Dance games were something that the Nintendo Wii really brought to prominence. In fact, one of the most popular dance franchises – Just Dance – started out as a Wii title, and the popularity of the series sky-rocketed. In fact, it has spread to every other platform that has a motion control system and, in some cases (like the Xbox 360’s Kinect system) the Wii version has been left chewing some dust. That’s because the Kinect reads full body movement, and judges dancing accordingly. The Wii remote is the only measurement for the Wii, and that means it’s all in the player’s right hand.
Sadly, this weakness follows the series as it makes its transition to the Wii U, too. Relying heavily on the Wii remote once again, the game can be beaten by a player sitting on a couch and waving their right hand about. In fact, some dance moves are tracked so poorly that vague waving will be enough to get a passable score. How exactly Just Dance will move past this weakness I cannot say. But when it is faced with other titles and other platforms doing the whole dance thing much better, Just Dance on the Wii U needs some serious rethinking.
As does the art design. Just Dance has always been known for bright, colourful and sometimes odd visuals, but this fourth outing really takes the cake. Whether it is foxy ladies dancing on orange slices floating in a large cocktail or a superhero boogying along while Godzilla attacks in the background, the visuals look more like a bad acid trip than funky, hip imagery.
And the same goes for the dance steps. As to be expected, the player is guided by static prompts that show what the next move will be. But, in practice, they only seem to suggest what the next step might be. They can in no way keep up with the complexity of the choreography in this game. In fact, even veterans of the Just Dance series will need to go through each routine a few times to learn it off by heart – that’s how little use the prompts are. And the routines can get crazy in their difficulty from time to time.
While all of this may seem superfluous, the meat-and-bones of this game – which is supposed to be a fun, accessible party game – are sorely affected by these strange elements. The game seems to lack flow, and the level of fun anyone is likely to have is almost totally dependent on how much alcohol they have consumed prior to playing. Anyone taking the game remotely seriously is bound to get extremely frustrated, extremely quickly.
As a totally non-serious party game, Just Dance 4 can work, provided none of the players have any serious embarrassment issues. The multiplayer can lead to even more hilarity, but it can also devolve into a pseudo-sadistic, chaotic mess, too. With up to four players dancing with Wii remotes, the fifth player controls the choreography via the game pad. This puppet master mode is a great idea and can, at times, lead to lots of fun, but it feels flimsy in its execution.
Just Dance 4 does not show enough progression – particularly not in a franchise that is so popular. It feels more like a rushed out cash-in, which is rather sad. The developers should have put more in here, for the fans, rather than releasing a title that feels a little like it is taking advantage of its name.
