Latest Beatmania Hits Arcades

Get up off the couch, Bemani fans. A new installment in arcade gaming's biggest DJ sim hit game centers throughout Japan yesterday through Konami's Beatmania IIDX 17 Sirius.

On top of a total of 550 songs, of which 50 are new, Sirus brings a bunch of new gameplay features to the series, including Charge Notes, where you hold down the buttons, and a "Back Spin Crunch," where you continually spin the turn table.

But the big new feature appears to be Party Mode. This mode has you work through a story as you clear the stages of play one after another. Between stages, you'll get to see the Beatmania IIDX characters engage in dialogue.

For a track list and weekly score stats, see the Beatmania IIDX 17 Sirius official site.