Immediately after opening the package I could tell this wasn't going to be anywhere near as good as my old Red Octane pad

Not as good as the Red Octane mat, but better than the really thin mats.

I don't think anything will ever be as good as Red Octane's pads, thus the 4 out of 5 stars, but in our dorm's experience this is as good as it gets on the DDR foam pad market today

I picked this out since the reviews were mostly positive, and it seemed like it would mimic my trusty old Red Octane well with its raised buttons and multi-platform ability

My one issue the cord that comes out of the pad is likely to bend and break off as it is not secure enough