Try these dance steps, if you're game
— -- Remember Dance Dance Revolution from the late '90s? It was a groundbreaking video game that taught teens how to rock the dance floor by stepping on colored arrows printed on a plastic mat. The game tracked their movements and awarded points based on how well they matched the beat while hitting the right arrows in correct sequence.
A decade or so later, dancing games are still popular with a certain age group. But the new versions don't need floor mats to measure a dancer's footwork. Instead, they use the new motion-sensing camera accessories — Move for Sony's PlayStation 3 and Kinect for Microsoft's Xbox 360 — to record and analyze a player's style.
Everybody Dance for the PS3 ($40 from Sony Computer Entertainment) and Dance Central 2 for the Xbox ($40 from Harmonix) both make dancing a competitive sport. Players can team up to compete for high scores against friends at home or online, then capture their best moves and share the clips online.
Each game offers a teaching mode where dancers can practice before going public. And both have fitness playlists designed for players who prefer to dance off some calories rather than score points.
Both games pull their soundtracks from a library of about 40 music videos. Everybody Dance had Outkast, Duck Sauce and Elton John. Dance Central 2 claims Daft Punk, Missy Elliott and Bobby Brown.
Both have the same songs from Lady Gaga and Rihanna, and either one will let you whip your hair with Willow.
So, what's the difference between the two?
Dance Central 2 deserves a slight edge. It has a larger song library, and it supports voice commands, so players can cue up a song without grabbing a controller. And for an extra $5, you can import Snoop Dog, the Beastie Boys and all the other songs from the original Dance Central.
E-mail Ric at ricman@courier-journal.com.
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