This is the easiest review I’ve probably ever had to write, whether you think Britney is a little angel or the devil incarnate simply decides your decision on whether this game is for you, no matter what I have to say. <br /> <br /> Fortunately we’ve got a game that actually makes some sense in the context of things, and not a dreadful cash-in like the Spice Girls game that was released a few years back on the PSOne. Britney Dance Beat is a rhythm/action game along similar lines to Bust A Groove and Samba De Amigo; in fact it’s been developed by Metro Graphics, the kings of the genre who were responsible for the Bust A Groove titles. <br /> <br /> After a short CGI sequence of the lovely Britney Spears in action, you’re told that dancers are like her family, and so you take the role of a wannabe dancer trying to impress the Princess of Pop and become part of her family. <br /> <br /> If you’re new to rhythm/action games, it won’t take long to get up to scratch. They basically revolve around pressing buttons at the right time and to the beat of the music. If you imagine a clock face with one hand that moves around the circular face at a regular speed, different buttons then appear on the face and you have to press the corresponding button as the hand passes over them, link them up without making mistakes and you’ll score big, simple… Like Bust A Groove, the game allows you to attack your rival by stringing together high combos. Doing this sends over an evil star which will change the button layout on your rivals dial, certainly devious and very mean but also the key to win. The game system works very well, later stages will require you to be as dexterous as an Octopus on speed as you’re hammering in multiple button combinations along with d-pad directions. <br /> <br /> The main game features five of Britney’s biggest hits, which include ‘… Baby One More Time’, ’Oops... I Did it Again’, ‘Stronger’, ‘Overprotected’ and ‘I’m a Slave 4 You’. Whilst the Britney fanatics will love dancing along to her greatest hits, it doesn’t represent that many for a standard rhythm/action game, the likes of Bust A Groove offer far more and therefore greater value for money. <br /> <br /> The game is structured into a number of auditions with you facing off against a rival dancer; win and you’ll go onto the next audition, next song and compete against a better dancer. The first five auditions only play half of the song, whilst the latter play the song in its entirety. So in total the game offers 10 auditions, however it would have been nice to see more songs or perhaps a new and original title for the game, I guess the Pop Princess is too busy for that though. <br /> <br /> As you progress through the auditions you’ll earn points, achieve enough and you’ll earn backstage passes that allow you to view exclusive Britney material. There’s various DVD videos of Britney backstage and Britney in concert and Britney singing and Britney doing this and that; for a fan it’s a dream come true, it might be easier pulling teeth out for those who don’t. There’s also some fairly impressive DVD footage of Britney in concert, where you have limited control of the camera allowing you to pan and zoom around as if you were really there, ok so it doesn’t work that well but it’s pretty neat the first time around. <br /> <br /> Visually everything is solid, as you’d expect from Metro Graphics the animation is top notch and looks realistic, whilst there’s a nice amount of subtle details such as swinging chains and moving hair to catch your eye. <br /> <br /> The sound playback of each of the songs is excellent offering very clear and distinct sounds, unfortunately on the technical side things take a bit of a down turn. This game is crying out for a Dolby 5.1 option, but alas no, you’ve got to make do with Mono, Stereo and that’s about your lot. <br /> <br /> Britney’s Dance Beat is a solid rhythm/action game, there’s just not enough of it. It’s definitely a case of style over substance, a novelty, which perhaps says something about the person in question. Britney fans will love it so go out and buy it, those not so hooked up with Britney Spears would be advised to stick with Bust A Groove, simply because it offers far greater value for your money. There told you this review was going to be simple… <br />