Dance Central was easily the standout game from the Kinect launch. It’s almost perfect tracking and the fact that it was actually useful in helping those of us with two left feet learn to dance meant that it was one of the better uses of Kinect at Launch.
Now 12 months on, we’ve got a sequel that is more evolutionary than revolutionary but shows that Harmonix get it when it comes to sequels and giving you exactly what you want.
Chief amongst the new features is that 2 players can now play side by side (rather than taking turns as in DC), but don‘t stand too close together or you could end up with a ill-judged hand in your face. The tracking does sometimes struggle to pick up what both of you are doing if you get too close to each other – however you would expect this to happen.
You can now put together a playlist of songs, so you no longer need to go back to the menus to change songs. This is a welcome addition for parties as it means you can select a few songs and leave them to it.
There is also a Campaign mode for 1 or 2 Players which sees you taking on various Dance Crews in Dance Battles, it adds to a good experience rather than just playing lists of songs – giving it a purpose. There is also a fitness mode, which allows you to perform songs (for example) for a certain amount of time to burn off calories. It’s something that could be expanded on in the future – maybe by making mixes of songs for a proper workout vibe? But perhaps that would be taking it too far out of Rythm game territory.
The game can now also show you a video of yourself performing the moves alongside the virtual dancer to compare and show you where you are going wrong. Usueful for helping you nail that one move in Baby Got Back that you just can’t get right.
The only downside to Dance Central 2 has to be the track listing. Baby Got Back being the exception, all the music is fairly “serious” and sometimes all you want is a bit of YMCA to lighten the mood. Maybe a DLC idea Harmonix? *HINT HINT*. All songs from Dance Central are importable (by using the code on the back of the manual of the first game and paying 400 Points).
The new voice control leaves a lot to be desired – it simply couldn’t pick me up 95% of the time and would pick the wrong song or just go totally random.
That aside, It’s still the best in class for Kinect, the tracking is nigh on perfect, and the user interface top notch and it’s hard to find fault in the game. It’s a must buy if you own a Kinect.
