For more proof that “hardcore” (generally males between 12-40) and “casual” (generally everybody else) gamers are living on different planets, look no further than reviews for Just Dance. On the gaming sites, according to Metacritic, there are a few good reviews but also a large number of critiques that sound like what you might get if you asked Tipper Gore to review Modern Warfare 2. Take this agenda review from IGN:
Do not buy this game. Do not rent this game, do not look at this game on the shelf, don’t even think about this game lest someone at Ubisoft find out and they prep a Just Dance 2. Such would be the end of all things, mark my words.
But other than that, was it ok? Actually that’s nothing compared to the apoplexy of the critic at Gaming Age, who starts out “This is awful” and goes downhill from there. It’s a must-read.
The comments from average folks at Amazon (as well as the comments at the bottom of the Metacritic page) tell quite a different point of view. Almost 9 out of 10 of more than 200 Amazon reviews are either 4 or 5 stars on a scale of 1-5. ”Fun for all ages” and “Great party game” and “Great workout” are repeated over and over, with enthusiasts Just Dancing everywhere from family reunions to office parties. And many of them are popping up on YouTube for the world’s enjoyment.
To give critics even more indigestion, the company that makes Just Dance, Ubisoft, announced that it is their fastest-selling Wii game ever. The game raced to the top of the UK game sales charts and has been hanging around the top 5 at Amazon for weeks.
I just got Just Dance last week, and while I LOVE this game, I can see where the gaming critics are coming from. If you go down the video game check boxes – graphics (vintage 1990), scoring (seemingly random), controls (awkward pointing and clicking), gameplay (just dance, that’s it) – Just Dance pretty much fails. And practically everyone not in a stadium is sick of hearing “Who Let the Dogs Out”.
But who cares? For me, Just Dance did for “U Can’t Touch This” what the original Guitar Hero did for “More Than A Feeling” – took a completely worn-out, overplayed oldie and made it nearly as fresh as the day it came out. This game is all about the tunes and the fun, not controls or scoring or epic storylines. Maybe it shouldn’t even be called a “game”. But whatever you call it, it has blown the dust off a lot of Wiis and touched a nerve with ordinary people of all ages who want to forget the recession, winter weather and other blues, and just dance. Nothing wrong with that at all. Stop! Hammer time!
Dance Dance Revolution is a great workout for your legs and cardiovascular system, but did you know you can also play it in a way that works your middle? It’s very simple: use your hands instead of your feet!
Now just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s easy. I highly recommend starting with Light or even Beginner. But it’s very easy to adapt to your core strength. You can start out on your knees (like knee pushups) or even with your legs completely tucked under you. As you get stronger, try getting on your toes; it’s easier to begin with your feet spread apart, just like in a pushup progression. I usually do the menu selection on my toes, then switch to knees for the song itself.
Give it a try! It may look funny, but it sure is a lot more fun than tons of crunches.
A zany new game called Muscle March popped up on Wii’s downloadable games channel this week. In Muscle March, a gang of musclebound, Speedo-wearing bodybuilders (plus a bear, and a woman named Brenda who mistakenly lifted something over 10 pounds) chase a brazen thief who stole their jar of protein powder. As the thief breaks through walls, the bodybuilders (that is, you the player) must “pose” in the shape of the hole, similar to the short-lived game show Hole In The Wall that my kids and I enjoyed watching. I’m not making this up! See for yourself:
I’d say this is the most bizarre exergame I’ve ever seen, except that this is not really an exergame unless you count giggling till your abs ache. To pose, you simply point your remote and nunchuck up or down, and some reviewers are saying the controllers don’t work very well. But it’s only 5 dollars in Wii points – geez, I’ve spent more than that on movies that made me laugh a whole lot less. Even the game’s official web site is a takeoff on the fitness infomercials that are bombarding the TV this time of year.
(Muscle March comes from Namco Bandai, the same company responsible for the Active Life series of mat games for Wii. Wouldn’t it have been great if this game made use of the Active Life mat, making you run on the mat to chase the bad guys?)
Many self-proclaimed experts like to dismiss exergaming as “not real exercise” or “better than nothing at all”, but increasing numbers of real people are proving that to be nonsense. Pre-Wii, Dance Dance Revolution was one of the first exergames to perk up the eyes and ears of mainstream media around 2005 or so, when arrow stompers serendipitously discovered pounds melting off at near-infomercial speed. (I was one of them – I lost nearly 60 pounds in less than a year.) This 2004 article from USA Today tells of some of the young people who lost as much as 100 pounds playing DDR, and here’s a Today Show segment where two DDR “losers” demonstrate the game (DDRMAX2 for PS2) followed by a dance-off between hosts Matt Lauer and Ann Curry:
What They Play, a site that looks at video games from a parent’s and family point of view, began a series of exergaming success stories this month called “The Weight Loss Game”. One woman lost an incredible 90 pounds playing My Fitness Coach on Wii, and two more women lost 75 pounds and 33 pounds respectively playing Wii Fit and EA Sports Active.
Fitness is about more than just weight loss, of course, and some of the people above who lost more than just points while gaming, used their new strength and confidence to do things like run a 5K, go rock climbing or start support sites for other exergamers. Congrats to all of you!
Last fall, I wrote that two upcoming Pokemon games for Nintendo DS, HeartGold and SoulSilver, included a pocket pedometer that counts steps and powers up the game the more a player walks around. The full descriptions of the games are now posted at Amazon, and they will be released in March.
Another DS game that rewards you for walking around, at least in a heavily-populated area, is Treasure World. This game detects wi-fi signals using the DS’s wireless internet capability, and those signals unlock “treasures” within the game that you can then share and trade with other players online. I never really got into these trading games, but they’re huge on Facebook, and my daughter got hooked on the Wii trading game Animal Crossing when we rented it for just one day. So with games like Treasure World and the Pokemon pedometer games, who knows, your kids might actually beg you to take them for a walk, which will do the whole family some good.
