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Dance Central
You might be thinking "not another dance
game on the XBox 360 Kinect"? I was actually in the same boat
because this new gaming device has a plethora of dancing games available
for it. But Dance Central is actually a head above the rest and I'm
guessing that it's because the developers of Rock Band are behind this
new title. The concept like most dance games is simple, follow the moves
to bust a move but best of all, it uses the new controllerless
technology of the Kinect. All you need to do is move your body and
Kinect will do the rest. Why does this game work so well? It's because
of the gameplay that is pretty much flawless.
Another standout feature of Dance Central
is that the presentation of the game is quite slick. From its realistic
dancers to a variety of dancing environments, everything has this tried
and tested yet fun atmosphere to it. In terms of gameplay, all you need
to do is follow the dance moves on the screen and pray that you have
nailed it. The better you perform, the higher your score gets and
thankfully this game can be played by gamers of all ages and dancers of
ALL levels. At the higher levels, Dance Central really gives you a good
workout but it can also be a little embarrassing. There's some great
replay value here as well such as beating your score or moving to a
higher difficultly.
I can really see this game becoming the
next "party" hit as opposed to the games such as Singstar or Lips. Dance
Central is a really fun game and we had a ball testing this title, even
without alcohol. However, one issue with Kinect is that you need a
considerable amount of room to play the game and Dance Central is no
exception to that rule.
If you have a large living room, you'll be
in dance heaven, however for crowded or smaller rooms, things can become
a little tricky. Just be warned if you're thinking of purchasing this
title. Another highlight of the game is that it is quite accurate unlike
some other Kinect games so for the majority of play time, Kinect was
pretty damn accurate in relaying our body movements to the game, hence
our sometimes high scores. If you do make a mistake, the game will
assist in correcting you by highlighting a certain part of the dancer in
red which really assists in getting you back on track.
With a variety of gameplay modes (no career
unfortunately), this game is definitely good for short or long gaming
bouts. Just be warned that a long bout will really get you sweating.
There is also an interesting "training" mode called Break it Down that
allows you to master the basic moves one at a time. It's a good place
for most players to start. As you do progress, there are a variety of
unlockable content from new outfits, venues, challenges and even a cool
online leaderboard. My favorite mode is the Dance Battle that is
basically a very challenging dance of and with someone as competitive as
me... I don't like losing. All in all, this is one cool dancing game.
To match the awesome dancing, you have an
even "awesomer" track listing that contains 32 dance songs from a
variety of eras. Thankfully these songs can be played on three different
levels of difficulty and I must admit that some songs are extremely
tricky to master. Graphically, Dance Central is a good looking title
with detailed dancers and some great colourful special effects. The game
also uses the Kinect camera to take photos of you dancing that are also
quite embarrassing but what do you expect from a game like this?
In the end, Dance Central is definitely the
best dance game on the Kinect and really showcases the Kinect quite
well. From sturdy gameplay, thanks to the variety of accessible dance
moves, a great track listing with graphics to match, there's little to
complain about this game. Whether you're a casual or hardcore gamer,
Dance Central definitely has a spot for you. So what are you waiting
for, go bust a move now! |
