Just Dance
It’s back! Ubisoft’s annual dance party is ready to once again turn your living room into a bumpin’ club with Just Dance 4. The latest version of the acid washed dance party in a box features an eclectic mix of current hits like “Call Me Maybe” and “Moves Like Jagger” as well as classic favorites like “The Time Warp” and “Rock Lobster.” Just features over forty tracks that vary from contemporary pop songs to old time Rock ‘n’ Roll and back again for a little dub step. Last year’s Just Dance 3 was a fine game but Just Dance 4 has made some really excellent improvements to the game’s interface, art style, and motion tracking. The game still won’t teach you how to dance like a pro, but will definitely provide some laughs and good times for you and your friends.
Gonna Be Okay
I’ve never been a fan of Just Dance’s art style. I tend to find the vibrant bright colours to be quite nauseating. Just Dance 4 still features the psychedelic aesthetic but I feel that the overall visual assault has been toned down. It’s amazing what adding some darker tones and few primary colours can do to a sea of gaudy neon. The game’s interface is the biggest improvement. I hated Just Dance 3‘s interface, it didn’t work very well and wasn’t the most intuitive thing I’ve done with Kinect. This time the interface is much easier to navigate has almost a jukebox feel. I also prefer pointing and clicking to confirm my choices rather than the move your hand up and down the swipe across method used in Just Dance 3. The visual feedback on whether or not you’re hitting the right moves on the right beat is also improved. In Just Dance 3 I felt that the game was only tracking my hand and ignoring what the rest of my body was doing. With Just Dance 4 it’s much more obvious that you need to be mimicking the action of your onscreen avatar to score a decent amount of points. I’m not a big fan of exercising but Just Dance 4‘s Just Sweat mode is actually a really fun way to burn some calories. Sure, you’ll get your heart rate going by dancing along to any of the game’s songs but the Just Sweat mode has you doing some more traditional calisthenics while dancing. There’s a few workouts to choose from and they last about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Each one features high impact aerobic routines alternating with dance tracks and end with a cool down routine. It’s a fun and easy way to get your sweat on without paying for expensive Tae-Bo classes. Overall I was really surprised at how much this year’s entry improved over the last one.
Da Da Doo-doo-mmm
The Just Dance series is about having fun with your friends and Ubisoft has done an excellent job of providing a platform to allow for just that. Almost every issue I had with Just Dance 3 has been addressed and improved upon in Just Dance 4. I’m still not a fan of the game’s visuals, but I am glad that I can actually stand to look at the game this time around. Before I could only dance to one or two songs before I had to take a break and rest my eyes. Now the only reason I need to take a break is because I’m tired and sore from all the moves I’ve been busting.
