Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
DJ Max: Fever is like playing DDR and BeatMania with your thumbs. You hammer out the beat to a myriad of techno songs as you try to not twist your brain in knots as the "notes" fall faster and faster. Popular in other parts of the world, this is the first time North American shores get to tackle this challenge.

What's Hot
What will give you a fever for Fever is the actual gameplay itself. Newcomers will want to start off nice and easy with the four-button mode for beginners. Once you are comfortable with that, ease yourself into the five and six button modes to give your hands a workout. All those modes mean is how many buttons are activated on the PSP to help imitate the beat you are hearing. There isn't a control map so, in theory, if you are fast enough, you can just tap one button to hit all the notes (until you have to press more than one button at once) in musical time. The freedom that allows is for you to create your own system of how to best play the game. It is a brilliant design choice and it works so that two people can play the game differently but still achieve a great level of success.

When you first boot up Fever, you might mistake it for DDR. That is a high compliment to Fever game, because the DDR formula has worked so well for so long and successfully emulating it only bodes well. The techno-cool menus and beats will light up the PSP as it boots up for a round of thumb melting action.

In a music based game, so a lot of the experience hinges on a decent song selection. Fever delivers and stays true to the type of game it is. You can select from a wide range of songs at varying tempos and Electronica genres to fine tune your skills. Crank the volume and get your groove on with these sexy beats.

What's Not
Fever misses the chance to dazzle PSP owners with visual elements. What is presented looks nice but isn't very crisp or eye catching. It isn't noticeable when you are concentrating on the notes as they drop but you'll catch it during the beginning and slow parts with your peripheral vision. The actual spot where the gameplay takes place is rather small. Using only a fraction of the PSP's screen, Fever could have spent some more of the screen on the gameplay part and less on the low resolution movies in the background.

Gamers who can't catch a rhythm in a bucket shouldn't get near Fever. It is brutally challenging even at the easiest setting. Only a few songs are accessible to unskilled players and the rest seems to be baptism by fire. It is common to let frustration levels rise to astronomical levels before you get to a breaking point where you'll be amazed to find anyone that can ace some of the songs.

Final Word
Fever was a very surprising game because of how addicting it is. Yes, there are nearly impossible songs to attempt but there will always be a few songs that are accessible to even the most rhythmically challenged. Fever makes few apologies like that to the casual crowd and goes right for their own niche. It is refreshing to see a game that knows who it is and doesn't back down. There is a lot to get from experiencing Fever if you have the balls to try.