Tiffany “ElektraFi” Fary shares details she learned about Dance Central 2 while attending E3 last month. The game, developed by Harmonix for Xbox 360/Kinect, is scheduled for release later this Fall. Read on for initial impressions of the game and some bootylicious new features.
Last month, I had a chance to check out the upcoming Dance Central 2 at E3. Along with trying out the game demo by dancing with Harmonix Choreographer, Francisca Hernandez, I chatted with one of the producers, Jon Carter, to find out more details about what’s in store for Dance Central 2.
Simultaneous Multi-Player
The greatest new feature for Dance Central 2 is the addition of simultaneous multi-player for side-by-side dancing with seamless drop-in and drop-out capabilities. Simultaneous multi-player was hands down the most requested feature coming out of the original Dance Central game. Due to the initial limitations of a game being developed while Kinect was also being developed, it was a feature placed on the back burner to focus on the single player experience. This iteration of the game shifts the focus to building and enhancing the multi-player experience. As part of that experience, new gold flashcards join the ranks of the regular dance move flashcards for each song. The gold flashcards signify bonus sections and if executed correctly by both dancers, they will give you a score boost. For those familiar with the Rock Band franchise, this is similar to unison phrases.
Story and Campaign Mode
The lack of a real story/campaign to Dance Central 1 is probably one of the most criticized things about the game by reviewers and fans alike. At the end of the first game in the closing cinematic, if you watch carefully, you can see the hint of a story -though it is not prevalent throughout the game. This glimpse of a story will be built upon in Dance Central 2 as part of the campaign mode. We do not know much more about this aspect of the gameplay other than the main characters will be broken into “dance crews”. This is one way Harmonix plans to draw you into the game. If we understand what Jon said correctly, you will become part of each of the dance crews to learn their dance styles and background stories as you progress through the game. We expect to hear more about the campaign, story and dance crews on or around the time of PAX Prime at the end of August.
Characters
Speaking of characters, we already know about two new characters. Glitch and Bodie made their debuts at E3 in the Dance Central 2 Trailer.
Notice in the trailer that Bodie/Emilia and Glitch/Mo wear similar outfits. It is likely these are some of the pairings for the dance crews. Along with Bodie and Glitch, we could see another three new characters for a total of about five brand new characters. Sadly, with all the new characters, some of the original characters will not be able to return. So far we know Emilia, Mo and Taye will be available as dancers in the game. So that leaves, Oblio, Dare, Angel, Aubrey, MacCoy and the secret character, ELIOT on the chopping block. Perhaps the Pink Ninja will make an appearance as well.
Dance Moves
There will be approximately 1700 dance moves in Dance Central 2 and most of these moves will be brand new, especially as you dance on the more difficult settings. Overall, the game’s difficulty will be similar to that of Dance Central 1 when playing on Easy but will be more difficult and challenging for those playing on Hard. With advances in the Kinect technology, you will also see new “level change” moves that require you to do things like hit the floor with your hand and come back up.
Break It Down
Another feature that is receiving a lot of attention from Harmonix developers as they continue work on Dance Central 2 is the Break it Down mode. If you are unfamiliar with the game, this is an in-game feature that lets you go through each song, move by move and gives you a chance to slow it down and “perfect” it at your own pace. While this is a great feature to have in the current game, it has flaws. For example, if there is a move towards the end of the song that you have trouble with and would like to work on, you have to go through all the moves prior, one-by-one, to get to it. With the overhauled Break It Down mode, you will be able to choose which moves you’d like to focus on both before and during the song. You can slow things down, and skip around to the other moves using gesture input or newly added voice commands.
Dance Battles
The Dance Battle feature also gets an upgrade in Dance Central 2. Instead of trading off only twice in the song, battles will require you to trade off multiple times and include sections where you’re competing side-by-side. Jon also teased us with a yet to be announced surprise for dance battles saying only that it will be “unlike anything you’ve ever seen in dance games before.” We expect to hear more about dance battles and the competitive aspects of the game later this summer.
Release Date
Though Dance Central 2 does not have an officially announced release date for the Xbox 360/Kinect, both Harmonix and Microsoft representatives inform us that it will be later this Fall. Our best guess is that it will be released in the US/Canada on either October 25, 2011 or November 1, 2011 to maximize holiday sales. By the time the game is released, over 100 songs will be playable between the Dance Central 2 on-disc songs (approximately 40), imported Dance Central songs (32) and Downloadable Content (DLC).
