While there are “soft” dance mats mad
out of cheap foam materials, dancers who wish to
play the more difficult songs without an endless
bombardment of problems should invest in a metal
dance pad. The Afterburner Metal Dance Pad, from
the makers who also brought us In the Groove, is
prided for its multiplatform capabilities, increased
arrow sensitivity and its sturdy metal frame. Purchasing
one of these dance pads will cost around $200 plus
shipping, so it’s definitely a good idea to
make sure if the Afterburner is right for you.
Overview
The Afterburner comes with a bunch of features
that make it easy to setup and use within your own
home. This pad is a one piece metal frame that weighs
about 40 pounds, so it’s reasonably easy to
transfer it from one room to another or put it away
once you’re done for the day. The unit is
34 by 38 inches and rises about one inch off the
ground, which is very close to the size of the pads
at the arcade. The Afterburner sports recessed arrows
(arrow panels are lower than the metal panels) that
allow you to tell where your feet are without having
to look down. The X/B and O/A buttons are in the
top left and right corners respectively so menu
navigation isn’t a pain, but the start and
select buttons are placed separately on the control
box. The control box allows you to connect the pad
to your PS2, Xbox, or PC via USB, and it comes with
all of the proper cords needed. Strangely enough,
only 2 of the 3 cords can be connected at once so
you’ll need to find a place to store the excess
cable without losing it. The EVA foam base prevents
the pad from sliding around to some extent, however
it’s not uncommon for the pad to move several
inches after playing songs with many quick steps.
The Arrows
The four directional panels are obviously the most
important part of the pad and thankfully RedOctane
did a great job here. Using the visual style from
In the Groove, the arrows give the pad its sleek
design. Each panel is held on to the frame with
four corner brackets tightened on with Phillips
head screws that are easily removable. On the back
side of each acrylic panel is a layer of conducting
foil that reacts once it makes contact with the
copper interlace grid below. The interlace grid
is surrounded by a thin foam layer to offer protection
and help keep everything in place. ( For the modders
out there, some people have modified their conducting
foil by replacing it with sturdier sheet metal to
prevent the foil from burning.)
From the pictures below, you can see a slight burn
marks around the four screw locations, but the rest
of the sensors are fully intact, even after several
months of use. Although the sensors aren’t
arcade replicas, they still work flawlessly and
have a decent sensitivity making it easy for the
arrows to register when you have to use your hands.
The “Always Play With Shoes On” warning
should not be taking lightly because of the recessed
arrows. The metal panels are slightly higher than
the arrow panels, making it possible to cut your
foot if you aren’t careful.
Durability
Durability is a major issue amongst dance pads
simply because no gamer wants to spend hundreds
of dollars only to have their pad break after a
couple of weeks. When the Afterburner was first
released more than half a year ago there was a problem
with the Xbox connection that wouldn’t even
let the pad be recognized by the console, but this
problem has since been fixed. The only other major
issue people have been experiencing is regarding
arrow panels cracking. The arrows have a convex
bend because they are recessed, and sometimes slight
cracks will begin to form over time. Generally this
has been happening to those who play on their toes
rather than playing flat footed, and even then it
still isn’t happening to everyone. The Afterburner
comes with a slim 90 day warranty that covers such
problems in which case you can either ship your
pad back to RedOctane or have them send you replacement
arrow panels. From my own experiences, I’ve
only see a few scuff marks on my panels after playing
on it for months on the Heavy difficulty so really
the above issues may well be the exception rather
than the norm.
Performance/Conclusion
In the end, the most important aspect of owning
a pad is having one that works all the time. From
the very beginning it was clear that the Afterburner
needed to be broken in. The X and O buttons were
unresponsive at first and required a lot of force
for them to register however now, after months of
use, this isn’t a problem at all. Unfortunately,
the screws that hold the panels in place don’t
hold up as well as we would like and after a few
weeks of play the screws can become loose to the
point where the panels slide around. If you don’t
take care of this problem the screws can even go
flying off completely. This is a minor inconvenience
though as screwing everything back into place is
easy enough. (Care should be taken to make sure
not to over tighten the screws as this could cause
the area around it to distort slightly). Hopefully
a future version will be released that will have
worked out most of the kinks.
Aside from the aforementioned problems, the Afterburner
is a worthwhile dance pad. The recessed arrows are
great for helping you determine where you are at
all times and can be especially helpful if you’re
trying out moves like crossovers. Additionally,
it doesn’t take too much force for the arrows
to register - if you weigh enough you can even get
the arrows to register by simply shifting your weight
over instead of having to lift up your foot. The
Afterburner also responds quickly when you have
to “run” making missteps extremely uncommon
and as soon as your foot leaves the pad it is instantly
recognized, making it easy to avoid mines when playing
In the Groove.
In summary there’s hardly anything to complain
about regarding the actual performance of this pad.
Aside from the tiny bit of sliding that may occur
if you’re a heavy stepper, the Afterburner
from RedOctane can help you achieve high scores
that are simply unattainable when using cheaper
alternatives.
