Should You Buy Dance Central 2?

Last year, the people who made Guitar Hero and Rock Band made the best game for the Xbox 360’s Kinect sensor, the hands-free dancing game Dance Central. We danced in front of it, one at a time, as it tracked and scored our moves. We loved it. A year later, we have a sequel that primarily adds simultaneous multiplayer. Worth buying?

Brian Crecente, a guy who called the first Dance Central the best Kinect launch game: Yes and no. Yes, because, well it’s just as fun as the original Dance Central plus. Plus what? Plus a light, almost non-existent story mode that still ties the dances together and draws you through the game. Plus the ability to dance side-by-side with someone and have those moves count, or not. Plus new voice commands that make it a touch easier to move through the game. Plus the ability to add playlists.

Then why a tentative no? Because this is a timed half-step forward for a game that could have used a giant leap to help establish it as a game as culturally relevant as Rock Band. The body-tracking still seems a bit too forgiving and there are no giant leaps in design. I’d say pick it up if you were a fan of the first, but if you had any reservations give it a pass. YES (with caveats!)

Kirk Hamilton, the most musical person on our payroll: OK so obviously this “yes” is qualified with: “Do you have a Kinect? Do you want a great party game?” If so, then Dance Central 2 is the one. The tracklist is really strong, and it its tutorial mode is well structured and encouraging. It’s the next best thing to attending hip hop class. The big draw with Dance Central has always been how it plays at parties, and while I haven’t yet had a chance to try out its new two-player mode, I’ve had so much fun at gatherings with just one dancer in the past that I can only imagine that two will be twice the fun. YES

Congratulations, Dance Central 2 you skated through with a qualified Yes. Kotaku‘s streak of affirmative Gut Checks continues, but surely there is a stinker on the horizon. Dance Central 2 will be out on the Xbox 360 on October 25. It requires the console’s Kinect sensor (and a lack of self-consciousness).