GAME COMPLETED #19: DANCE MASTERS

Dance Masters is a dance game for the Kinect that works similarly to Dance Dance Revolution games in the way of scoring.

It plays differently from most Kinect dance games, but it offers a breath of fresh air.

GAME: Dance Masters

REVIEW SCORE: 8/10

Aside from the different play style, one of the biggest differences between Dance Masters and other Kinect dancing games is the selection of music. Whereas other games offer a collection of Western hits and popular dance songs, Dance Masters offers a variety of J-pop and Para Para style dance songs that may be unfamiliar to most Western games who haven't played a DDR game.

Also, Dance Masters doesn't have a practice more or "break it down" style option to help learn routines. However, you are given a choice on playing an easier difficulty and simply match a handful of moves, or play a harder difficulty and learning the routine on your own, step by step.

The game didn't seem to get a lot of advertising or press attention during the Kinect launch, so it kind of fell under the radar. It seems many gamers were expecting something more similar the super popular "Dance Central". It is certainly an entirely different gaming experience, so I would highly recommend trying out the Demo on the Xbox Live Marketplace to see if it is something you would enjoy.

FITNESS SCORE: 5/10

Unlike other dance styles that focus on legs and lower body, Dance Masters uses a lot of Para Para style dancing (if you are unfamiliar with the style, check out Youtube videos to get an idea) which focuses a lot on arm movements and hand gestures. This creates a fun style of dancing that might be new to most gamers, but doesn't offer quite the same workout as other dance styles.

There is certainly a lot of movement required if you plan on getting into the game, and I recommend staying hydrated.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

-Secret ripples are hidden beats that are located in each song for each of the difficulties (Except Easy). In order to find them, you must activate parallel universe (filling up the gauge in the lower right corner and then holding your right hand out 45 degrees) and follow the dance steps exactly in attempts to hit an invisible target. The target is prompted by a chime that sounds just prior to the secret ripple (please note that there are no chimes in Stealth Mode).

-You can download an extra difficulty from the Xbox Live Marketplace for free. This extra difficulty provides 5 extra secret ripples per song, and helps ease the task of reaching some of the later Secret Ripple achievements.