I think that if I had to name my favorite developers over consistency, fun and quality I would rank Harmonix at the top of my list. Over the last 10+ years they've consistently produced product after product that has not only pushed the boundaries of what is expected from them but evolved the music game genre as a whole. As a "hard-core" gamer they've surprised me title after title in their ability to capture my (typically short) attention-span and Dance Central is no different. It's the first and currently, only game that I own for the Kinect (I don't even have Kinect Adventures which typically ships with the device), and it has made me a firm Kinect believer.
The game's just fun... from the moment you boot it up. Even the menus are simple and fun to use - right hand selects menu choices, left hand takes you back a screen - though the game might actually benefit from slightly larger or spread out menu select buttons - and while you're systematically waving your hands you're already realizing that this feels something like the future. A few futuristic waves of your hands later you're ready to dance. 5 seconds into the first dance-breakdown, which is like dance practice before the performance, I was already smiling ear to ear... six seconds later I was giggling like a school girl.... and let me tell you... I'm a large man - not prone to giggling in this manner... and I didn't stop giggling for almost an hour... your results may vary. Dance Central is a very special sort of game... no let me take that back... Dance Central is a special sort of EXPERIENCE.... the sort of experience that feels silly and immature and may even be embarrassing at times, but not the kind of experience that you'll feel ashamed of... en' contrar ... you'll want to tell everyone you know about it... you'll want to throw parties focused around it... it's the rare sort of experience that may actually end up being as fun as it looks on TV. And it will stay with you... which is perhaps the scariest thing I've noticed about it so far... I'm still waiting for the moment when my brain over-rides my pride in a public place, let's say the bank, or jury duty, in favor of a quick dance move combo set to the tune of The Commodore's "Brick House" ...playing in my head... oh please don't let this happen.
That said, it's not without it's annoyances... as I mentioned before the select menu buttons would be easier to trigger properly if they were represented as slightly larger icons on the screen... but this is really just a minor annoyance... A more significant annoyance, at least for me...you're mileage and taste may vary...is that the song selection is somewhat lame... mostly a collection of songs you're more likely to here being played at a Bar-Mitzvah, Quinceniera, or sweet 16 then what you would find at todays clubs. In fact I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a song on the list that's still getting consistent play. Aside from the 2 songs from Lady Gaga and the one song from MIA, most of the rest of the song list seems to be composed of 70's and 80's hits, the Commodores, Bil Bev Devoe, Erik B and Rakim (Sweat the Technique... not my first choice but what can you do), Kool and the Gang... the list goes on and on. (perhaps your memories of these songs are better than mine?). In addition to the 70's/80's blowout:
5 electronica songs (mostly from the late 90's and early 2000's - including a Kylie Minogue song (which is arguably pop music)), "Satisfaction" by Benni Benassi (Which is maybe the most overplayed electronic song ever? You'll recognize it, trust me.), and "Days go by" by Dirty Vegas (Overplayed but at least it's good)...no BT? no Daft Punk, no Chemical Brothers, no Justice?... I mean come on guys, give me something... I thought it was a Harmonix tradition to at least include a Freezpop song?... a few hip hop songs (most of which I had always thought were best left forgotten), like Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like it's Hot" and Pitbull's "I know you want me"... I mean WTF!... no Kanye? or Jay-Z? no Dr Dre? and no Eminem? ... and no Rock and Roll...at all... in any form... unless you consider No Doubt's "Hella Good" in that category, in which case... well, there's no reasoning with some people.
and despite what some may consider a sizeable disappointment on the music end here the game is still fun... really fun... really, really fun. And I wouldn't worry about the track list just yet, DLC is on the way... already a Missy Elliot song and a Blur song (a rock song, yay!) in the dlc list after a cursory glance. This is a great game... a great launch title for the kinect and a great accomplishment for games in general.
Now that i said all these nice things about you Harmonix, where the hell is my Amplitude/Frequency sequel?
thanks for reading,
-Ben