'Just Dance' compilation: More moves, less moola

— -- What to do while waiting for Just Dance 4 to debut this October?

Get your groove on with Just Dance: Greatest Hits, a collection of 35 songs from Just Dance (2009) and Just Dance 2 (2010), plus three bonus tracks from last year's Just Dance 3.

For owners of Xbox 360, this new disc lets you play games previously available on the Nintendo Wii— and you get to use the Kinect for Xbox 360 accessory to boogie in front of your television without anything in your hands. For Nintendo Wii players, Just Dance: Greatest Hits has you dance to songs from the first two games at a discounted rate (both games still sell for $40 apiece).

In case you've never played any of these party games, Just Dance: Greatest Hits challenges you to mimic moves of professional dancers in order to rack up as many points as possible. Kinect for Xbox 360 gamers must use the hands-free Kinect for Xbox 360 peripheral; body moves are captured by the sensors and camera to compare your rhythm against the onscreen dancers, which appear as colorful silhouettes in front of an animated background.

Up to three other friends or family members can step in front of the television at any time — even during a song — and they'll automatically join in on the fun. Nintendo Wii owners must hold the white remote in their hands while dancing. Either way, these games make for great party games for kids, tweens and teens (ok, and adults, too).

Along with earning points for dancing well, you'll also get a quick summary of each move, such as "Ok," "Good" or "Perfect," and you'll earn up to five stars per game. The person with the golden crown over their name means they're currently the top scorer.

The game houses a wide range of musical genres, and from different eras: the '60s (Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas, for example), the '70s (Anita Ward's Ring My Bell, Boney M.'s Rasputin), the '80s (Irene Cara's Fame, Survivor's Eye of the Tiger), the '90s (Snap's The Power, New Kids On The Block's Step By Step) and hits from the 2000s including A. R. Rahman's Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny), Katy Perry's Firework and Ke$ha's TiK ToK. Newer tracks include Rihanna's Only Girl (In the World) and B.o.B.'s Airplanes.

Just Dance: Greatest Hits includes numerous game modes, including the revamped Just Sweat mode — now with varying workout plans and playlists, and support for up to four players. A meter shows you how many calories you're burning while dancing, plus you can set daily or weekly objectives.

A Just Create mode lets you create and record your own choreography and then play it with friends. Dance Battles has you create your own dance crew of up to four players and compete against other crews in a dance off. On that note, you can also connect with friends online in this game; when you select a song you'll see the Friend Score Challenge icon if a friend has outscored you, and has challenged you to beat them. As with past Just Dance games, there's also a Duet and Simon Says mode.

While fun, Just Dance: Greatest Hits has very basic visuals that don't compare to the graphical detail seen in other dancing games like MTV Games' Dance Central series. Plus, you don't see yourself on the television — instead it's silhouettes of professional dancers you're trying to imitate. One other issue is using the hands-free Kinect can be finicky when waving your hands to select a particular mode or song.

Overall, Just Dance: Greatest Hits delivers a lot of bang for the buck. Fans of dancing games who haven't yet purchased the original games should take advantage of this toe-tapping collection.

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Just Dance: Greatest Hits

Platform: Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii

Genre: Rhythm

Developer: Ubisoft

Publisher: Ubisoft

Web site: justdancegame.com

Price: $39.99

Rating: Everyone 10+

Score: 3.0 stars (out of 4)

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Contact Saltzman at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marc_saltzman.