Dance Central - you too, can look this cool
Television adverts for motion controller games more often than not have to hide a disclaimer somewhere; either explaining that it isn’t in fact in game footage, or the ad is a ‘representation’ of the final product. Every now and then; you actually get an honest portrayal of the game. As ridiculous as this may sound, the cool kids dancing about on stage to an upbeat soundtrack is actually a very accurate representation of how it looks and feels to play Dance Central, it’s easily one of the most fun experiences you can have on the Kinect so far.
Take the dance mat games of old, and mix them with the Kinect’s motion capturing hardware, and you have yourself Dance Central. You follow the moves on screen, trying to match them perfectly in order to achieve a higher score; the concept is very simple, but oh so very effective and so much fun.
The song list hits the spot; titles such as Body Movin’ by the Beastie Boys, Jungle Boogie by Kool & the Gang and Just Dance by Lady Gaga, are just a few of the decent tracks for you to get your groove on to. Each song has its own set of moves, which you can break down before hand, in the appropriately named ‘Break it Down’ mode; you are led through the dance step by step, with the option to slow down any move at any time in order to really nail it. Unlike guitar hero’s inability to teach you how to play the guitar, this game can actually teach you how to dance; all you have to do is have a bit of rhythm and self confidence.
The precision of which you have to match the moves on screen is astounding; if you move the wrong arm, or don’t move your arm at all, you won’t get the points for that move. It takes a few moments, and you feel at first the game may not be working properly, but after a while you understand that it’s your fault for messing up and not the hardware having problems. The dance steps on medium and hard genuinely are very difficult, and my friend assures me that the moves on Crank Dat by Souldja Boi were the exact same dance moves originally constructed for the song. The difficulty level doesn’t deter you from playing though, as the games learning curve can be shaped to your preference, and the easy mode is enough fun to keep you going for weeks anyway.
Every four dances you perform you get the chance to play a challenge, the challenges are nothing more than a mix of the four previous songs, but they are a good indication of how well you know the moves. Dance battle is the games successful attempt at a versus mode; you and another player take it in turns to follow the dance moves, the winner is of course the player who performs more accurately. Playing with friends is where this game comes in to its element, as long as you don’t feel too self conscious. Watching each other dance around like idiots is something that feels absolutely wonderful, especially in the freestyle modes, which takes pictures of the dancer; showing a highlight reel at the end of the song.
The game is displayed brilliantly, and is incredibly easy to control; someone who has never played the Kinect or any computer game console for that matter, would be able to pick up and play this game almost immediately. Bright neon colours bounce around the screen making it a delight to look at, and selecting modes has never been easier, sliding right hand to the left to pick a track and sliding your left hand to the right to go back. This sounds more complicated than it actually is; how quickly you ease into the games controls and mechanics is surprising, making the game feel like a snazzy train with a slipper-like inside, deceptively comfortable.
I challenge anyone to not have a good time with this game. If you are a dancer, you will no doubt be impressed with the accuracy of which this game represents the dances, if you are not into dancing at all you will still be shocked with how much fun you and a few friends can have with this one. The Kinect’s first must buy.
Verdict: 9/10
Platform: Xbox360 w/ Kinect
Genre: Dance
Developer/Publisher: Harmonix/MTVgames
Release: 04/11/2010
Female First Edward Lewis
Tagged in Dance