GAME COMPLETED #2: DANCE CENTRAL

This is by far one of the proudest 1000GS I have earned on my Gamercard. As of now, it appears that only a dozen or so people have completed this feat (Reference: mygamercard.net). I found the game to be very enjoyable, and easily the best Kinect game I have played thus far.

GAME: Dance Central

REVIEW SCORE: 9/10

The concept is simple, but executed phenomenally. The game has varying difficulties and dance types that cater to anybody. The tutorials are excellent at teaching you how to play the game, and the execution is flawless. There is also a fairly wide variety of music that is sure to satisfy most music lovers. This game makes being active very fun, and quite addicting.

The game doesn't really need to rely heaving on graphics, as it is a dance game, but it still is able to deliver stunning visuals. The game portrays dance moves as specific as possible, as to teach them to utmost accuracy. And believe me, the game will hold you to it a lot of times when scoring you.

The sounds and music are great, as to be expected for a music game. I am not a fan of all the songs/genres, but I am aware of my biases.

I was a little disappointed in the lack of proper multiplayer. I am generally more a single player kind of guy, but I felt this game would have benefited greatly from multiplayer option. The game does offer a local multiplayer "Dance Battle", but it is essentially two people taking turns dancing to the same routine.

FITNESS SCORE: 7/10

The game really had me moving around and sweating. The game isn't advertised as a fitness game, nor is it really designed as such. However, you will be getting a lot of lower body exercise. I would find myself sore in the legs and feet from day to day. Be sure to wear socks tough! I found out the hard way when I got blisters on my feet.

TIPS AND TRICKS: 

- The game is a little buggy as of now. If you are going for achievements, be sure to first play through the game on Easy. The game only registers your highest ranked performance on the Song List data. The game ranks "Hard" performances higher than it ranks "Medium" performances, and so forth. Makes sense, but achievements that focus on stats specifically focus on your highest ranked performance. For instance, there is an achievement for getting 5 stars on a song with flashcards off. For the achievement to unlock, you not only need to get 5 stars on a song with flashcards off, but the posted score would have to be your highest ranked performance. If you played a song on "Hard", you would have to get 5 stars on "Hard" without flashcards to get the achievement, as any progress made on "Easy" or "Medium" wouldn't be accepted. Hopefully there will be a patch.