Developer: Ubisoft
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Cost: $39.99
Genre: Dance
Acquired: Review Copy provided by publisher.
Pros: No need for any gaming experience or coordination, for that matter.
Cons: Sometimes the colors of the dancers make following awkward.
Verdict: If you were disappointed by DDR, GET THIS GAME!

Like so many others, I’ve been burned several times by the DDR myth. Since the first game (the one and only love of my living room dancing life), I’ve been waiting for a better version. They came out on every platform, with every song imaginable, however, they were all disappointing. Just Dance makes me excited to turn on the Wii again, and to get into my work out/dancing groove. There are songs from every genre here, and the outfits and moves that are performed are perfectly matched to each particular song. It’s brilliant, not to mention hilarious, and since there are lots of good points about this game, I’ll elaborate for you (I know, I’m a giver):

First, the game play modes. Classic is just that: each correct move scores points, most points at the end of the song wins. Last One Standing gives you 7 live, and with each incorrect move, you lose a life. Just as the name implies, last one with a life wins. Finally, Strike a Pose, in which you dance and earn points with each correct move, until the game tells you to pause. The tricky part is that the dancer keeps dancing, and you’ll want to as well. If you move at all, you lose points(that’s bad, by the way). Strike a Pose works on the red light/green light principle as well, so all ages can (and in my opinion, should) play. Competition is definitely not the name of this game. In fact, when my friends and I played, I invited them over to play the game as a work out, and only one of us held the controller. Just Dance, unlike DDR, doesn’t make you quit playing just because your score isn’t enough to impress anyone; you just keep on going. And speaking of working out, Ubisoft is so confident that you’ll love shakin’ it, that they’ve included a 2 minute warm up. A smart, and appreciated, proposition. When I first turned on the game, and saw the warm up, I knew this game meant business.

Controls are incredibly easy, and very intuitive. Of course, the reason being is that you don’t really have to do anything with the controls other than just simply hold it in your right hand. As you move, the Wii reads where your hand is in relation to where it should be, and also reads how much shaking it’s doing, and bases your scoring on that. The colors are, as my mom would put it, psychadelic. There is no good way for me to explain it, so you’ll have to check out the images. The music is amazing. There is literally something for everyone. From Baha Men, Katy Perry, and NKOTB, to Blondie, MC Hammer, and Blur. Normally the sounds on a game are about the first thing that will turn me off, but this game has done everything just right in this department that’s far better than that other dancing game. As you play the available songs, more become available to you, until you reach the total of 32 songs in all.

From the Main Menu, you can choose to play a quick game, tournament, warm up, or take a look at the extras or options. Quick game gives you the available songs (to the extent they’ve been unlocked); just choose and dance. The tournament gives you a chance to create the game you want to play by allowing you to create rules and choose the choreography you want to use. You can, of course, let the game do this for you. Extras is where you’ll find your gaming stats (ie: how long you’ve played, which songs you’re best at, etc), how many songs you have left to play, and you can even view the credits from here if you like. Options gives you technical prowess, by allowing you to chance settings on the display and the lyrics. Another choice you get along these lines, is the version of the song you’re going to play. Before you begin each song, you’re allowed to decide whether you want to play the full version, or an excerpt, or shortened version. You can also choose the number of rounds you’d like to play. Choose from 1, 3, 5, or 10 rounds (don’t be a chicken, choose 10), allowing you to play/work out longer without as many breaks in the action.

It’s my opinion that every gamer or non-gamer who loves to dance and owns a Wii NEEDS THIS GAME and should pick this up to get more exercise and movement into their gaming. Dancing is a language that every culture speaks: it’s a form of self expression, a source of bonding between friends/family, a form of stress relief, and a damn good time. From the moment I turned on this game, I knew I would love it, and I do. My friends ask to come over and play it; after one round they’re hooked, and I’m confident you will be too. No excuses:  Just Dance!