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Dancing games for Kinect
Get in Shape with dance games for the kinect
I love dancing and I love playing video games. I also have absolutely no rythm whatsoever. That is why dancing games for the kinect are the perfect thing for me. I get to dance and I get to play and I can do it when noone is around to laugh at me. Or I can do it when I have friends over and we can laugh at (and with) each other.
If you like to dance then dancing games for the kinect is a perfect way to get in shape as well. If it wasn't because most of the kinect games will remind you frequently about how long you have played I probably would easily lose track of time. Dancing to good music and having fun is the perfect way to burn a little bit of calories and might be the way to survive the upcoming Christmas dinners wihtout putting on too much weight.
It really is super fun to play these games and I spend a lot of time laughing at myself, but that is just good. Laughing strenghtens your stomach muscles and burns fat as well ;)
Xbox and Kinect bundle
In order to play any of the games I review below you will need both and xbox and a kinect. Why not make use of this really nice bundle deal and get both a bit cheaper?
Before you buy a kinect you should consider a couple of things though. First of all. Do you have the space for a kinect? The minimum requirements for a Kinect is to have 2 meter(US measurement) in front of the TV. It is however also really important to have space to the sides and something many people forget space to the roof. When I first set my kinect up I didn't have much room to move on sideways and I had a lamp hanging over the spot where I was dancing.
Secondly make sure that you have a relatively well lit room for your kinect. If it is too dark in the room the camera will not pick up your movements properly, which man make for a very frustrating experience.
Now if these 2 things are in place, go ahead and buy the kinect. It offers a ton of fun, both when playing alone and when playing with friends.
Dance Central song list
- Audio Push - Teach Me How To Jerk
- Basement Jaxx - Rendez-vu
- Beastie Boys - Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix)
- Beenie Man - King Of The Dancehall
- Bell Biv DeVoe - Poison
- Benny Benassi - Satisfaction
- Cascada - Evacuate the Dancefloor
- Christina Milian - Dip It Low
- The Commodores - Brick House
- Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)
- Dirty Vegas - Days Go By
- Eric B. & Rakim - Don't Sweat the Technique
- Fannypack - Hey Mami
- Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne - Down
- Kool & The Gang - Jungle Boogie
- Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out of My Head
- Lady Gaga - Just Dance
- Lady Gaga - Poker Face
- Lipps Inc - Funky Town
- M.I.A. - Galang '05
- Nelly Furtado - Maneater
- Nina Sky - Move Ya Body
- No Doubt - Hella Good
- Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
- Quad City DJ's - C'mon N' Ride It (TheTrain)
- Rihanna - Pon de Replay
- Salt-N-Pepa - Push It
- Snoop Dogg/Pharrell - Drop It Like It's Hot
- Soulja Boy Tell 'Em - Crank That (Soulja Boy)
- Wreckx-n-Effect - Rump Shaker
- Young MC - Bust A Move
Dance Central in action - So easy even a child can do it
(That does not mean it will be easy for you. This little fellow is pro ;))
How good are you at dancing games? - or Elegant or Elefant?
Personally I don't have a pinch of rythm in my entire body, I struggle majorly when I have to coordinate both my arms and legs at the same time. (doing star jumps is about as much as I can manage.) But I still love dancing and to excercise in general. Do you have grace and rythm?
Elegant or Elefant?
Dance Central 2
Dance Central 2 is much like its predecessor. It captures movements really well and it also have the option to practice the moves with the breakdown feature. Furthermore it has a workout option that will track the amount of calories you have burned. I was concenerd that turning this function on, might take away from the fun, however adding a bit of fitness to the game has just proven to make it better. I have fun dancing and then as an extra little bonus I am told once in a while that I burned another 20 calories. Win /Win.
The songs are arranged by difficulty so you can do as I have done and start from the top and work your way down or if you are feeling adventurous you can start from the bottom and see how it goes. Either way you are guarenteed to have fun.
Dance Central 2 Song list
- Sandstorm - Darude
- Mai Ai Hee (Dragostea Din Tea) - O-Zone
- Reach - Atlantic Connection And Armanni Reign
- Real Love - Mary J. Blige
- Venus - Bananarama
- Bulletproof - La Roux
- Turn Me On - Kevin Lyttle
- Last Night - P. Diddy feat. Keyshia Cole
- The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground
- Impacto (Remix) - Daddy Yankee feat. Fergie
- This Is How We Do It - Montell Jordan
- The Breaks - Kurtis Blow
- Hot Stuff - Donna Summer
- Body to Body - Electric Valentine
- Fire Burning - Sean Kingston
- You're A Jerk - New Boyz
- Oops (Oh My) - Tweet feat. Missy Elliot
- Right Thurr - Chingy
- Rude Boy - Rihanna
- Nothin' On You - B.O.B feat. Bruno Mars
- Club Can't Handle Me - Flo Rida feat. David Guetta
- I Like It - Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull
- Massive Attack - Nikki Minaj feat. Sean Garrett
- My Prerogative - Bobby Brown
- Grenade - Bruno Mars
- I Wish For You - Exile
- Meddle - Little Boots
- Goodies - Ciara
- Born This Way - Lady Gaga
- Whip My Hair - Willow Smith
- Conceited (There's Something About Remy) - Remy Ma
- What Is Love? - Haddaway
- Like A G6 - Far East Movement
- Yeah! - Usher feat. Lil' Jon & Ludacris
- Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
- DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love - Usher feat. Pitbull
- Run (Natural Disaster) - Gnarls Barkley
- Baby Got Back (Mix Mix) - Sir Mix-A-Lot
- Technologic - Daft Punk
- Somebody To Love - Justin Bieber
- Satellite - Lena
- Get Ur Freak On - Missy Elliot
- Toxic - As made famous by Britney Spears
- Sexy Chick - David Guetta feat. Akon
Dance Central 2 gameplay video by gamespot
Just Dance 3
Interestingly enough Just Dance 3 does not include Lady Gagas famous just dance song (maybe because Dance Central got there first?) It does however have a wide variety of songs and it probably the dance game of the ones mentioned here that spans the broadest spectrum of musical styles and eras.
That being said, Just Dance 3 is lacking a bit when it comes to actual game play. The style of the game is more cartoonish and it can sometimes be a bit hard to follow the person on the screen, furthermore the game doesn't seem to pick up as well or as accurately on movements as the Dance Central games does.
There is not practice mode either which can make it very hard to get into the game. It does however have an unlock feature where you level up and unlock Song remix, mini games like Simon say and other minor extras.
If you are looking for a good dance game for the kinect that has a very varied song choice Just Dance 3 could be it.
Song List for Just Dance 3
- 2 Unlimited - "No Limit"
- a-ha - "Take On Me"
- Anja - "Dance All Nite"
- Bananarama - "Venus"
- Black Eyed Peas - "Pump It"
- Bollywood Rainbow - "Kurio ko uddah le jana
- Cee Lo Green - "Forget You"
- Countdown Mix Masters - "Beautiful Liar"
- Daft Punk - "Da Funk"
- Danny Elfman - "This is Halloween"
- Donna Summer - "I Feel Love
- Dr. Creole - "Baby Zouk"
- Duck Sauce - "Barbra Streisand"
- Girls Aloud - "Jump (For My Love)"
- Groove Century - "Boogie Wonderland"
- Gwen Stefani - "What You Waiting For"
- Inspector Marceau - "The Master Blaster"
- Janelle Monae - "Tightrope (Solo Version)"
- Jessie J featuring B.o.B - "Price Tag"
- Brahms by Just Dance Classical Orchestra - "Hungarian Dance No. 5"
- Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg - "California Gurls"
- Kiss - "I Was Made For Lovin' You"
- Konshens - "Jamaican Dance"
- African Ladies - "Pata Pata"
- Latino Sunset - "Mamasita"
- Laura Bell Bundy - "Giddy On Up (Giddy On Out)"
- Lena Meyer-Landrut - "Satellite"
- LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock - "Party Rock Anthem"
- Madness - "Night Boat To Cairo"
- MIKA - "Lollipop"
- Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland - "Promiscuous"
- Pointer Sisters - "I'm So Excited"
- Queen - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
- Reggaeton Explosion - "Boom"
- Rita Mitsouko - "Marcia Baila"
- Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman - "Somethin' Stupid"
- Scissor Sisters - "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'"
- Sweat Invaders - "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"
- Taio Cruz - "Dynamite"
- The Buggles - "Video Killed The Radio Star"
- The Chemical Brothers - "Hey Boy Hey Girl"
- The Girly Team - "Baby One More Time"
- The London Theatre Orchestra & Cast - "Think"
- The Sugarhill Gang - "Apache (Jump On It)"
- Tommy Sparks - "She's Got Me Dancing"
- Wilson Pickett - "Land of 1000 Dances"
Just dance 3 gameplay video
Which Console do you prefer?
I have both a PS3 a Nintendo WII and an Xbox. They all serve their purpose in my opinion, but what about you? Do you have a preference?
Which console is the best?
My Dance Central 2 Work out Journal
A fitness diary
How many calories can I burn with Dancing games for the Kinect?
That is something I often get asked by my friends when I tell them that I use Dance games both for fun and for a good work out. It is a hard question to answer really as it depends on how much effort you put into the moves.
Because I know a lot of people are really interested to know how many calories they can burn playing Dance Central " or any of the other dance games I will try and keep an eye on my own work out sessions and add the details here.
I will use the following format:
Time - Time spent playing dance central 2 this session.
Calories burned - How many calories I burned playing Dance central this session.
Additional comments - Any additional comments I may have about the session.
25/11/2011- Dance Central 2 Workout
Time:
40 minutes
Calories burned:
120 (As a comparison I can burn 150 calories in 30 mins on my excersize bike.)
Additional comments:
Still learning the moves and still only doing the easy songs. 3 new songs were played using the break down the song feature. (this means you don't have 100% activity time as you are waiting for the trainer to show the moves). 10 minutes spent on the sprint workout session. (This is a dedicated songlist that is put together in order to give you the same workout as a good sprint would).
Once I get the moves down I am convinced I can burn much more.
27/11/2011 - Dance Central 2 Workout
Time:
18 min
Calories burned:
64
Additional comments:
Very short workout. I just did 1 breakdown of a song + the full version and then the sprint workout session.
28-11-2011 - Dance Central 2 Workout
Time:
30 min
Calories burned:
102
Additional comments:
I tried another pre-made session today, I did break a sweat, but the sprint session is better.
02/12/2011 - Dance Central 2 Workout
Time:
32 min
Calories burned:
124
Additional comments:
I did both a sprint and another premade session today. I did however also do 1 song on its own and a breakdown of a song, which cut down on the amount of calories burned/hour. Stil better than last session though! :)
04/12/2011
Time:
20 min
Calories burned:
75
Additional comments:
Pretty short work out this evening, I was a bit tired from work. I did one breakdown of a song and the sprint workout session. 75 calories is 2 3rds of a Kitkat though so not too bad (especially considering I didn't eat a Kitkat today ;) The great thing about the Dancing games for the kinect is that you can do shorted sessions, have fun and still burn some calories.
05/12/2011
Time:
15 min
Calories burned:
50
Additional comments:
Very short session today, but I followed it up with some situps, burgees and "plank" time.
I did 1 song, 1 breakdown of a song + the actual dance and a sprint session.
Update 2011-12-10
I had an operation on my leg a couple of days ago and I have been told by the doctor to keep it still for a couple of weeks. I will get back with updates once I can start being active again.
01/01/2012
Time:
15 and a half min
Calories burned:
56
Additional comments:
2 songs and 1 sprint session done. This is the first workout after my operation so I was taking it easy. Still have a bit of pain in the leg, but it is nice to be active again.
02/01/2012
Time:
20 min
Calories burned:
66
Additional comments:
1 song and 1 sweat session done.
06/01/2012
Time:
10 min
Calories burned:
50
Additional comments:
1 sweat session done. Very quick, but efficient work out today. Noone can say they don't have 10 minutes and if you can burn 50 calories, that is almost half a chocolate bar. :)
07/01/2012
Time:
10 min
Calories burned:
54
Additional comments:
Another very session done, this time just 1 sprint module
08/01/2012
Time:
10 min
Calories burned:
48
Additional comments:
Yet another 10 minutes workout with the sprint session. It is perfect for when you come home from work and you are tired. Short and Sweet and it gives you energy.
26/01/2012
Time:
15 min
Calories burned:
66
Additional comments:
10 minutes workout with the sprint session. Plus 2 single songs.
