Format: Wii
Developer: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Released: Out now
Score: 7/10
A video game like Just Dance 2 makes me feel completely superfluous in my role as a reviewer. After all, is anyone reading this in order to make an informed purchase? I don't think so. An avalanche of scorn and derision washed over the first Just Dance when it was released. Reviewers had a lengthy list of problems with the game – and not all of them were based around the fact that you didn't get to shoot anything. Just Dance was slammed for lack of depths, wonky controls, erratic difficulty levels, spartan graphics and a rootless single player mode. All of this criticism didn't make the tiniest bit of difference, though. Just Dance sold by the truckload; it was, despite every legitimate grievance players had with it, an unqualified success.
This is mainly because Just Dance is one of the best party games on the market. It wasn't aimed at the hard-core crowd. Just Dance was made for the gargantuan mass of casual gamers that Nintendo converted to the cause with the release of the Wii. This doesn't mean that you won't enjoy Just Dance, or indeed Just Dance 2, if your games library consists mainly of shooters and beat 'em ups. It just means that you should approach Just Dance 2 with an incredibly open mind and the willingness to feel like an absolute fool for at least the first few minutes of play. This goes double for you, if, you're either someone who doesn't dance regularly or is in possession of two left feet (or both, like me).
Just Dance 2's core gameplay arrived virtually untouched from its predecessor. Players start off by selecting a song from the long list of tracks available (there are 44 in all). The songs themselves are decent mix of old classics (such as 'I Want You Back' By The Jackson 5), cheesy pop standards ('Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go' by Wham), mega-popular R&B (Rhianna and The Oukast make appearances) with the odd nod to indie kids (Vampire Weekend and Fanz Ferdinand get a look-in). Ultimately, there really is something for everyone in the song-list. Once the player has picked a track they then, with the Wii Mote clasped tightly in their right hand, mimic the dance moves of the virtual figures who appear on the screen in front of them. The choreography in the game isn't too hard to imitate and boasts quite a bit of imagination; some moves are likely to prompt bursts of laughter. Points are awarded based on the movements tracked by the controller and the player (or players) have their points tallied up into a star-rating out of a possible five for their performance.
While the visuals and controls have been improved quite a bit from the first Just Dance, the main drawbacks the game has as a single-player experience haven't been addressed. There are still no unlockables, rewards or any clear progression to motivate players to slog through the game by themselves. This dull solo experience is further hampered by the fact that Just Dance 2 isn't – even in its harder songs – a very challenging game; it's simply impossible to fail at any song, given the game's laughably easy difficulty in places, so there's no distinct challenge. Then again, Just Dance 2 is (like its predecessor) a party game and as such, becomes more fun as the number of people playing it increases. This is a game best enjoyed with friends – and the more, the merrier.
Aside from Quickplay, Just Dance 2 has a some new modes aimed at turning your living room into a makeshift disco in the form of Duets and Dance Battles. The former is one of the most enjoyable modes in the game as Ubisoft have gone to some effort to make the duet dances feel like you're actually interacting with your dance partner. Rather than have the two dancers copy each other, the duets contain spins and crossover moves; such as waggling your finger in the face of your partner during a rather heated rendition of 'Girlfriend' by Avril Lavigne. In Dance Battle Mode, up to eight players (in two teams of four) aim to tally the highest score over five rounds of minigames to defeat their opponents. The mini-games offer some variety to stop the mode getting repetitive; rather than simply mimicking Quickplay's standard fare entirely, players can find themselves dancing to mash-ups in Medley or bopping at full-tilt in Race. It can be giddy, giggly fun unless someone in your dance troupe is a fiercely competitive budding choreographer. There's also a Just Sweat mode in which the game ostensibly become a 'fun' cardio exercise, but that doesn't hinge on more than one player participating, and really the multiplayer modes are where Just Dance 2 shines.
In short, Just Dance 2 is a more polished and slightly expanded version of its predecessor. It's also a party game in the truest sense of the term; it offers very little to solo players, but get your chums round for a session and you'll discover just how much fun it can be.
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