REVIEW: Call of Duty: Black Ops
One year since the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Activision decides to release a 7th installment in the Call of Duty series. Call of Duty was always about those intense moments in Single Player but now they slowly evolved in also providing us with a satisfying Multiplayer formula that just works. Treyarch, The developers of Call of Duty: World at War decided to take another shot on another Call of Duty Title. With the success of Modern Warfare 2, this was the must buy Title in 2010 and is expected to be just as good as Modern Warfare 2. After completing the Campaign, killing zombies as JFK and spending at least 24 in-game hours into multiplayer, this Call of Duty Title still maintains the thing we love about this franchise and improved it for the better.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS, PC
Rating: MA 15+(PS3, Xbox 360, PC) M(Wii and DS version
Release: 11/9/10
Story and Presentation
Black Ops provides us with 3 modes to play around with. Single Player, the famous Multiplayer and Zombies. With just these 3 modes and some Easter eggs to find, this title delivers a huge package for players.I’ll say this right off the bat. Compared to all Call of Duty Single Player Campaigns, Black Ops Campaign is the best in series. While the intense moments that Call of Duty is famous for is still intact, with intense gun fights, cool breeching scenarios and the most brutal Call of Duty Title yet, everything was led by a great story. Throughout the campaign you mostly control Alex Mason. Alex wakes up and finds that he is strapped into a chair and is being constantly asked about past operations that he was in and the purpose of a series of numbers. Most of the missions are flashbacks of past Operations. Not only do you relive past Missions of Mason but you also relive certain Operations of different individuals that have a part in uncovering the truth.
Having Alex Mason being the center of the whole story gives a different feel compared to other Call of Duty franchise which I appreciate. Each mission is completely different that keeps the pace fresh. From the war in Vietnam, exploring an abandoned ship in Russia, to the roofs of Hong Kong, you’re always dumped into fresh environments that keep you interested. As I said, the story is top-notch. And at first it may seem confusing but everything comes together in unison that leaves you jaw dropped in the end.
Treyarch retained the reason why the Call of Duty Franchise is a success and made it their own by providing elements not seen before in the past Titles. World at War was their last Call of Duty game and they made a huge leap with Black Ops showing people that they are still around and better than before. With titles like these, because of multiplayer, Single Player gets overshadowed instantly. Treyarch created a Single Player Experience that won’t make you feel like you want to just jump back into the multiplayer action but rather to know what happens next in the story. It’s hard to pull that off nowadays but Black Ops Single Player proves that it can still be done with a deep multiplayer in the mix.
There’s more to it than twenty against one gun fights in Black Ops. The Single Player provides a lot of scenarios that you get to experience. From rappelling and breaching through the windows, flying an apache through the Vietnam jungle, alerting your squad in a SR -71 Blackbird if danger is near, there’s a lot of instances like those to keep you at the edge of your seat. The fact that the story revolves around one man rather than a squad or an organization feels like events were ripped out of an action movie.
Aside from the impressive Single Player mode, we have mode called Zombies. It’s the replacement of Modern Warfare’s Co-op Spec ops missions. It’s pretty much you and 3 other friends surviving a zombie apocalypse. If you remember the Nazi Zombies mode then you will feel right at home here. As you try to survive, the Character you are using usually make comments that are hilarious, especially what JFK says when fighting the undead. You are placed in an area to hold waves of zombies as long as you can. You earn Money by killing zombies and rebuilding Barricades, and can use those funds to buy weapons, ammo, and buffs. You also have to use your money to access other rooms of the stage that provide better weapons and traps to prolong the inevitable. It’s a great mode to take a break and enjoy some zombie killing fun with some friends.
Gameplay Graphics and sound
Call of Duty has this similar formula when it comes to their Gameplay. In Black Ops, they retain the same mechanics which die-hard fans love so dearly. Even the HUD is exactly the same. It may be similar to previous Call of Duty games, but who’s complaining? I’m not. For me, their gameplay just works. The guns feel great too. Each gun has a different feel when fired. You can feel the accuracy or rate of fire of each gun that you can easily tell if that certain gun is right for you or not. Gun sounds and explosion were also well done that might just satisfy a gun enthusiasts but I doubt it. As long as it doesn't sound like pee shooters and sounds close to the real thing I’ll be happy.
In Single Player, each level you have a starting primary and secondary weapon. Usually there’s enough ammo for you to retain the same guns from the start but there are so many guns lying around with different attachment that it’s a trip looking around to find guns like an AK-47 with a Flamethrower attachment. Some Guns are always seen placed conveniently for the player to see as if they are giving you a hint on what’s to come. Throughout the course of my play through I was using different kinds of guns found in the mission that proved effective.
AI could have been better, but it felt similar to Modern Warfare 2 AI. There’s no random AI standing in the open, but you still have those weird AI where they don’t get the memo that the player has flanked him. Even after a few hits, the AI still doesn't adjust.
The Graphics were great but there’s only slight improvement in detail if you compare it with the last Call of Duty title. Map Designs have more detail and lighting, and character models in single player were well designed in detail showing decent emotions. Single Player is where you can see the improvement in graphics. The multiplayer on the other hand is exactly the same as Modern Warfare 2. Map Design and Character design in terms of detail are exactly the same. There's n
Multiplayer!
Now that everything else is out of the way. It’s time to talk Multiplayer. The Multiplayer experience that makes players spends 80+ hours online reaching that 6th or 8th prestige. Fear not. Everything is intact with changes for the better.
One thing to take note right away is that now there’s an economy system. Aside from earning experience, you earn COD points. These points are spent to get everything the Multiplayer has to offer. From Kill streaks, Weapons, Weapon attachments, perks, equipment, everything. If you have enough money, you can get it. It lessens the grind to get that specific load out. Any perk can be bought at any time just like attachments. Buying attachments was a relief in Black Ops. The constant grind to unlock a specific attachment in Modern Warfare 2 was a chore. The economy system is a great addition to multiplayer, giving players better control on his/her progression as they level up.
The unlock system is still around. You unlock new guns, buy you don’t have access to them yet, you still need to buy it to be accessible. Aside from unlocking guns, you unlock other features in Multiplayer. Besides the usual unlocking custom classes, You can customize your character and your gun in many ways now. Gun Camo, face camo, and changing their Red dot reticle shape and color. You can also place your logo into your gun and clan name, which by the way is hard to notice on certain guns. These features will be unlocked as you progress in level.
You can be a little creative too in Black Ops. which has an option to create your own logo. You are given shapes to buy to make your own logo. You also buy layers so you may put more shapes to create a cool looking logo that represents you. There’s a series of shapes and images you can purchase to create your own logo. It’s a cool feature to further customize in the game.
If I have to describe Black Ops multiplayer in one word, it would be “balanced”. All the problems and exploits in Modern Warfare 2 are addressed in this title. You won’t have some kid running around with a knife knifing people, stacking up kills with kill streaks and getting 30 -8 K/D anymore. I really hated that style. With Black Ops, the feel is more of what the multiplayer felt like in the first Modern Warfare. Perks are still around and finally feels like a bonus instead of an exploit waiting to happen. Right off the bat Black Ops has a total of 14 maps to play in. Each map is well designed, making you change your style of play depending on the map and mode.
Kill streaks are of course are back with many changes. They also feel balanced. Kill streak rewards don’t stack up your kill streaks anymore so achieving them is rewarding again. When you see someone unleash attack dogs, it’s either he was lucky with the Care Package drop(kill streak reward that rewards a random killstreak) or he literally got 11 kills in a row. This is how the Killstreaks should be; it should feel like an award for your success in the match. And I just want to say it, the RC- XD kill streak is just fun!
There’s a new feature in Call of Duty: Black Ops called Contracts. Think of them as mini goals during a match. You spend COD points to buy these contracts. When you complete the contract you earn more than the amount of COD points spent. Some contracts also reward XP along with COD points. You can buy 3 contracts in total. The goals of these contracts are usually for example kill 25 people with a silencer or be the top player in 2 domination matches.
The contracts available for purchase changes every 8 hours and contracts already finished may be repurchasing a few hours later if available after the 8 hours cycle. This is a great way to earn quick COD points and level up faster and it gives you something else to aim for during a match. Contracts don’t stay forever until finished, most contracts have the duration of an hour or 30 mins so if not successful the money spent on the contracts will be wasted. These small additions can make a difference into making matches very interesting and different. With the contracts you see players using different kinds of guns, kill streaks or attachment in attempt to complete the contract.
The usual game modes are still around but Black Ops has introduced something new that’s a good addition to their multiplayer. Wager matches are matches that make u place an ante at the lobby. At the end of the match, the top 3 players will be what Treyarch calls “ in the money” and will earn COD points depending if their 1st, 2nd or 3rd. There are five wager match modes to choose from.
One in the Chamber, Sticks and Stones, Sharpshooter and Gun game. Each of these modes is really fun and unique to play with friends or be competitive with other players. There are 3 levels of ante’s to choose from. First one makes you bet a small amount while the next 2 makes you cough up a lot of dough. Playing the higher ante’s can provide a lot of pressure when playing the match. Risk 1,000 COD to earn more COD points? It all depends if you want to take the gamble.
Treyarch has also provided a Combat training mode in multiplayer. Yes you can practice! You can set up a match to practice with a bunch of AI if you don’t feel confident yet or you want to work on something specific. You can level up and earn XP and COD points for practice but the points and XP don’t carry on your actual account. Pretty neat if you ask me, a way to practice with unfamiliar load outs without hurting your stats.
Aside from Combat Mode you have Theatre mode, the last 10 games will be recorded and you have the choice to replay certain matches to get info if you choose. Aside from that you can save specific replays to share with your friends and the community. Got a 5 kill with one grenade??? Or a random tomahawk throw kill? You can view that replay and record that specific part of the replay into a new file. You can then upload it and share it.
With all these modes added in, Treyarch finally has given an option to play split screen online. A feature long overdue, you get to play online and level with a buddy in one console. Sadly, and I don’t know why it’s different, only the Xbox version allows you to do online splitscreen with 2 different profiles leveling up differently while the PS3 version you’re not allowed to do so. In the PS3 version your buddy will have to work with whatever you have unlocked and pick from whatever load out you have made. Why that is feature exclusive to Xbox?? Ask Activision and get back to me on that one because id like to know as well.
Overall
Now this Title is a PACKAGE. You have a robust Single Player Campaign that hooks you in for 10 hours. A co-op zombie mode that makes you either go split screen or tackle the zombie apocalypse with 3 other friends online. And of course the famous COD multiplayer mode that everybody loves and adores. It’s worth every penny. Treyarch should be proud of this Title. If you like First Person Shooters, this game is for you. Black Ops has something to offer for any First Person Shooter fan and should not be ignored. Finally we have a game that was hyped up so much and didn’t disappoint.
Score: 95/100
Customization Trailer
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0_r4-eTmlA&feature=player_embedded]
REVIEW: Split/Second (PSP)
It's sort of an unwritten rule that almost every action film should have an adrenalin fueled car chase full of explosions with any disregard for property damage. If you ever wanted to know how that feels like then Split/Second is the game for you. Filled with flying cars, explosions and crumbling debris, this action packed arcade racer will laugh, cry, swear at the driver AI, jump for joy or possibly throw your PSP across the room. Whichever the result may be, you definitely have to try this game out.
Split/Second Developer: Black Rock Studio / Sumo Digital Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. Platform: Playstation Portable Rating: E for Everyone Release: 11/17/2010
The Gist of Things:
You participate in a fictional reality TV show called Split/Second where drivers race for money and glory. This type of racing is a little different from your standard racing. Tracks a littered with traps and explosives that can be trigger by the driver, these are called powerplays. So you drive around, build up your powerplay meter to wreck your opponents cars with and reach the finish line. Sounds simple enough right? With 27 cars and 16 courses to choose from, you can expect a lot of action, suspense, thrills, and a whole mess of explosions in this game.
Story:
Aside from the whole reality TV show thing, there really isn't much else to the story of Split/Second. You have no character, you don't interact with any NPCs. You just drive. Remember this though, once you beat the Single Player Season mode, I bet you'll be as surprised as I was when that final cutscene rolled.
Gameplay and Features:
As I mentioned earlier, you drive around and use powerplays to take out your opponents. Powerplays are essentially your weapons in the game. No Koopa shells for you but I think a flaming bus rolling from the side or a collapsing building is a good replacement for taking out the competition don't you think?
Powerplays:
Your powerplay meter is divided into 3 chunks, each chunk can activate one blue colored powerplay. Having three built up in your meter, you can trigger the bigger powerplays which have a red colored icon. Blue ones trigger small traps like setting off a flaming bus to roll over rivals or blow up a truck that could careen cars straight into a wall. Blue powerplays can also open small shortcuts that might be available for you to zoom through and take the lead.
Red powerplays trigger the big stuff, perhaps a tip over a docked cruise ship or call down a large airplane to crash onto the runway. Red powerplays can also trigger route changes which could change the flow of a race completely.
Single Player:
Single player mode is divided into 3 other modes. Season mode let's you race in episodes. There are 12 episodes with each holding 6 events. There are 7 events.
Race is your standard racing mode which pits you against 7 other cars and your goal is to reach the finish line after 3 laps.
Detonator has you drive through a course as fast as you can while powerplays trigger automatically. This is one of the cooler modes because here you get that instant "action movie" feel with things blowing up everywhere and you having to dodge left and right constantly while racing against the clock to reach the goal. This mode let's you see almost all the powerplays in effect and witness the grand scale of destruction that the game offers.
Elimination has you racing against a timer. The car in last place gets eliminated every time the timer hits zero so your objective is to reach 1st place and stay in 1st place as long as you can.
Air Strike pits you against a chopper which fires waves of missiles at you. Your goal is to survive as long as you can while racking up points for avoiding the missiles. Targets appear on the track and show where the missiles will land.
Air Revenge is a variant of the Air Strike event. Instead of just dodging missiles, you build up your powerplay meter. Using a powerplay will trigger a missile scrambler which will send missiles back to the chopper. You goal is to take out the chopper as fast as you can.
Survival will have you racing through a track which has trucks driving around. These trucks will drop explosive barrels and will try to slow you down. You earn points by passing as many trucks as you can. There is also a timer present in this mode. The event ends when either you reach 1st place or crash while the timer is down to zero.
The last event is called Elite Race and is only available in Season mode. The driver AI is very aggressive in this mode and often times activated the big powerplays. Stakes are high as you need to place third or higher to unlock the next episode.
The next game mode in single player is Quick Race. Here you have access to all 16 courses and all 6 event types except Elite Race.
There is also a Challenge mode available in the single player option. With only 3 challenges to choose from and only 1 course for each challenge, this feels tacked on a bit underwhelming. Destruction will have you drive around and wrecking rival cars increases your score and bonus time. Power Slide lets you drift around to earn points and bonus time. Keep On Truckin' is the more unique of the challenges, it's the same premise as Survival mode but instead of using one of the regular vehicles, you actually take control of one of the Split/Second trucks and instead of dodging just barrels, you also have to dodge rigged rival cars the explode on impact. Now the truck itself can't crash but hitting the exploding cars can reset your points multiplier back to one.
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer for this game is simple and runs through local Ad-Hoc with up to four players. I wish it would've reached up to 8 maximum players so races could be more hectic and exciting though. It's pretty standard, you can choose only 3 event types (race, elimination and survival) but have access to all 16 courses.
Split/Second for the PSP is a very good port of it's console counter part. It did a lot of things right but the game is without faults. I did encounter a few glitches like clipping and me falling through the ground maybe twice. Some glitches worked for the better though, like one time in detonation mode, I kept crashing so I had to restart the event multiple times. When I paused the game after I restarted, I left it until my PSP went into sleep mode. When I turned it back on, the game said I completed the race and came in 1st place. So now I have one event in Season mode wherein my best time is 0:00:00. Another glitched that I benefited from was when I just fell through the ground and magically teleported in 1st place. I ended up coming in second place for that race but I got a good laugh out of it.
With the game being on the PSP, I'm sure it's going to be neglected and looked at as a throw away shovel-ware title but it's a very good port of the original game. Graphics wise car models could have looked a bit better but it's very solid overall. Where the graphics shine is in the environments. Hitting powerplays look good, especially the big ones and it's satisfying to blow up a dam, take out all 7 opponents and zoom to 1st from 8th place, both visually and personally. I do have one gripe with the game though, it's nothing game breaking but it annoyed me greatly as I was starting out. And that is the crash physics, it looks so cheap and wonky on the PSP. I call it "gummy bear physics" because when a car crashes, it looks the same as throwing a gummy bear at a wall and watching it bounce off like it has no weight. It's very minor and didn't keep me from enjoying the game a great deal. I had a lot of moments where it clearly looked that I was not going to place in 1st. But one well placed powerplay can change all that. It only takes a split second to turn the tides.
Score: 76/100
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8W9eFaCM9o&feature=player_embedded]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpnUzI04_1s&feature=player_embedded]
(Original Post by Migoy)
REVIEW: Sonic Colors (DS)
A blue streak speeds by and it's too fast for the naked eye. If you're a kid born in the 80's then you'll know who I'm talking about. It's Sonic the Hedgehog and he's supposedly the fastest thing alive. It's been pretty rough for our spiny blue friend lately with a lot of his games that disappoint more than satisfy. Maybe Sonic Colors for the Nintendo DS can help whisk away all those bad vibes and fill it with color.
Sonic Colors Developer: Sonic Team Publisher: Sega Platform: Nintendo DS Rating: E for Everyone Release: 11/16/2010
Sonic Colors for the Nintendo DS is a "2.5-D" (2-D game with 3-D graphics) side scroller much like the classic Sonic games on the Sega Genesis. Although this one plays more like the Sonic Rush games also on the Nintendo DS. You control Sonic (and ONLY Sonic) and through each stage trying to reach the goal in the shortest amount of time possible while collecting rings and dodging / eliminating enemies.
Story:
Dr. Eggman is up to no good again. This time he opens "Dr. Eggman's Interstellar Amusement Park" in space which is made up of different planet sized zones. Of course this is all just a front for his grander evil scheme of using a mind control beam to manipulate others to do his bidding. Sonic and Tail check out the theme park and find out that Dr. Eggman is kidnapping aliens called Wisps, turning them into Nega-Wisps and uses their power to fuel the weapon. It's up to Sonic to visit each zone, free the Wisps and shut down the generators liking to the amusement park.
Gameplay:
Sonic still has all his basic moves along with new ones found in some of his previous 3-D titles. The new ones being the homing attack, a ground slide, and a air executed foot stomp. What really sets this game apart from other Sonic titles is his ability to merge with Wisps and change into different forms depending on what color Wisp he merges with.
Wisps:
White Boost - allow Sonic to use a speed boost which rockets him forward and knocks away any enemy in front of him.
Cyan Laser - turns Sonic into a thin laser that bounces of any solid surface, the surface of water, off mirrors that change the laser's path, and through power lines.
Yellow Drill - let's Sonic drill through soft ground or water. If you run out of power while still in soft ground, you lose a life.
Orange Rocket - blasts Sonic straight up and ends with a slow glide which can be cancelled by performing a homing attack, a boost, or a foot stomp. Ring hooks can change the direction of the rocket.
Red Burst - turns Sonic into a living fireball that can perform multiple jumps by blowing himself up by holding down and releasing any of the face buttons. Holding down a face button long enough before release can cause a huge screen clearing explosion.
Violet Void - transforms Sonic in a floating black hole that can suck up nearby rings and enemies, growing bigger in the process.
I love how the game announces what form you take when activated. Outside of white Wisps, the other colored Wisps appear when you need them or to allow you to access certain areas of a level. It's easy to spot when you need them due to signs in the background that show a picture of what form you need. The levels are vast and have many paths and short cuts to reach the goal. In my opinion, this game has some of the best level design to ever grace a Sonic game. It's frantic, fun, and not as frustratingly hard as the Sonic Rush or Sonic Advance games. Most of the time you're going at break neck speeds. If you do come to a screeching halt due to maybe some forced platforming segments or a hit by an enemy, one hit of the boost button can send you rocketing toward the goal in no time.
The sense of speed in this game is incredible, you can zoom through stages in an average of 3-4mins in your first run. The great thing is, even though you're hitting mach 2, you never feel lost. You feel like you are always in control. Sure you might run into a bad guy that sends your rings flying but it's easy to remember where that spot is and when you'll usually pass it in the next run. Cheap deaths are still present but are usually avoidable if you are paying attention.
Boss fights are also more forgiving here, they are also the easiest to S-Rank. You can also boost in boss fights which deal more damage and are sometimes essential in beating the boss.
There are red rings present in the game that you can collect. These unlock concept art that is viewable in the game's gallery mode. Collecting all the red rings unlocks Infinite Boost mode for Story levels. Special stages are also present which you control Sonic using the stylus and the reward for each special stage is a chaos emerald. Collecting all 7 chaos emeralds unlocks the game's secret boss.
Multiplayer:
Sonic Colors for the Nintendo DS actually has very good multiplayer support. You can connect with a friend either locally or online. You can compete against a computer controlled player, an actual living person or even game share to people who don't have a copy of the game. Opponents appear as glowing orbs so you won't have the satisfaction of seeing different colored Sonics unlike the Wii version. Online leader boards are also present so you can brag to the world how fast you completed a level.
I tend to get excited about Sonic games because I love the sense of speed it gives to the player. Dashing through colorful worlds at break neck speeds has always amused me since Sonic Adventure and the Sonic Advance games on the GBA. Let's be honest, the old Genesis game were great but Sonic couldn't run THAT fast back in the day. I had a blast with Sonic Colors on the DS. Though it's relatively short, it's a worthy addition to any gamer's portable collection. This game is a solid platformer and proves that Sonic can really move and that he's the fastest thing alive... in the video game world at least.
Score: 80/100
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IauLncV1048&feature=player_embedded]
(Original Post by Migoy)
Review: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
Controls: With the Wii able to support multiple control styles, you'll be happy to know that TvC: UAS has a setup for all of them (yes, even Wiimote sideways). Using the Wiimote / Wiimote + Nunchuk dumbs down the controls scheme a great deal but can be good shallow fun for people unfamiliar with the genre or series. The real charm comes from using either a Classic controller, a GameCube controller, or a Wii arcade stick as you have full control of every action your character can do. Baroque: The Baroque system is a form of cancel. By sacrificing whatever red life your character is recovering, you can extend your combo and string together a longer chain of hits and deal more damage. The length of the red life bar determines the amount of increased power your character receives. Using a Baroque involves a certain amount of risk and definitely adds a bit of depth to the combat. Mega Crash: A Mega Crash can get you out of a jam if you think you're getting beaten up a bit too much. It gives your character a burst of energy which interrupts your opponent's combo string and knocks them to the other side of the screen. Performing a Mega Crash uses 2 super bars and drains a bit of life so spamming isn't an option. This game isn't just a complete translation of the Japanese version as it also brings some new meat. With a loss of 1 character exclusive to the Japanese version, Ultimate All-Stars brings 5 new character to the fray along with more minigames and online play. There were balance tweaks done in Ultimate All-Stars that fixed some of the more exploitable moves like spammable infinites. Online: You can participate in ranked matches, have the system match you up against random opponents or exchange friend codes with people you know. It works well enough but you can experience some input lag depending on your connection speed and your distance with the other player. Online may not be the best way to experience this game, at least it's an option that should have been there from the beginning.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars a very solid fighter and is a great addition to the Vs. series. Don't let you lack of knowledge of obscure anime scare you away from this game as it is, in my opinion, one of the best fighters out there on the Wii. Score: 86/100 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMj_lam6_g4&feature=player_embedded] On a side note: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1p3Dd4y_Y4&feature=player_embedded] Zero. Need I say more? :D
REVIEW: Just Dance
Wondering why there is a sudden boom in dance games recently? Why developers are going gaga for something so simple and "not for the hardcore audience"? This is the game that started it all and if you've heard about it, I bet you already hate it without even taking a crack at it. Let's think for a moment, maybe this game isn't for you. After all there is a "casual" market out there. But don't be afraid to tread unfamiliar waters cause I gotta say, this game is just good clean fun.
Just Dance Developer: Ubisoft Paris Publisher: Ubisoft Platform: Nintendo Wii Rating: E for Everyone Release: 11/17/2009
We all know not everyone is born with the ability to dance, myself included. However this game doesn't require you to be The Next Dance Crew.. member. Just Dance just asks you to do is don't be shy and shake your groove thing to some classic and modern pop hits.
"Bird bird bird! The bird is the word!"Gameplay and Features:
The premise of this game is very simple. Pick a song, hold the Wiimote on your right hand, and copy the moves of the dancer on screen as if you are looking into a mirror. Up to 4 players can dance at the same time and anyone can easily jump in before or during the song. You are rated by points based on movements tracked by the Wiimote. Scoring is done in 3 ways, Bad, Ok, or Great and the player with highest score by the end of the song wins. You cannot fail in the game so aside from the game tell you who has the highest score, I guess everyone is a winner. Simple as it is, the game isn't good at recognizing your movement at times. In Quickplay this is a minor issue but in every other game mode it's a pretty big deal.
Strike a Pose mode requires you to freeze at random points during a song and the person with the stillest pose supposedly earns more points. No matter how still you stand, more often than not the game fails to recognize if you are in fact standing still or not.
Last One Standing mode gives you 7 lives. You lose 1 for every Bad you get and gain 1 for every 5 consecutive Greats. This could be imbalanced at times and there are some portions of a song where I just can't figure out how the game wants me positioning the Wiimote for the respective dance move.
"Groove to the beat that you can't touch!"Quickplay may be the only real option to choose if you want to play this game as you just have to dance. All 32 songs are available from the get go and includes some tunes as "Who Let the Dog's Out?" by Baha Men, "Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry, and even U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer with my personal favorite from all the tracks being Jerk It Out by The Caesars.
The dances are choreographed well with the dancers phased out to look like a living vector animation of themselves with bright and vivid colors. It's hilarious fun watching your friends whirling an imaginary lasso to "Cotton Eye Joe" or watch em wiggle to "Surfin' Bird" by The Trashmen. No dance is too difficult and most will definitely make you sweat so you could probably this is more of a "exercise game" than a "music game".
"Caution; you may look stupid while playing this game."Just Dance is a simple but fun game. The hardcore gamer might not appreciate this as there is no noteworthy mode outside of Quickplay, no online multiplayer, and no unlockables. But for a party game with having your friends over then this game takes the cake. Great for a laugh, mindless fun, and a great way to work up a sweat. If you don't want to shell out for this game then at least give it a rent if you're throwing a party cause I guarantee it'll be a blast.
Score: 60/100
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7zoqluKRuc&feature=player_embedded]