Dance Games

[Arwin]

So, good chance that there may be a lack of interested over here, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway - tens of millions play these games, so who knows you may know someone who does if you don't yourself . There are some major dance titles coming out this season, and Dance Central 2 and Just Dance 3 are definitely the biggest titles.

What I've seen of Dance Central 2 so far, apart from the obvious advantage of having the Kinect full-body track you, is that the feedback on what part of the dance your failing is rather good. But I guess most people already know that. I can't play the game unfortunately as there is just no space in my home whatsoever that meets the Kinect space requirements at all without major remodelling which my wife won't approve of , or I would probably have gotten a Kinect (or bundle) as I've always liked dance games, and have been a big DDR fan (which is much more game than dance, but still cool ) and have long owned the required hardware for those.

Anyway, I'd love to have impressions from other people on Dance Central 2 and Just Dance 3, but I'll start with some more detailed impressions of Everybody Dance, a game that I can in fact play, and have now played a fair bit.

 

[Arwin]

Word-Up: this game is actually good. If you want a Move dance game, this is a very good one if you ask me. No silly comparison with Dance Central 2 necessary, as its not even an option for most people.

Things I like:

- You can watch yourself dance from the same angle as the dancers, which gives better feedback on how well you dance than you might imagine
- Dancers are actually holding a Move. Sounds like a silly thing to like, but makes comparison easier.
- Once you do know the song, you can switch back to just watching the video
- It solves just about all the complaints people had about SingStar Dance, such as pre-viewing the next moves, different routines for different difficulties, etc.
- Although this is a streamlined version of the SingStar interface, you can still share crazy videos as you can in SingStar, and a lot of dancers are pretty fine to watch ...
- You can record your own dance. You can then only have others play it locally for now, but I have a pretty good feeling where this might be heading ...
- Two player 'co-op' routines are a lot of fun. I recorded some of that at GamesCom this year (video is getting a lot of hits this last week), and it's cool.
- Decent selection of music. The DLC that contains Dreamer is a worthy addition (I love that song)
- It tracks your move hand pretty well. It doesn't really track much else, but as it records you, you just look stupid if you try to cheat.
- My 3yo son can (and likes to) play this too.
- Dance routines range from decent if a little boring, to good on Easy mode. Haven't actually tried much on the higher difficulties, but they definitely scale up.
- It's half the price of a regular title

Things I don't like:

- It doesn't give much information on why you failed, and the sign indicating how well you did your move is always one dance move behind the current one. That makes sense, but it is still confusing somewhat.
- User interface looks a bit drab and boring, though it works well
- I would have preferred some kind of cursor with which you can grab the song 'wheel'
- DLC is actually a very big download. Each song is about 250MB. There are some upsides to that in terms of quality, having the video, etc., but it could become a problem fast if your hard drive isn't very big.
- there is Fitness with some basic statistics, but it's pretty barebones. Just dance three songs basically, starting with a slower song and ending with a more intense one, then get a report on your burnt calories.

Things I haven't yet tried:

- Party mode (some weird thing where two people dance and a lot of other people sing, and there's rotation. No idea really.
- Singing. Not sure if you need the miss or if it uses the PS Eye's built-in array.

My creds as a 'reviewer': I got some bronze and silver trophies in this game, and danced a fair few songs already.

If you own a PS3 and think you can do with a Dancing game, give this one a fair shake. I don't know yet how it stacks up against Just Dance 3's PS3 version, but I've got a feeling it may do quite well.

 

[nightshade]

I LOVE dancing, which is why I totally dig Dance Central. Sometimes it just feels so awesome to see a crazy move and when you do it perfectly you feel really good.

 

[NavNucST3]

We have had numerous issues with Just Dance 3 losing a person in multi that we haven't had in Dance Central 2, at least, not yet. We definitely prefer the DC playlist to JD3 of course part of that is from importing all of our songs and DLC over from the first game.

Also a quick reminder since Arwin said Kinect is not an option for most people, you don't need six feet from your tv you need six feet from the sensor so higher sensor placement can offset some tv to playspace distance requirements. If you can do two player dancing I'd expect you have some amount of space. Your other option is the Nyko which reduces distance requirements though it is not without its flaws it is certainly an option.

 

[Arwin]

We have had numerous issues with Just Dance 3 losing a person in multi that we haven't had in Dance Central 2, at least, not yet. We definitely prefer the DC playlist to JD3 of course part of that is from importing all of our songs and DLC over from the first game.

Also a quick reminder since Arwin said Kinect is not an option for most people, you don't need six feet from your tv you need six feet from the sensor so higher sensor placement can offset some tv to playspace distance requirements. If you can do two player dancing I'd expect you have some amount of space. Your other option is the Nyko which reduces distance requirements though it is not without its flaws it is certainly an option.

Hi ... I actually didn't say that at all. I said it was not an option for me. The most actually is about that most people know Dance Central's Kinect has a big advantage here. Oh, you mean that other sentence ... actually, I meant there that Kinect only works with the 360. So for everyone who has a Wii or a PS3, and belong to the 99% who don't ALSO have a 360 ...

Anyway, if I want Everybody Dance / DanceStar Party (I hate different names in US vs EU) to get my full body, which is 1m92, I do the exact same thing. I tilt my screen from the wall at an angle, and actually put the PS Eye to the side. The reason I still don't think Kinect is an option though is that between the TV and the couch I have about 1.6m, and even in the turned position I am very close to two bookcases that based on what I've seen so far I'm certain would interfere with Kinect.

Game just got a 1.01 patch btw, though no idea yet what that does.

EDIT: ha ha ha ha!

 

[NavNucST3]

I'm going to politely pass on Dance Hoff. There was an ad on the dashboard yesterday for The Black Eyed Peas Experience it looked good but for whatever reason it didn't motivate me too much to want to purchase it. The Michael Jackson Experience was only ok, at best, for me so that could explain my hesitation.