Dance Central vs. DanceMasters

 It's the first week of the new year, and it's time for me to get started on this game-a-week thing. The only problem is... it's already Wednesday and I still haven't decided what game to play and beat. I'll probably end up not finishing this week and have to beat two games next week, but eh... as long as I stay on schedule, it's all good, right?

 I was given a Kinect along with Dance Central from a friend over New Year's, and I picked up DanceMasters with some of the holiday money I had accumulated. After about a week of toying around with the Kinect, I'm actually rather impressed. The accuracy is surprisingly high, and although I had to rearrange the furniture in my bedroom in order to play, it seems to function pretty well even without a ton of space. From what I've experienced, the main issues lie within the specific way game developers are dealing with in-game navigation.

 Dance Central, Harmonix's entry into the Kinect market, is very solid. The game actually eases players into the dances, allowing you to learn each part of each dance step-by-step, and it clearly tells you what areas of your body you aren't moving right if you're not getting it down. What impresses me the most, though, is how easy menu navigation is. It seems spot-on and incredibly precise, especially when compared to Konami's Kinect dance game, DanceMasters.

 Unlike Dance Central, DanceMasters wasn't localized for a US release -- the game features the same track list that was used when released in Japan and other countries (the game is referred to as DanceEvolution everywhere else, I believe), so none of the music is popular or recognizable outside of those who are familiar with other BEMANI titles and Dance Dance Revolution, with exception to the two Super Eurobeat tracks on the game, which will be known by anyone into Initial D or the ParaPara dance scene. Because I'm such a BEMANI and ParaPara nerd, I picked up this title, but I definitely don't recommend it if you're not a fan of those, as well, and here's why.

 DanceMasters makes no attempt to teach players how to dance the routines. Of course, the game also doesn't take into account full body motions during each dance, and just requires players to match silhouettes and "ripples" on-screen, but still. The routines don't change between each difficulty -- there's just less silhouettes and "ripples" to be judged upon. I've only managed to score well on the ParaPara dances that I already knew before playing this title, and I don't know if I have the patience to play through every song a million times just to learn the dances. The "Break It Down!" aspect of Dance Central makes it a much better choice. I suggest DanceMasters if, and only if you are a huge fan of the Konami series of BEMANI music-rhythm games.

 If the aforementioned reason isn't good enough of an explanation, here's another. The menu navigation system in DanceMasters is enough to make you pull your hair out. It's finicky and inaccurate, and I spend more time trying to choose the song I want to play than I do actually dancing. Comparing these two titles is a great example of how to, and how NOT to develop menu navigation with the Kinect.

 Overall, I like the music selection in DanceMasters more (because I'm a BEMANItard), but Dance Central is obviously the better game. They're both fun, and both have their pros and cons. Either way... I won't be able to "beat" either game within a week, simply because my body doesn't have the capability to move that strenuously for so long. I'll decide on something to beat, this week... but I certainly hope this tiny tangent has been able to satisfy, at least a teensy bit.

Until next time, game on!