Dance Central (2010 video game)

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Dance Central
Dance Central boxart.png
Box art
Developer(s) Harmonix
Publisher(s) MTV Games
Director(s) Kasson Crooker
Producer(s) Naoko Takamoto
Designer(s) Dean Tate
Programmer(s) Marc Flury
Artist(s) Dare Matheson
Writer(s) Helen McWilliams
Series Dance Central
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: November 4, 2010
  • EU: November 10, 2010
  • AU: November 18, 2010
  • JPN: June 2, 2011
Genre(s) Rhythm
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Dance Central is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Games for the Xbox 360 Kinect. It is the first installment in the Dance Central series. It was released on November 4, 2010, in most areas and on June 2, 2011, in Japan.

Contents

A sequel to the game, titled Dance Central 2, was released for the Xbox 360 Kinect in October 2011.

Gameplay

Dance Central features an on-screen character who players are meant to mirror. In addition to ratings, the game also provides feedback by outlining the character's limbs in red to show what part of their body the player is not moving correctly. Dance Central 2010 Gameplay.png
Dance Central features an on-screen character who players are meant to mirror. In addition to ratings, the game also provides feedback by outlining the character's limbs in red to show what part of their body the player is not moving correctly.

Dance Central is a motion-based dance video game in which players mirror a dance performed by an on-screen character. On the right side of the screen are flashcards of the previous two moves, the move currently being performed, and the next two moves in the routine. Players can earn one of four ratings depending on their accuracy: "X", "Almost", "Nice", and "Flawless". The ratings a player earns can influence the venue in which the character is dancing; earning a consecutive amount of "Nice" or "Flawless" ratings darkens most background elements and adds neon lights, while earning a consecutive amount of "Almost" or "X" ratings results in the venue becoming dull and the music becoming muffled. The moves in each routine are influenced by the difficulty rating they are listed under and the skill level the player chooses. Initially, only the Easy difficulty is available, but Medium and Hard can be unlocked by earning at least 4 Stars in the previous skill level. Each song features a freestyle section in which players have the chance to be photographed by the Kinect's camera as they dance however they desire. Each rating provides a point value that can be increased with a score multiplier, which is raised by earning consecutive high ratings and lowered by earning low ratings. Stars are earned at specific point thresholds that vary depending on the skill level a player selects, and up to 5 Stars can be earned, with the maximum rating being 5 Gold Stars. Earning Stars unlocks content for the game such as new venues, new characters, and new outfits for characters who are already available. In addition to Perform It!, the main mode of the game, there is a Break It Down mode in which a player can practice a routine's moves and a Dance Battle mode in which two players dance one at a time in competition for the highest score.

Characters

Dance Central features ten different characters. Eight of them are available from the start while two are unlockables. Each character, with the exception of Ttiw Tolrep, has a main outfit and an alternate outfit, which can be unlocked by earning 25 Stars with them (or, for ELIOT, reaching the "Living Legend" rank).

Story

While there is no story mode in the game, there are two cutscenes in the game that suggest a story.

In the opening cutscene, Mo is promoting a club in various different areas of a city. This catches the attention of multiple characters, who decide to attend the club. In the closing cutscene, Mo stops at a phone booth, picks up the phone, and talks to someone on behalf of the club. After hanging up the phone, the platform underneath him takes him to the club, which is revealed to be Dr. Tan's Estate. While most of the characters in attendance are partying, Oblio is sitting against a wall with a disgruntled expression. He eventually leaves the club and rides away on his motorcycle. The scene is rewound and replayed repeatedly before it is revealed that Dr. Tan has him under surveillance alongside various areas of the city. Intrigued by what he is seeing, he turns off the rest of the screens, smirks, and laughs hysterically.

Songs

Dance Central features a soundtrack consisting of 32 songs. Each song has a default dancer associated with it that can be changed before starting the song.

SongArtistYearDefault Dancer
"Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix)" Beastie Boys 1998Oblio
"Brick House" Commodores 1977MacCoy
"Bust a Move" Young MC 1989Mo
"C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" Quad City DJ's 1996Dare
"Can't Get You Out of My Head" Kylie Minogue 2001Miss Aubrey
"Crank That (Soulja Boy)" Soulja Boy Tell 'Em2007Mo
"Days Go By" Dirty Vegas 2001MacCoy
"Dip It Low" Christina Milian 2004Taye
"Don't Sweat the Technique" Eric B. & Rakim 1992MacCoy
"Down" Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne 2009Angel
"Drop It Like It's Hot" Snoop Dogg 2004Taye
"Evacuate the Dancefloor" Cascada 2009Emilia
"Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)" Craig Mack 1994Taye
"Funkytown" Lipps Inc 1980Miss Aubrey
"Galang '05" M.I.A. 2005Dare
"Hella Good" No Doubt 2002Oblio
"Hey Mami" FannyPack 2003Miss Aubrey
"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" Pitbull 2009Angel
"Jungle Boogie" Kool & the Gang 1973MacCoy
"Just Dance" Lady Gaga 2008Dare
"King of the Dancehall" Beenie Man 2004Angel
"Maneater" Nelly Furtado 2006Emilia
"Move Ya Body" Nina Sky 2004Emilia
"Poison" Bell Biv DeVoe 1990Angel
"Poker Face" Lady Gaga 2008Mo
"Pon de Replay" Rihanna 2005Emilia
"Pump Up the Jam" Technotronic 1989Dare
"Push It" Salt-n-Pepa 1987Taye
"Rendez-Vu" Basement Jaxx 1999Miss Aubrey
"Rump Shaker" Wreckx-n-Effect 1992Oblio
"Satisfaction" Benny Benassi Presents The Biz 2002Oblio
"Teach Me How To Jerk" Audio Push 2009Mo

Challenges

Challenges are a combination of songs mixed together as one. They are typically unlocked once the player earns at least 4 Stars on each song in a certain difficulty category. The skill levels for challenges can be unlocked in the same way as regular songs, but can also be unlocked by earning the minimum amount of Stars needed for each song on higher skill levels. Unlike regular songs, Break It Down is not available for challenges. There are eight challenges, seven of which focus on songs categorized under a certain difficulty and one of which contains songs from every difficulty category. The last challenge, the Grand Finale Challenge, is unlocked by earning at least 4 Stars on every other Challenge. Completing it unlocks Eliot (if players have not done so already) and Dr. Tan's Estate.

Downloadable content

Players can purchase additional songs as downloadable content (DLC).

SongArtistYearRelease DateDefault Dancer
"Because of You" Ne-Yo 2007November 4, 2010Mo
"I Got You Dancing" b Lady Sovereign 2009November 4, 2010Dare
"Temperature" Sean Paul 2006November 4, 2010Angel
"Whoomp! (There It Is)" Tag Team 1993November 23, 2010Dare
"I Gotta Feeling" The Black Eyed Peas 2009November 23, 2010Emilia
"Word Up" Cameo 1986November 23, 2010MacCoy
"Control" a Janet Jackson 1986December 21, 2010Taye
"Girls and Boys" b Blur 1994December 21, 2010Oblio
"Disturbia" Rihanna 2008December 21, 2010Miss Aubrey
"We Run This" Missy Elliott 2006February 15, 2011Emilia
"Le Freak" Chic 1978February 15, 2011Dare
"Super Freak" Rick James 1981February 15, 2011Miss Aubrey
"Heard 'Em All" Amerie 2009February 15, 2011Taye
"Weapon of Choice" Fatboy Slim 2001March 15, 2011Oblio
"Hollaback Girl" Gwen Stefani 2005March 15, 2011Taye
"Straight Up" Paula Abdul 1988March 15, 2011Miss Aubrey
"Turnin Me On" Keri Hilson 2008March 15, 2011Emilia
"Wild Thing" Tone-Loc 1988April 18, 2011Taye
"Lean wit It, Rock wit It" Dem Franchize Boyz ft. Peanut & Charlay2006April 19, 2011Emilia
"D.A.N.C.E." Justice 2007April 19, 2011MacCoy
"Fergalicious" Fergie ft. will.i.am 2006May 17, 2011Emilia
"Informer" Snow 1993May 17, 2011MacCoy
"Lapdance" N.E.R.D. ft. Lee Harvey & Vita2001May 17, 2011Oblio
"Say Aah" Trey Songz ft. Fabolous 2010July 19, 2011Oblio
"Break Your Heart" Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris 2010July 19, 2011Dare
"Planet Rock (Original 12" Version)" b Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force 1982July 19, 2011Mo
"Get Up (I Feel Like Being a), Sex Machine Pt. 1" James Brown 1970August 16, 2011Maccoy
"Get Busy" Sean Paul 2003August 16, 2011Taye
"Get It Shawty" Lloyd 2007August 16, 2011Angel
"Don't Cha" The Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes 2005September 20, 2011Miss Aubrey
"Tempted to Touch" Rupee 2004September 20, 2011Angel
"The Way I Are" Timbaland ft. Keri Hilson 2007September 20, 2011Mo

^a Free with Best Buy code.

^b No longer available for purchase.

Legacy

In the Arcade from the Asian Attractions in the Expo 2011, the Dance Central arcade was named "Dance Hero". [1]

Reception

Critical reception

Dance Central received positive reviews from critics. It received a score of 83.22% on GameRankings [2] and 82/100 on Metacritic. [3] It received a rating of 8/10 from IGN and a rating of 8.5/10 from GameSpot. [7] [11] Video game talk show Good Game: Spawn Point gave the game an 8 out of 10 calling it the best launch game for the Kinect and a step forward for dance games. They said workout mode was a nice addition which will definitely give you a workout and the Dance Battles would be a big hit at parties. [12] Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé was impressed, and said in an interview that "Dance Central is, by far, the best Kinect game". [13] During the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Dance Central with "Family Game of the Year"; it also received nominations for "Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering", "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack", and "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming". [14] [15]

Sales

Dance Central sold 2.5 million copies. [16]

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