Finally got hold of the controller + stand + game boxset a couple of weeks ago, along with 3rd and the new V version of the game.

Not quite sure what to make of it so far. There is definitely a good game hiding away in there somewhere, but getting to it takes some effort.

The difficulty curve is much steeper than with most Bemani games (save for pop'n'music). It's as if Konami don't recognise that the increase in the number of note inputs makes Bemani games exponentially more difficult.

Also the soundtrack is pretty sub-par. There are 250+ songs in the arcade version of V, but 60+ here - mainly all the new songs. It feels as if V is aimed at practicing for the arcade.

There are a handful of interesting songs, but most are pretty bad. There aren't enough good songs to sucker you in enough not to mind the ropey ones.

The presentation is shockingly basic too, especially after being spoiled by Guitar Hero. It hasn't moved on at all since 1999.

So... basically Drummania expects a lot. Pulling together a decent sequence or S ranking a song is very satisying, and being able to pull off a Real pattern would be very cool.

Session mode is a lot of fun, and the Guitar Freaks patterns seem much easier to me, so thats better for n00bs to get into.

Would take a few months to really get into this, and appreciate it, I think.