on the freezes for my liking, and a few too many 16ths for an 8, and the hands don't really leave you a lot of warning or time to execute them, but it's still pretty decent.

Expert: 2.25/3 Firstly, thanks for doing your stepjumps properly Not all the 16ths made sense to me, and the 16th crossovers were a bit harsh, and it had a few pointlessly short freezes but overall this wasn't bad at all.

Everything Else: 3.75/4 Nice graphics, cool song. You could say there was precedence in ITG, namely Da Roots. Banner is cut off slightly in my ITG theme however.

8.5/10 A well made entry. Good job!

GRADATION

zomg bestest evar 11/10

Actually, this is my file, so there's no review here.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN MELLOW

Not a particularly mellow remix... :P

Hard: 3/3 Nothing wrong here that I can see. The steps all make sense to me, even the gallops, so good job I guess.

(Hard score multiplied by 2 due to lack of Expert chart)

Everything Else: 2.5/4 Okay graphics, weird and rather fuzzy video, weird song :P I'm going to take off a small amount of points here however for not having expert steps, otherwise it wouldn't be fair to the people who got less marks for expert than hard. Also, banner is slightly cut off.

8.5/10 Not bad! Just really weird. Given that I'm not sure if I'd play it again just due to sheer weirdness factor.

I WANNA TALK ABOUT ME

Hard: 2/3 These steps weren't too bad (I liked the use of jumps in particular) but there were a few purple and then even orange arrows that probably shouldn't have been there (I understand the drumroll ones, but the others are a bit questionable). There was also a fair bit of double stepping - not too bad at this BPM, but the steps would flow better without it.

Expert: 1.75/3 Expert shares the same problems as Hard, but makes the double stepping worse by putting it into 16th streams (and also some 16th crossovers or even spins I think). The oddly coloured arrows later on are still here too and not all the 16th streams seem to make sense.

Everything Else: 2/4 Graphics are okay, but this song does not belong in ITG in any way shape or form :P It's just not very 'dance'able. The song cut used was also a bit short for ITG and banner is significantly cut off (right now it makes it look like the song's name is "Anna Talk About Me")

5.75/10 Honestly, I think you'll be able to do a lot better than this if you take care to work out your steps on pad to avoid double stepping and pick better music :P Careful with the 32nds or whatever as well, you'll find they rarely need to be used.

IDENTITY

Hard: 2/3 I dunno. For the most part, these steps are pretty good, but then you have the stupid BPM tripling over the freeze arrows. If it had just been a freeze I would have just thought "oh, that's kind of neat", but apparently I am also meant to be able to read and hit a couple of steps during each one at triple speed. Are you insane? -_- There was also a bit of double stepping later on. The end run was pretty hard but I guess it's not enough to make it a 10 by itself...

Expert: 2/3 Shares the same problems as Hard while managing to have more double stepping (at least early on) and some pointlessly short freezes. The 16th stream seemed fine however so I guess it evens out. Maybe more of an 11? I'm not sure.

Everything Else: 2.75/4 Good song, and alright graphics (although they're used straight from O2Jam and the banner is slightly cut off). Bare-bones readme however, and when you made your Crazylegz Edit you probably should have edited down the intro a little more. (Also your name shouldn't be on the directory just because you edited the song)

6.75/10 Decent steps marred by poorly executed BPM gimmicks and some double stepping.

INNER UNIVERSE

Hard: 2.25/3 It's a rather quiet song to have steps this difficult. I didn't really get what the 8th stream at the start was meant to be going to, it was just there. The few green/orange arrows were a little suspicious, but there weren't too many. The step difficulty seemed to fit in a bit better near the end once the song got a bit louder (I had to turn my speakers up just to play this... :P) but the gallops seemed arbitrary. Well executed slowdown at the end, although I'd have preferred it without the 32nds at the start I think. I think there was also some double stepping near the end...

Expert: 1.75/3 I was hoping you might follow the background sound or something, but it looks like you just took the 8th stream from Hard and replaced it with 16th triplet after 16th triplet after 16th triplet. It feels more than a little arbitrary and repetitive to be honest. The green/orange arrows are back in full force again and I'm again not sure what they're for, it looks like you're trying to approximate a 12th stream without actually using 12ths? O_o I think 12ths would work much better... It also has some rather counterintuitive, twisty steps which are made even harder to follow by the mines. I suppose this could be considered challenge, but I wouldn't find it to be a very enjoyable challenge. :/

Everything Else: 2.75/4 Nice graphics and beautiful song, but I don't think the song itself was a good choice for this competition. On a plus side you have a decent readme, although you kind of oversell your expert steps a bit :P

6.75/10 To be honest I have no idea what I'd do with this song, so I suppose this is as good an effort as any (minus the oddly timed arrows in parts).

JUMP

Hard: 2.5/3 Not too bad, but not stand-out good either. There were a few parts where the flow could be improved a bit, but no big deal. I liked the jumps on the obvious audio cues

Expert: 2.75/3 I liked this a bit better than hard, especially the effective usage of hands. I don't have a lot more to say about it, tho.

Everything Else: 3/4 Decent enough song choice and graphics, although your readme's a bit minimal. Eh, no matter.

8.25/10 A fairly good, if not stand-out amazing entry.

KISS ME

Hard: 1.75/3 This was a shame, because it started off well then you fell victim to overusing 16ths. Especially if you're aiming to make a 7, it's a much better idea to stick to sensible 8ths for most of the song and maybe the occasional 16th where it fits. In this case I think you tried much too hard to follow the vocals exactly which led to a bunch of gallops followed by yellow arrow syndrome but also gaps that were too large when she wasn't saying anything. You also had these brief 16th runs that made this more of an 8 at least in difficulty. It got better again towards the end, but the middle just isn't pretty due to excessive karaoke-stepping - it's usually not necessary or warranted to follow vocals that closely especially in song with a decent beat like this one.

Expert: 2/3 I liked this a bit better than Hard, I guess because the 16ths felt more fitting in the context of a 9. It still follows the vocals too closely during the middle, however.

Everything Else: 2/4 It's a song that's already in PIU if people want to 'dance' to it - couldn't you have thought of something more original? :/ The graphics are alright, but they *are* just the PIU graphics (albeit with some editing work, I know). I think you also should have cut the video to remove the bit at the start which shows the old BG, because it's kind of a waste bothering to edit it if the player doesn't even get to see the right one at the start anyway.

5.75/10 It makes a lot of beginner mistakes, I think, but that's excusable and I'm sure you'll improve with some more experience

MARIO TAKES A WALK

Hard: 0.5/3 The first time I loaded this up I had absolutely no idea what was going on - seemingly random arrows everywhere of all the colours of the rainbow, and it was full of double stepping to boot. The BPM seems correct, hence your 0.5 points, but I have no idea at all what the rest of the arrows are meant to be going to. If it's a gap issue, it's much too severe to be remedied by autosyncing, and I'm not going to sync your file for you beyond doing that.

Expert: 0.75/3 Basically the same as hard. The big runs in the middle were the only parts I could actually figure out as going to something in the music, the rest seemed just as random.

Everything Else: 2/4 Fairly standard graphics (picture with text, etc). Song choice not really suited to ITG, I think even if this were synced properly it'd be better off as a keyboard file.

3.25/10 If you give me a gap value that makes this file make sense, and it's allowed by OSC rules, I may be able to re-review this. But as it stands it's basically a non-stepfile.

[Xythar]

Continued (damn post size limit... :P)

MULTIBALL

Hard: 1.75/3 Ehh.... Not that great. There's some suspiciously multicoloured arrows early on that probably don't need to be quite *that* precise, but they seem to match the song reasonably well so I'll let it mostly slide. The thing is, these steps just feel amateurish, with the overuse of freeze arrows (especially short freezes everywhere), and boring step placement with most runs either just being on two arrows or LDURLDURLDUR (or alternately, RUDLRUDLRUDL). Try to mix it up a bit more next time, ok?

Expert: 1.75/3 Manages to be better and worse than hard in a few ways. It has an even worse case of short freeze abuse early on, but it does pick up quite a bit later in the song with more varied runs than Hard and such. The 16th gallops (and one set of 5) are a bit harsh, but then it's not THAT much worse than Euphoria. However, the one 8th run WHILE holding a freeze arrow is really pushing it, so in the end you get the same grade as Hard for this.

Everything Else: 3.5/4 Great song choice, great graphics. The BPM didn't need doubling, tho - it's fairly clear the song is really 75-150 BPM.

7/10 I was looking forward to this one, and in the end I'm a bit disappointed, but there are much worse.

NAMIDA GIRL

Hard: 2.5/3 The steps themselves were basically perfect, but the gimmicks take some getting used to. :P The first stop was alright, but the several in a row you had later were pretty difficult, and the speedup meant I had to play at 2x instead of 2.5, but I guess it's not a huge deal. I still think I'd have preferred it if you just had 12ths at that point, tho, because when I see 8ths (even faster 8ths) the first thing I try is to hit them at the usual speed, which doesn't work. :P

Expert: 2.75/3 Haha, I was wondering why this was an 11 until I got to the end :P I couldn't read the 16th run at 2x, so I bumped it up to 2.5x, muddled my way through the fast bit, barely got through the 16th run and then failed on a mine. >_> Third try I failed during the run, fourth try I passed finally. So yeah, it's challenging, but really cool - I especially like the 16th bursts earlier on on the drums, and the second set of freezes feels easier when it's just single arrows and not jumps. Good use of mines too.

Everything Else: 4/4 Cool song, good graphics, and the video fits surprisingly well (if I didn't know better I'd have just assumed it was the official video!). And of course a gadzillion extras

9.25/10 As I said, the BPM gimmicks take some getting used to, but this is still one of my favourite files in the ITG bracket.

SATELLITE

Hard: 2/3 Too much double stepping here. At the start there's one part where it felt like you just copy-pasted a particular sequence a few times, for instance. The bit where the main synth kicked in and you had a big 8th stream was pretty cool and the steps were fine, but then once the 16ths showed up so did more double steps, some even in the 16ths (which isn't good). Other than that it's alright.

Expert: 2/3 More double stepping again, but most of the 16ths worked a bit better this time I think (although they didn't follow the music quite as exactly as I'd have liked in a few parts, leaving out some notes for no apparent reason). Mine usage wasn't that great in places like where you had steps on down, up and right with a series of mines on the left arrow - if someone gets off the left arrow in time for the start of that sequence, there's not a lot of chance they're going to get back on it again and set off any of those other mines :P Also some cases of pointlessly short freeze syndrome, but oh well.

Everything Else: 3/4 Good song, I like the other Oceanlab one better but it's not bad. Banner is cut off in ITG and the artist text is really hard to read anyway. BG is decent, although also a bit hard to read - maybe a different font would have been wiser.

7/10 It's okay. You really need to work on making your steps flow better, however.

SPEEDY CAT

Hard: 1.25/3 I don't think this works. A lot of the 8th stream and the jumps within seem pretty arbitrary, there are WAY too many triples and hands all over the place that come up without warning, and you've done the same thing as with Corona Jumper and used a bunch arrows on 32nds, 48ths and even 64ths that are *not* in the song (I know it for certain with this song). The whole song is aligned to the 16th, if you use anything higher than a 16th in this song you are not matching anything. They've also got double steps everywhere - sorry, but I didn't like this chart at all (and Medium had way too many hands for a 7, incidentally). Also, this isn't much of a 10, the only point of difficulty is the hands and they're a bit inconsistent with the rest of the steps to say the least.

(Hard score multiplied by 2 due to lack of Expert chart)

Everything Else: 2/4 I guess this song would work well enough in ITG with better steps. Graphics were okay but this song has nothing to do with FF7, that's for sure :P (yes I get the pun but I still don't think it fits). BG probably has a little too much information, banner is cut off in ITG, and no expert steps.

4.5/10 This is not a good ambassador for your simfile pack :/

STARTIN'

Hard: 2.75/3 Loved the 16th usage, especially at the start, and use of jumps. The slowdown was well executed, too. There's a little bit of double stepping, but it's not too bad. Pretty cool steps overall!

Expert: 2.5/3 I didn't think this flowed quite as well as your hard steps, but they weren't bad. Jumps, hands, triples and mines were all used pretty well. It's not really much of an 11 tho, I'd say 10 would be more accurate. Still, not bad!

Everything Else: 3.5/4 Pretty good graphics, fun song to pick. I don't have a lot to say about this one because I don't have much to complain about :P (other than the banner is very slightly cut off I think, but not enough for me to care)

8.75/10 Well done!

STICKSHIFTS AND SAFETYBELTS

Hard: 1.75/3 Excessively karaoke, kind of random, some double stepping and the triples kind of come out of nowhere. It just feels awkward all round, I didn't have a lot of fun playing it, sorry. I think it's also a bit off sync.

(Hard score multiplied by 2 due to lack of Expert chart)

Everything Else: 1.5/4 Pretty average graphics, song choice not really suited, no expert chart, minimal readme.

5/10 Sorry. I didn't really enjoy it.

---

So, I guess my top 3 based on score are:

1) Emerald Sword (10/10)
2) Cheap Trick Kinda Girl (9.5/10)
3) Tie between A New Ray of Light and Namida Girl (both 9.25/10)

I think 4th is Breathe and so on but I'd like to make special mentions to A Voice Spoke To Me for being better than my score lets on, Clear Blue Water for being the best song (musically) in the bracket and Satellite for having one of the best self-composed songs I've ever heard.

[Rob00996]

I am reviewing only hard and expert steps. I am also reviewing the simfiles from Z to A.

STICKSHIFTS AND SAFETYBELTS

Hard 4/6

Some steps fit the song perfectly, but there were alot of repetitive parts. The first set of hands in the middle of song didn't fit the song well, but the others did fit a little better.

Extra 3.5/4

The background and banner fit the song well, but were just okay. The BPM change at the end of the song was pretty good too.

Overall: 7.5/10
Not bad at all for the first simfile I played in the ITG division. Hope the rest are good also.


STARTIN

Hard 2/3

The steps were fairly easy and fit the song. But there was nothing really special about the steps though

Expert 3/3

These steps were really good and there was a really good use of mines and 32nd notes. I think this should have been a 10 footer instead of an 11 footer, but thats just my opinion.

Extra 4/4

The background and banner were really good and fit the song well.

Overall 9/10

Really good steps and awesome song choice made this simfile really good.


SPEEDY CAT

Hard 2.5/6

Some of the rolls were placed in awkward spots and there was a ridiculouse amount of hands throughout the song.

Extra 3.5/4

Really really really good song. The background looked more like a PIU background than a ITG background.

Overall 6/10

Good song, and pretty good presentation. The steps killed you though.


SATELLITE

Hard 1.5/3

The steps were a little boring at throughout most of the song and there were some double steping 16th notes also.

Expert 2/3

These steps were alot better and were a bit more fun. But the steps were still a little repetitive.

Extra 4/4

Good song choice and good background and banner.

Overall 7.5/10

Overall another good simfile with good steps.


Namida GIRL

Hard 2.5/3

Good steps that were fun. A little repetitive, but still fun.

Expert 3/3

These steps were really fun and the freezes during the chorus worked out really well.

Extra 4/4

The background and banner were well made and the video was also really good. The only bad thing is that
the second BPM stop was a bit awkward. This would have been a 3.5/4 if it weren't for the video.

Overall 9.5/10

So far, my favorite simfile in the ITG bracket. I'll be playing this one for quite a while


MULTIBALL

Hard 1.5/3

This seemed more like an 11 footer than a 10. The simfile had some double stepping in certain parts, and a few offbeat notes at the beginning.

Expert .5/3

Sorry, but I didn't like these steps at all. There were still the offbeat notes at the beginning and alot of double stepping throughout the song along with some awkward 12th note jumps near the middle of the song.

Extra 4/4

Like I said with the other simfiles. The background and banner were awesome and song choice was good.

Overall 6/10

This simfile had some solid Hard steps, but the Expert steps killed you.


MARIO TAKES A WALK

Hard .5/3

Most of the steps were off-sync which ruined the simfile.

Expert .5/3

Same thing as Hard mode. These steps would have been really fun to play if you fixed a few double stepping issue and synced the song a little better.

Extra 2.5/4

I don't believe I see the author's name in the background or banner. The song is a really good song choice though.

Overall 3.5/10

I was a disapointed with the simfile. I've listened to Jesse Cook's music before and I was looking forward to playing this simfile.


KISS ME

Hard 3/3

These steps were really fun. I didn't really see nothing wrong with Hard Mode.

Expert 2/3

The steps were also really fun. There were a few problems with Expert mode though. The was a 16th note run that didn't really go with a part of the song and the mines at the end were awkwardly placed and kind of bothered me.

Extra 4/4

The background and banner were really good, and so was the video. This still woud have been a 4/4 if the you didn't add the video.

Overall 9/10

Another one of my favorite simfiles. I will also be playing this quite a bit.


JUMP

Hard 2.5/3

Good steps throughout the song, the rolls were awkwardly placed though.

Expert 2.5/3

Also good steps, but they were a little bit repetitive.

Extra 3/4

Good background and banner, but I didn't really like the song choice.

Overall 8/10

Really good steps. They didn't stand out to me but they were good.


INNER UNIVERSE

Hard 1/3

There was some good parts in the song, but there was an annoying amount of double stepping throughout the song and repetitive jumping at the middle of the song. There were also steps that tried to follow the vocals at the beginning of the song which had some pretty offbeat steps.

Expert .5/3

Same offbeat steps as Hard mode, except there was more throughout the song. The middle part was annoying because it forced you to double step or turn around to hit the freeze notes. The doublestepping was also in Expert mode also.

Extra 3/4

The background and banner were kind of boring but sort of fit the song. The song choice was really good though.

Overall 4/10

Really bad steps, but good song choice.


IDENTITY

Hard 2/3

These steps were fun, but they felt a little repetitive. I also think there was some double stepping throughout the. The steps during the 2nd speed up freeze were really awkward.

Challenge 2/3

There was still a little double stepping in the song and the hand freezes at the 2nd speed up were still awkward.

Extra 3/4

The background and banner was good, the song choice was decent. The first BPM change was properly executed, but the 2nd one was flawed due to the steps during the spped up. It kind of felt like I was playing Robotix (i think thats what it's called) from ITG.

Overall 7/10

Good simfile. Would have done better if the 2nd BPM change was properly executed.


I WANNA TALK ABOUT ME

Hard 1.5/3

Hard mode had some fun steps, but there were some unecessary 12th notes that tried to match the vocals before the chorus. And the 32nd notes during the chorus seemd a little offbeat.

Expert 1.5/3

There was quite a bit of double stepping throughout the song, but besides that, this had the same problems as Hard mode.

Extra 2.5/4

I didn't really like the song choice at all, but I'm not marking off points for that (since you chose a song thats different from the usual ITG style music). The background and banner were a little on the ugly side. The brick wall in the BG and BN were ugly.

Overall 5.5/10

This simfile could have been a little better, but it wasn't by any means terrible.


HAVE YOU EVER BEEN MELLOW

Hard 5/6

These steps were really fun. It plays kind of like Boogie Down without the huge streams and a few more freezes. There was some double stepping though.

Extra 4/4

The banner and background were good, the video was a little wierd, but I lked it.

Overall 9/10

Another one of those files I will be playing for quite a while.


GRADATION

Hard 2.5/3

The steps were fun on Hard mode, but there was just a bit of repetitiveness throughout

Challenge 3/3

There are no repetitive notes in this simfile and I don't really see nothing wrong with it.

Extra 2.5/4

The background and banner were okay, but it sort of fit the song. I didn't like the song that much but it is not annoying either

Overall 8/10

Really good steps on both modes. I will be playing this again for the steps.


ENDLESS JOURNEY

Hard 3/3

Hard mode doesn't have anything wrong with it that I see.

Challenge 2.5/3

Same as hard mode except the 12th notes didn't really fit to the beat of the song.

Extra 4/4

Really good background and banner and the song choice was good.

Overall 9.5/10

Another one of my favorite simfiles in the ITG bracket.


EMERALD SWORD

Hard 3/3

Fun steps with good streams and well placed mines. Nothing wrong here.

Expert 3/3

Probably the best Expert mode simfile of the ITG bracket in my opinion. Good 16th note runs and fun steps.

Extra 4/4

Awesome Background and Banner. The song choice was perfect, and the video was awesome as well. But the stop at the middle of the song felt a little awkward. This would have been a 3.5 if it weren't for the video.

Overall 10/10

Okay, now this is my favorite simfile. I will be playing this a bit, but I will probably pass out every time I play Expert mode.


DONT CHA

Hard 0.5/3

This feels like DDR steps. And it was repetitive and had some double stepping.

Expert 1.5/3

A little better, but it still had a lot of repetitive steps. This file should have been a 9 footer instead of a 10 footer.

Extra 2.5/4

Well, the background and banner were kind of generic, but it fit the song I guess.

Overall 4.5/10

Not impressed with this song. It had alot of flaws in Hard mode


DEVASTATION

Hard 2.5/3

It was really fun and the steps were good. I don't really see nothing wrong except for the freezes at the very beginning which I think had some double stepping.

Expert 3/3

Expert mode doesn't seem to have any problems that I see. It was fun to play and I enjoyed the 16th note runs.

Extra 3/4

The background and nammer were okay. The song was really good though. For some reason, the song reminds me of A (from DDR).

Overall 8.5/10

This simfile has some really fun expert steps and you made a good song choice.


DAYS DREAMER

Hard 1/3

These are most definitely DDR steps. I also think there was a bit of double stepping too.

Expert 0.5/3

This is definitely not a 10 footer. There was some really short freezes that you shouldn't have placed and I didn't like the part where there was this one big freeze and 16th notes around it. Definitely one of the worst Expert mode steps I have played in the ITG bracket.

Extra 2/4

Well, the background and banner were okay, but where is the artist's name in the background? The song choice was allright too.

Overall 3.5/10

The expert steps were disapointing, I was expecting something harder.


CHEAP TRICK KINDA GIRL

Hard 3/3

Fun steps. like the other good simfiles, I see nothing wrong here.

Expert 2.5/3

Really fun steps also. The mines during the hands and after the hands were a little harsh.

Extra 4/4

Really good background and banner. I liked the bg changes. The song choice was pretty good too.

Overall 9.5/10

Another one of my favorite simfiles.


BREATHE

Hard 2.5/3

Really good steps also. The little 4th note stream at the middle of the song I don't think went to the beat of the music.

Expert 2.5/3

Same thing here as in heavy mode.

Extra 3.5/4

The song, background, and banner were good. But it seem like you cut a song a little wierd at the end.

Overall 8.5/10

Another good simfile with fun steps.


BAD BOY

Hard 3/3

Really good steps and really good use of mines.

Expert 2.5/3

Expert mode had a little bit double stepping and the jumps with mines during the chorus were harshly placed.

Extra 3/4

The song choice was good. But the background and banner were okay.

Overall 8.5/10

Really good steps for Hard mode. I will be playing hard mode steps alot along with the Expert mode steps.


ASTEROID

Hard 2/3

Really fun steps even though they were repetitive.

Expert 2.5/3

Had some really fun steps also. It was still a little bit repetitive.

Extra 3/4

Good song choice. The banner and background were okay though.

Overall 7.5/10

A pretty good simfile. Just need a little more variety in the steps.


A VOICE SPOKE TO ME

Hard 2.5/3

Fun steps also. Had a bit of double stepping in the song also.

Expert 3/3

This simfile is crazy. It's kind of like Bloodrush on crack. Everything about it was well made. But seeing as I can't beat 13 footers. I can't tell you if this is harder than Pandemonium and Summer.

Extra 3/4

The banner, background, and song choice was good, but the instant cut off of the song at the end wasn't good.

Overall 8.5/10

Really good simfile. The cutoff at the end of the song ruined it for you though.


A NEW RAY OF LIGHT

Hard 3/3

Really good steps. Nothing wrong here.

Expert 2/3

There were some good steps in Expert modes. But the 16th note triplets after that horn blows in the middle of the song almost seems like it's not following the music. The 32nd notes were also unnecessary.

Extra 4/4

Really good song choice, background and banner.

Overall 9/10

Fun steps on both modes, and I enjoyed the song choice.


Well, thats all of the reviews. To sum it all up, I think the ITG bracket overall for OSC5 had some really good simfiles overall and it also has more than twice as many sims than last OSC's ITG bracket. I wish good luck to everyone entering this and the other brackets.

My Top 3

1. Emerald Sword
2. Namida Girl
3. Cheap Trick Kinda Girl

[Sakura Guy]

Okay:
A New Ray Of Light
Steps:4/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total: 8/10
This was a good way to start off the pack. It was not perfect and could have used more effort, but overall, Goo Job!

Asteroid:
Steps: 3/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total: 7/10 A Well Made boos-Song. I lovedf the artowrk, but the slowdown, it seemed to me, was not needed.

A Voice Spoke To Me:
Steps: 2/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 4/10 naccurate Rating, Should have been a 10. Didn't like the banner, but loved the background

Bad Boy:
Steps: 5/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total: 9/10
Liked the steps, and the song choice was great, but the steps could have been harder

Be Princess:
Steps: 2/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 4/10
I don't Know, The art was generic and unoriginal, the steps could have been better, it just didn't work for me.

Breathe:
Steps: 6/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 8/10
Loved The Steps, Loved The Art, Horrible Song Choice

Cheap Trick Kinda Girl
Steps: 6/6
Tilt: 3.5/4
Total: 9.5/10
Steps were fun and enjoyable, but the artwork seemed generic and lacked originality. But I loved the steps

Clear Blue Water: I Know This is disqualified, and its a shame because this is one of my favorite songs in the pack. Usaually i hate hands and avoid them at all costs, but this song made hands fun. So, too bad you cheated cause this is a 10/10 sim for me

Days Dreamer:
Steps: 1/6
Tilt: 1/4
total: 2/10
Steps and Song got boring after a while, and the artwork wasn't that good either

Devestation:
Steps: 2/6
Tilt: 3/4
Total: 5/10
Again, Steps were boring, however i really liked the artwork

Don't Cha
Steps: 6/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total 10/10
Loved Everything about it, Artwork: Dazzling, Steps: Not Too Easy, but not too hard, Song Choice: Worked perfectly. Loved It!

Emrald Sword:
Steps: 2/6
Tilt: 1/4
Total: 3/10
didn't like song choice, Banner Was good, Steps lacked consistency.

Endless Journey:
Steps: 2/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total: 6/10
Steps were all over the place, but the arywork and song choice were good.

Graduation:
Steps: 6/6
Tilt: 1/4
Total: 7/10
Steps: Perfect went with the music, Artwork: Not, really didn't like it

Have You Ever Been Mellow?
Steps 10/10
Tilt: 4/4
Total 10/10
Weird Song, Weird Video, Weird Steps, but for some reason i really liked it. Nothing to complain about here!

Idendity:
Steps: 3/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 5/10
everything about this one wasn;t bad, but it wasn't amazing either. With some of the great entries in the competition, it was just another average sim.

Inner Universe:
Steps: 3/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 5/10
You have to remebr, that there are 28 entries in this competiton, and you really have to make it stand out, and this one did not. Again, it was okay, average.

I Wanna Talk About Me:
Steps: 2/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 4/10
The Steps, Seemed Off-sync, and the art wasn't exactly good, but an interesting song choice

Jump:
Steps: 5/6
Tilt: 3/4
Total: 8/10
Energetic Song, Steps were pretty good, one of the better ones in the pack

Kiss Me:
Steps: 6/6
Tilt: 2/4
Total: 8/10
I really , did not like the song, but other than that, perfect!

Mario Takes A Walk:
Steps: 1/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total: 5/10
Unique song Choice, didn't like steps, good try though

MultiBall
Steps: 3/6
Tilt: 4/4
Total: 7/10
Really Hard, but i liked the art and song choice

NAMIDA Girl
Steps: 5/6
Tilt: 3/4
Total: 8/10
Good Song Choice, catchy, A bit too hard for a nine footer

Satellite:
6/6
4/4
10/10
Cool Steps, Cool Art, And at one point it sounded like the main menu screen from DDR Extreme 2

Speedy Cat
4/6
4/4
8/10
Bold with song choice, an interesting type of ten, but it works!

Stratin'
4/6
4/4
8/10
Love: Song Choicce Art, but steps could have used some work

Stickshifts & Safety Belts
3/6
3/4
6/10
Interesting... song choice. Steps were okay, and artwork could have been better

Whoo, my hand need a rest, well at least i'm done

[#Infinity]

It's time for my review:

A New Ray Of Light

Steps: Pretty good overall. Not really anything to complain about. (5/6)
Everything Else: Graphics were pretty good, but the banner could've fit the ITG song holder better. Song was a bit boring, but not bad. (3/4)
Overall score: 8/10

A Voice Spoke To Me (Helix Mix) - My simfile

Steps: Not the most original steps ever, not to mention they're rather similar to Bloodrush, but I do like the different patterns thrown in, especially the runs. (4/6)
Everything Else: Pretty nice graphics overall (although Tekno Dred could've looked better), and the song choice fits ITG perfectly. Similar to Bloodrush overall, but still not bad. (3.5/4)
Overall score: 7.5/10

Asteroid

Steps: Very nice. Patterns follow the song nicely, and I was astonished by the ending's runs in the Expert stepchart. (5.5/6)
Everything Else: Neat song choice since it has swing, graphics were decent. (3/4)
Overall score: 8.5/10

Bad Boy (Alex M vs. Marc Van Damme Remix)

Steps: Wow, probably the best overall stepchartsin the ITG division. Follows the song perfectly and is very fun. Flawless. (6/6)
Everything Else: The original Bad Boy was already in DDR OSC 3, but the remix is different enough from her typical music enough that it works. Graphics were good but not excellent. (3/4)
Overall score: 9/10

Be Princess (for DDR OSC 5)

Steps: Sorry, but these stepcharts were rather bland. They're far too repetitive and don't get very original. Also annoyed by how often the player would be facing left. (2/6)
Everything Else: Graphics were very nice, the song was hyper and upbeat, but it sounded like it was being done by Alvin the chipmunk. (3/4)
Overall score: 5/10

Breathe

Steps: Very nicely done. My only complaint is that a bit of the chaos doesn't follow the music exactly. (5.5/6)
Everything Else: Marvelous graphics, and overall a neat song from an Australian (?) electronic group. (3.5/4)
Overall score: 9/10

Cheap Trick Kinda Girl

Hard steps: Pretty good overall, not astounding, but satisfying enough. (4.5/6)
Everything Else: A rather decent house song, but I loved the background videos, although I find it amusing that you thought she was babbling instead of saying, "I fool 'ya every day", according to your lyrics file. (3/4)
Overall score: 7.5/10

Day Dreamer

Steps: Hard steps could've done more with it. Not very interesting, and should've been a 6, not an 8. As for the Expert steps, I like it that you got more experimental with this stepchart, but unfortunately it didn't turn out to work that well and is a bit messy. (2.5/6)
Everything Else: I thought the song was sort of boring, and the graphics were rather unimpressive. (1.5/4)
Overall score: 4/10

Devastation

Steps: Not bad overall. Not horribly original, but does have a diversity of patterns and gets neat with all the 16ths. (4.5/6)
Everything Else: The song was not the most fun ever, but it was impressive considering it's an original composition. The graphics were so-so. (2.5/4)
Overall score: 7/10

Don't Cha (Ralphi Rosarios Hot Freak Remix)

Steps: Expert steps were marginally repetitive, but you did a lot better with the Hard steps, which follow the song very well. (3.5/6)
Everything Else: A nice remix of the popular pop song, and while the graphics don't look too hard to make, I love them a lot for some reason. (3.5/4)
Overall score: 7/10

Emerald Sword

Steps: I expected this to be a 13 by following the infamous drumline throughout (though with simple patterns), and it turned out to be nearly as hard as what I'd imagined. I'd consider these to be a near-perfect ITG translation of the keyboard steps. A great 12 block, the only complaint I have is that you should've made some of the runs longer to be a bit more consistent, as this seems like the perfect song for a 13. (5.5/6)
Everything Else: We all know this song from its keyboard version, so it's not really something new. I didn't like the edit for the song file, starting all instrumental and having vocals for the rest of the song. The banner looked great, especially Rhapsody, but the video looked a bit sexually explicit in a few parts, which may be a problem. (2/4)
Overall score: 7.5/10

Endless Journey

Steps: Overall pretty creative with all the neat patterns. Not much to complain about. (5/6)
Everything Else: Nice graphics, decent song choice. (3/4)
Overall score: 8/10

Gradation

Steps: Well made overall. Not many songs besides Queen of Light have lots of hands like this, so it's more interesting than most of its competition. They can't get a bit annoying after a while, but this song should make finals. (5/6)
Everything Else: A neat Japanese song, this simfile has pretty nice graphics, especially with the pier in the background. (3.5/4)
Overall score: 8.5/10

Have You Ever Been Mellow

Steps: Mainly just basic 8th streams and some jumps. The steps are refined, but they lack true originality. (4/6)
Everything Else: I don't like it that another version of this song already existed in DDR for years, but worse is how this cover sounds. It sounds like a hyper song that would appear on a little kid's TV station. The video was also pretty weird and dumb. From what I saw, there were a bunch of bald guys running around in it. With that said, while it may not be for me, there may be people who will become obsessed with it like they are about Jenny ROM. (3/4)
Overall score: 7/10

I Wanna Talk About Me

Steps: At a rather slow bpm, these steps seem to follow the lyrics in a bizarre fashion. It's pretty experimental, but not necessarily in a good way. Pretty sloppy steps overall. (2/6)
Everything Else: Probably one of the most bizarre song choices, as I've never seen a country song appear in DDR or ITG (except maybe Jet World and Hillbilly Hardcore, but those have a much more dancy feel), and it seems a bit weird in the game. Didn't really like the banner, but the background was okay. (2/4)
Overall score: 4/10

Identity

Steps: Ah, I see you took an idea from Robotix for this song, speeding it up extremely fast a couple of times. The steps were overall nice, with some neat runs on Expert and interesting jumps on Hard. Good overall. (5/6)
Everything Else: Nice song choice for the competition, the graphics were interesting, but they sort of looked like something you'd expect to find in DDR 3rd or 4th Mix to me for some reason. (3/4)
Overall score: 8/10

Inner Universe

Steps: Ugh, the stepcharts feel horribly offsync in the beginning, not to mention they're extremely repetitive and don't really even follow the song. Sorry, but you've got to put more thought and work into your next simfile. (1/6)
Everything Else: Graphics were decent enough, didn't really care for the song too much. (2/4)
Overall score: 3/10

Jump

Steps: Fabulous! The hard steps are well thought out and fun, and the Expert stepchart is even better. The mines are placed excellently and the patterns fit the song perfectly. Loved the hands, too. (6/6)
Everything Else: A well-chosen pop song that's perfect for dacning to. The graphics were alright, but too sketchy for ITG. (3/4)
Overall score: 9/10

Kiss Me

Steps: Rather so-so. Too many gaps are thrown in because the steps follow the lyrics almost the entire song, which I'm not a fan of, either. (3/6)
Everything Else: Nice graphics, and I love the video, although it might cause most computers to run rather slowly. The song choice was decent overall. (3.5/4)
Overall score: 6.5/10

Mario Takes A Walk

Steps: The steps overall are pretty neat, with lots of twisty chaos following the guitar. Unfortunately, the fatal problem is that the song is synced so terribly early that the steps don't seem to follow the song at all. Can't give you much credit because of that. (1/6) -- Would've been 4/6 had it been synced fine.
Everything Else: I absolutely love this relaxing song, even if it might seem awkward in ITG. The graphics aren't impressive, but they fit the feel of the song fine. (2.5/4)
Overall score: 3.5/10 -- Would've been 6.5/10 had the song been synced fine.

Multiball

Steps: I was rather disappointed with these stepcharts, which consisted mainly of sloppy runs and poorly-positioned freeze arrows. Oh, and the song got all fast too early if you know what I mean. (2/6)
Everything Else: Beyond the steps, this was very nice. The graphics were really impressive and the song choice was clever. (3.5/4)
Overall score: 5.5/10

Namida GIRL

Steps: I like both stepcharts. Hard is basically just upbeat and fun, with well-placed streams and jumps, while Expert is long streams until it gets difficult with the shocking runs. Loved the speed-up during the triplet section, although the pause during the verse felt odd. (5/6)
Everything Else: The song choice was great and upbeat, the graphics were satisfactory, and best of all, that video is certain to attract all fans of J-Pop to the simfile. (4/4)
Overall score: 9/10

Satellite

Steps: I disliked all the repetitive, unnecessary freezes and jumps in the beginning, not to mention the steps didn't really follow the song that well for the most part there. It got better later on, but while ITG songs are synced ealier than usual, this song was early even for ITG. (2/6)
Everything Else: The graphics were okay, but the song highly reminded me of Silence from DDR Extreme 2. I didn't really find it to be a very fun song to dance to overall. (2/4)
Overall score: 4/10

Speedy Cat

Steps: While synced fine, this song's Hard stepchart was an absolute mess. Unattractive jumps were thrown around everywhere, the hands were annoying, and the song should've most certainly followed the music instead of just gone into a bunch of streams. Sorry, but it really just didn't do it for me. (1.5/6)
Everything Else: Feels like it should've been in the DDR bracket, but the graphics were okay and the song was not horrible. (2.5/4)
Overall score: 4/10

Startin

Steps: Overall pretty nice. You got creative with the chaos and twisting, thus resulting in a pretty neat and challenging simfile. (5/6)
Everything Else: Okay song choice, okay graphics. Not really very exciting, but still fine. (2.5/4)
Overall score: 7.5/10

Stickshifts & Safetybelts

Steps: I didn't expect this to be all that great, but I actually thought the steps were very fun. The following of the guitars throughout make it a very enjoyable song to play. It felt weird following the lyrics in the beginning, though. (4.5/6)
Everything Else: This was a surprisingly clever song choice, pretty country-edged but still extremely fun. The graphics weren't of very high quality, but I did like it that you used a Malibu in the pictures. (3/4)
Overall score: 7.5/10

[Akira]

Overall, this is a good set of songs. But I think this group lacked some elements I found in OSC4. At least there are a lot of surprises and no more Right ThurRRRrRRrrRrrrRrrr

Great job guys!

Review started at 11:45 PM. Cup of coffee is ready and Stepmania is ready too. My soft pad will be in a lot of trouble tonight.

Review was done on both SM 3.9 Final and SM 4.0 (in case of rolls)

anyway... here we go!


A Ray of Light
Chart: 4/6
EE: 3/4
Solid steps. I was expecting more surprises though.
Total: 7/10

A Voice Spoke To Me Helix Mix
Chart: 4/6
EE: 2/4
The power of Gabber again! No mines and no hands but the steps are more designed for ITG. I experienced some doublestepping but it's fine. The cut is kinda bad. You should have done something with the ending. The graphics are kinda generic though.
Total: 6/10

Asteroid
Chart: 5.5/6
EE: 3/4
This one is HARD. Period.
P.S.: This one has a lot of surprises in store The graphics are fine too. The downside maybe is there is too much unnecessary freeze steps.
Total: 8.5/10

Bad Boy (Alex M vs. Marc Van Damme Remix)
Chart: 4.4/6
EE: 2.5/4
You just have to love Cascada's music. This one also had solid steps but the graphics needs work.
Total: 6.9/10