Kinect Dance Central 2 for the XBox – review

I’ve reviewed another dancing game here in the past, Country Dance for the Wii, and I’ve played others, like the Michael Jackson Experience one and Just Dance 2, both for the Wii. How does Kinect Dance Central 2 for the XBox rate when stacked up against these other games? Is it worth buying and making a part of your gaming collection? Read on to find out!

First off, no dancing game is much fun if the music stinks and isn’t very danceable. It doesn’t make you want to get on your feet and shakin’ to the beat, you may not have a winner. So, what songs are included with this game? There are 43 tunes you can dance to, ranging from Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” and “Born This Way,” to “Grenade,” by Bruno Mars and “Venus,” by Bananarama. Also, you can import every song from the first game and many more from the Internet, so you can have literally hours of dancing fun when you play this game with your family/friends. In that respect, I’d say you get a lot of bang for your gaming bucks with this cool game.

There are many features about Dance Central 2, besides the great songs, that make it one of the best dance games you can buy. There are a lot of improvements over the original Dance Central game. You play in a story mode, for one thing. The characters are broken up into “crews,” and you try to earn enough points to make it to a final audition. If you succeed, you can unlock other characters, different dance styles, and the final dance battle.

Besides these elements, voice control has been added to the game. You can ask the game to play whatever artist/song you want, pause the game, or even slow down a sequence of moves so that you can learn it more easily. You’re also given onscreen prompts that let you know what to say to access parts of the menu. The voice recognition has gotten way better, and being able to verbally tell the game what to do next is one of the many ways this game has improved over the original.

The game, like most dancing games, can serve as a pretty decent workout, as well. There’s a Fitness Mode, in which you can do dance workouts that are timed to random songs from the playlist. On top of this, there’s an onscreen message after the workout that lets you know how many calories you’ve burned. It’s almost like having a personal Zumba instructor in your own house!

Onscreen cue cards show you the basic moves as you do each dance. The dance routines can get somewhat complex, but they all follow certain patterns to make it easier for you to learn them. For instance, there may be a cue for you to shuffle to one side, that’s followed by a shuffle to the other side.

The game’s become a much more fun party game, because the computer can pick up the movements of two people simultaneously dancing far better. You and a friend/family member can dance cooperatively, or face off against each other in the new dance battle system.

Other improvements are that the graphics are way better in Dance central 2 than in the original, and the Break It Down mode is a fun aspect of this sequel. Just try to keep up with the onscreen characters as they go faster & faster! Of course, you can ask the game to slow the action down a bit, if it gets to be too fast for you.

The Free 4 All Mode is cool, also. During a Free 4 All, the screen fills with different moves. You face off with another person and try to perform each move in any order. The first one to perform it correctly scores some bonus points. This is challenging but makes the game that much more fun to play.

All in all, I give Kinect Dance Central 2 for the XBox a 9 out of 10. It’s a great way to spend a fun evening, and playing it might even help you tone your muscles and slim down. The Fun Factor is what really counts with any game, though, and this is one of the funnest dancing games yet! If you liked the original DC, you’re sure to love this sequel. It’s a great time, and I highly recommend this game to anyone who loves dancing types of games!