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Dance Central 2 360 Kinect

Format:
360 Kinect

Genre:
Rhythmaction

Style:
Singleplayer
Cooperative
Competitive

Buy/Support:
Support Libby, click to buy via us...

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Other GamePeople columnists have reviewed this from their perspective - huh?:
Reporting Gamer (360)
Tired Gamer (360)

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At the risk of sounding like an infomercial I'm going to say the Dance Central Odyssey just gets better and better. It's a pop Odyssey that speaks to the masses -- if you're brave enough to enter the arena for an online challenge.

Well, it doesn't have to be online. You can opt to play in the confines of your living room if you so desire. Yet the Deities of Dance Central 2 have divined that if -- en masse -- mere mortals in the Dance Central community earn enough stars or 'calories burned' count, new crews and new outfits will be unlocked. The Deities have spoken.

Way to leverage social currency, Dance Central Deities. Are you trying to slim down the masses by offering us a virtual carrot? Are you trying to build community? Are you captialising on the cult of connection? What is your message? Give us a sign!

Here's what I can tell you: Dance Central 2 pretty much runs the same as Dance Central1 -- you learn the moves, you perform the moves. The Kinect tracks your accuracy, and you earn points for your skill. The difference with this new version is in the extras: it has voice-activated control, for example, which is a neat addition (it does work, but sometimes you need patience). Add the two-player factor and I'd say Dance Central is a great social game, online or not.

It's not just my own peculiar penchant for a spot of dance music speaking here. The whole Odyssey Gamer entourage agree with me: the draw card for the newest incarnation of Dance Central is for sure the Party Rock track.

I know. It's a song that could bring even the brawniest of Heroes to their knees if they have to hear it over and over and over... Tie me to a mast if you must. Plug my ears with beeswax.

But that would be such a shame, because the new dance moves in Dance Central 2 really do rock. Since I last wrote about the Dance Central Odyssey, Partner in Crime has upped the ante, and I no longer reign supreme. He has mastered the Party Rock moves and claimed the Prize. The only drawback with 2-player mode is that the Kinect sensor range requires that players be relatively close together, which means that if both players have long limbs flailing around, they might experience the occasional collision of body parts. Not the end of the world exactly, but gives real meaning to the phrase 'cramping my style'.

There's no doubt I have a long and arduous journey in front of me if I want to reclaim my Prize. I will have to hone my skill so I can conquer Level 6 (out of 7) difficulty. (In Dance Central1 we only had options of up to 5.)

@libby_ol: I've lost Hero status. It's going to be a rough road ahead. I blame #PartyRock & its evil Level 6 difficulty. #DanceCentral2

@GeekDadGamer: Heroism is in the eye of the beholder. Or should that be the legs of the boogier?.

Yes indeed. I must shift my strategy from that of Impressive 'Dance Mover Extraordinaire' to 'How Fit Are You Really?' if I'm ever going to reach my goal.

As I said, it's not going to be an easy road, but at least with my new-found online connectivity I'll know I'm not alone.

Although if I hear that Party Rock track one more time I think I'll puke.

Written by Libby O'Loghlin

You can support Libby by buying Dance Central 2



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Libby O'Loghlin writes the Odyssey Gamer column.

"I bring my writing goggles to the gaming experience, because I see gaming as part of the Odyssey. I want to understand its attraction, and whether it bubbled up from the guts of our basic need for story-telling. I want to understand it as a narrative medium, and how it feeds into our daily lives."

Here are the games I've been playing recently:

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