Multi-Platform Ignition Dance Pad

A fact widely known within the Dance Dance community is that Red Octane provides the best dance pad for use in the home. Even knowing this I had never owned one made by Red Octane. Instead I’d stumble through each DDR with a $20 pad, ignoring the fact that the occasional arrow wouldn’t register or that the pad would shift about a mile to the left by the end of a song. Well, I’ve finally had the pleasure of owning a Red Octane pad and I can now rescue the rest of you using budget pads; if you play dance games at all, purchase a Red Octane pad.

The particular dance pad I’ve been using is the Multi-Platform Ignition Pad. This pad is built for use with a PlayStation, PlayStation2, Xbox, and PC, and does so by forking the cord at the end, offering one PlayStation controller adapter and one Xbox controller adapter. The Xbox side even features the breakaway tip, which is in fact how you use the pad on your PC. Included with the pad is a USB adapter that replaces the breakaway Xbox adapter.

The pad comes packaged in a pretty good-sized box. Included are six big foam puzzle pieces, the pad itself, a USB and sound adapter, and instructions. To “construct” the pad all you have to do is build the big foam puzzle using the labeled pieces. Each piece is marked 1 through 6 and the instructions feature a diagram of where each number goes. Once complete the puzzle slides inside the pad via a zipper that opens the pad like a sleeping bag. Zip it up and bam, you’re ready to dance the night away.

The button layout is exactly what you would expect if you’ve played a dance game before. If not, the pad is basically broken up into a 3x3 grid. The middle block is a neutral square where you stand when you don’t want to press any buttons, each corner is a face button from the respective console and labeled as such (X, Triangle, O, and Square for PS2, A, B, X, and Y for Xbox), and the four remaining squares feature an arrow pointing away from the center square. These arrows represent the arrows seen on screen when playing a dance game.

Another thing I noticed is that each arrow is slightly raised, making it easier to hit as well as prolonging its lifespan by reinforcing it. The Ignition pad is also pretty heavy and has an anti-slip cushion on the bottom, resulting in little-to-no movement from the pad. I experienced a little bit of movement on faster songs, but was very pleased when I wasn’t on the other side of the room like I was with my last pad (of course I’m exaggerating, but there was a lot of movement with my last two cheap-o pads).

I really liked my first time standing on the pad; it felt very firm and sturdy. The foam underneath gives a little so you won’t hurt your feet, but is firm enough that the pad never creases. When I began playing I noticed how responsive it is, but I also noticed how I had to hit each button a little harder than I was used to. After using the blanket-like pads that activate at the slightest touch it took a bit of getting used to, but in the end I prefer it like this. I also never had those moments where I hit the button but it didn’t register in-game.

I tested this pad with DDR Ultramix, all three PS2 DDR games, and the new In The Groove title by Roxor and Red Octane. It’s not like there’d be any difference between the PS2 versions of Dance Dance Revolution, but hey, it’s an excuse to play more DDR and call it work. Anyway, the pad performed outstanding on all of the above, and thanks to the precision I did much better than usual.

The Multi-Platform Ignition Pad by Red Octane is the best soft pad they offer, second to only their full metal arcade replica. It’s a fairly pricey pad, going for $109.95 on Red Octane’s Web site, but if you play a lot of dance games it’s well worth it. Imagine only having to buy one pad instead of replacing your $20 pads every couple months. Plus this pad plays on four different platforms, expanding your dancing possibilities. This is the only pad you’ll ever have to own.

Pros:
- Durable, precise, and comfortable
- Works with your PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC
- Slides very little or not at all
- Quality build; reinforced in the right places to last a very long time

Cons:
- Fairly high price for casual dance dancers
- Takes a little longer to break down and store than the cheaper pads

Verdict: 10
As you can see, my cons are a little nit-picky. This is only because there’s nothing wrong with this pad. I’m sure the metal pad is better, but since I couldn’t find anything wrong with this pad I gave it a perfect score. It’s a great value, both in its quality and in its capabilities. Having one very nice pad to play all your dancing games on is quite the luxury.