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Just Dance 2 Wii Review

14/11/2010 Family Teen Gamer Review
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Just Dance 2 Nintendo Wii

Just Dance 2

Format:
Nintendo Wii

Genre:
Rhythmaction

Style:
Cooperative
Competitive

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


Other GamePeople columnists have reviewed this from their perspective - huh?:
Family Gamer (Wii)
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Reporting Gamer (Wii)
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Just Dance 2 bucks the trend of childish dance games to offer an original experience with great music. It's fun on your own, and a great laugh to play with your mates.

I hadn't played the first Just Dance game because I never find Wii rhythm games very satisfying. They are either the sugary sweet cheerleader type or retro workout videos with a bit of Wii-mote waggle. While my brothers, and my dad often give those games a try, they aren't really my style.

Playing Just Dance 2 I realised that I may have misjudged the game - if the original is anything like the follow up. Rather than falling into those kiddie or retro camps, Just Dance 2 is a really fresh way to dance along to some of my favourite music, along with some well chosen classics.

And rather than complex moves and hours of training, I could jump in and play the game straight away. It's simple, you just do what the on screen dancer does while holding the Wii-mote. They have one hand coloured in to make it easier to follow - and that is about it, simple!

As you play the closer you can get your arm movements to the dancer, the more points you get. String a bunch of moves together in a row and you get a bonus at the end of the song.

Although it only tracks the movement of your hands, I found myself soon getting my groove on and using my whole body to dance along. When I did this I seemed to score more points as well - not quite sure how that works, but it is very clever.

Last weekend I tried out the Duo mode with a friend - and we both loved it.

Last weekend I tried out the Duo mode with a friend - and we both loved it. Rather than following the same moves as each other, Just Dance 2 puts up two dancers on the screen. Each one has different choreography that also ties in to what the other person is doing. It was so funny pulling off moves with my mates, it made us laugh because we looked like real dancers.

The whole game looks great as well. Rather than the same old music videos there are new backdrops, and they have obviously used their own dancers rather than the original artists. You could tell because they looked more like girls you might see on the street as opposed to stick models.

Everything has a disco glow to it and is clear to make out. You can play with up to four players simultaneously or take eight people head to head with two teams. We are already scheming about which of our friends would make good dance partners for next time we play.

I've had a lot of fun jumping around with my girlfriends.

Although I'm not that into exercises, there was a nice mode where the aim is to burn as much energy as possible. It's crazy how tired out you can get just playing a videogame. I had arm ache for days.

Last of all is a special mode where each dancer has different spot moves in amongst their routine. Sometimes you'd have to stay still, or spin or clap. The better you are at pulling of these moves the more points you'd gain. The staying still one is a real killer as the Wii-mote picks up any movement and deducts loads of points.

Having been put off Wii dance games for a long time, I'm glad I gave Just Dance 2 a go. I was surprised how good the game was, and how well suited it was to my musical tastes. I'm not sure if it's made me any fitter, but I've had a lot of fun jumping around with my girlfriends.

Written by Rowan Brown

You can support Rowan by buying Just Dance 2



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Rowan Brown writes the Teen Gamer column.

"I write about my favourite games from a younger person's perspective. It's often surprising how different this ends up to other more grown up reviews."


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