It was with great curiosity and some hesitancy that I picked up this game. All the reviews I had previously read were accurate. So as a recap:
*Hyper and not-quite dancing*
-Music is very J-Pop/Asian Dance Club/most people won't know it/you should be drinking Red Bull and Lattes.
-Dance moves are more akin to someone doing interpretive dance, or doing a routine for a show. You feel like you're a performer, if not *the* performer of the song. That's in contrast to Dance Central, where you feel more like you're dancing, learning moves that come more club-ish. I guess I see Dance Masters for someone wishing to be on stage.
Dance Central, you're more on the dance floor.
-Much more ego-centric than Dance Central: You see your whole body/face (video, not just a silhouette), you're on stage equal with the avatar, your moves are very performer-oriented, you feel like you're a pop star singing the song more than someone dancing to a song.
-Costuming is kinda risque. Just a little more fantasy, risque, flamboyant. Think Lady Gaga more than club-goer.
-Don't expect to learn how to dance. Don't even expect to learn how to do the moves they're doing. Your only instruction will be your trying to figure out what this fantasy avatar's next move will be, and how it'll be interpreted in an arrowy swoop or flashing circle, which will make you just try and hit a particular spot. Initially, we found ourselves just lunging to the next mark we were supposed to "hit," which made for more jerking moves than "dancing"
-It really is a step closer to real dancing than DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) , yet, still very akin to just putting your hands and feet and striking certain poses, not really feeling a fluidity.
*Fun?*
Is it fun?
Yes....Kinda....Well, fun and funny.
There are annoying parts of the program (some small high pitched voice that's yelling bizarre encouragements and mild trash talk while you dance). The instructions could be worded better. You really feel like you're using a program from someone from another country, and I don't mean Canada :)
The feedback is odd, with the floating word "boo!" being your main feedback if you don't do a move correctly.
The patterns, poses, marks and swipes you're supposed to match are rather arbitrary and nonsensical at times, but if you follow the dancing avatar exactly, you'll hit them all. But you're not sure when and why you're doing so.
The menuing is mediocre. A little odd, a little hypersensitive, about 50% intuitive. If you leave your hand slightly pointing in one direction or another, the menu will start whipping by. It made us very sheepish in our menu selections.
*Bottom Line*
If you like the jpop thing, the ddr thing, go ahead
If you're kinda showy in a club-performer way, go ahead
If you want to dance, or learn how to dance, go to Dance Central
It can be a fun game, but I think the novelty wears off faster than Dance Central. I'd buy it if I found it on sale.