Wondering why there is a sudden boom in dance games recently? Why developers are going gaga for something so simple and "not for the hardcore audience"? This is the game that started it all and if you've heard about it, I bet you already hate it without even taking a crack at it. Let's think for a moment, maybe this game isn't for you. After all there is a "casual" market out there. But don't be afraid to tread unfamiliar waters cause I gotta say, this game is just good clean fun.
Just Dance
Developer: Ubisoft Paris
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Rating: E for Everyone
Release: 11/17/2009
We all know not everyone is born with the ability to dance, myself included. However this game doesn't require you to be The Next Dance Crew.. member. Just Dance just asks you to do is don't be shy and shake your groove thing to some classic and modern pop hits.
"Bird bird bird! The bird is the word!"
Gameplay and Features:
The premise of this game is very simple. Pick a song, hold the Wiimote on your right hand, and copy the moves of the dancer on screen as if you are looking into a mirror. Up to 4 players can dance at the same time and anyone can easily jump in before or during the song. You are rated by points based on movements tracked by the Wiimote. Scoring is done in 3 ways, Bad, Ok, or Great and the player with highest score by the end of the song wins. You cannot fail in the game so aside from the game tell you who has the highest score, I guess everyone is a winner. Simple as it is, the game isn't good at recognizing your movement at times. In Quickplay this is a minor issue but in every other game mode it's a pretty big deal.
Strike a Pose mode requires you to freeze at random points during a song and the person with the stillest pose supposedly earns more points. No matter how still you stand, more often than not the game fails to recognize if you are in fact standing still or not.
Last One Standing mode gives you 7 lives. You lose 1 for every Bad you get and gain 1 for every 5 consecutive Greats. This could be imbalanced at times and there are some portions of a song where I just can't figure out how the game wants me positioning the Wiimote for the respective dance move.
"Groove to the beat that you can't touch!"
Quickplay may be the only real option to choose if you want to play this game as you just have to dance. All 32 songs are available from the get go and includes some tunes as "Who Let the Dog's Out?" by Baha Men, "Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry, and even U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer with my personal favorite from all the tracks being Jerk It Out by The Caesars.
The dances are choreographed well with the dancers phased out to look like a living vector animation of themselves with bright and vivid colors. It's hilarious fun watching your friends whirling an imaginary lasso to "Cotton Eye Joe" or watch em wiggle to "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen. No dance is too difficult and most will definitely make you sweat so you could probably this is more of a "exercise game" than a "music game".
"Caution; you may look stupid while playing this game."
Just Dance is a simple but fun game. The hardcore gamer might not appreciate this as there is no noteworthy mode outside of Quickplay, no online multiplayer, and no unlockables. But for a party game with having your friends over then this game takes the cake. Great for a laugh, mindless fun, and a great way to work up a sweat. If you don't want to shell out for this game then at least give it a rent if you're throwing a party cause I guarantee it'll be a blast.
Score: 60/100
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7zoqluKRuc&feature=player_embedded]
Videos games and music these days make and art form when done right. The right music in the right moments of a game add greatly to the emmersion and over all effect to the events playing out. Many tunes from RPGs, fighting games and countless other game genres have been burned into our brain and we giggle like little school girls and totally geek out when we hear someone use the victory theme from Final Fantasy VII or the codec ring from Metal Gear Solid as their message tone.
