Kinect Dance Central preview, or how we learned to stop caring and love the groove (video)

We're gonna level with you, internet at large, we jumped at the chance to be on camera for our hands-on with Dance Central for Xbox 360's Kinect. It's not because we think we're good dancers -- we don't -- but it was subsequently decided that a lack of shame was more fun. So let's get on with the details. Menu navigation was a little janky at times, but selection was a simple swipe from the extreme right to left of an arm's length. As we saw earlier, the game is a progression of dance riffs you have to emulate with the on-screen dancers. It took until the first chorus of MIA's "Galang" to really get a feel and comfort for the pace; by that point it was easy enough to keep an eye on future moves and correct past mistakes of similar grooves. Frankly, inherent embarrassment notwithstanding, it was very entertaining. Pictures below and video after the break -- and don't you worry, we'll be going back for seconds.

E3 2010 - Dance Central preview

[rlopin Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:13AM]

Ross -- shake whatcha' Mama gave ya'!

[caveboy Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:19AM]

pssssh. See how strong the lights are? How will it perform in real, low-light situations. I don't make a habit of having surgical lighting in my living room...

Also, show me the cool Fable 3 stuff. That's what might swing the purchase for me.

[ArtfulD Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:25AM]

Epic moves.

[delicatessen lama Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:36AM]

Shake that ass /jk. That was some mad skill dawg.

[incredibilistic Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:40AM]

Nice moves but if I'm watching the footage correctly it looks like the point of the game is to watch a pre-rendered scene of dancers while you try to mimic them? Why not just rent Tae Bo or a hip-hop workout video instead? If you can't actually control the outcome of the dancing then what's the point? To get the highest score? Oh yeah, that's worth $460 bucks.

At least in DDR the onscreen character would actually stop dancing or stutter if you messed up. These virtual guys and girls just keep on going regardless of whether you're standing still or gyrating like an insane person.

I also noticed how his arm flailing resulted in pausing the game. That can't be good.

[Raffi256 Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:51AM]

@incredibilistic

You don't know what happens if he stops or fails badly.

And there is value, if you're scored based on mimicing onscreen characters, you can learn to get a high score, and in the process will have learned the actual dance moves.

[jounihat Posted Jun 15th 2010 4:57AM]

@Raffi256

Yes, like in SingStar you learn how to sing. Seriously, these games are for fun, not for learning anything. It's karaoke-level dancing.

[xdeiri Posted Jun 15th 2010 3:45AM]

lol, your a seller

[tecgoblin Posted Jun 15th 2010 4:06AM]

I want a j-pop/europop version of it sooo bad

[derekdevine Posted Jun 15th 2010 4:11AM]

Haha, that was hilarious. I definitely need to try.

[phoenx97 Posted Jun 15th 2010 4:37AM]

Props for agreeing to be on video for that. It was epic.

[cool8man Posted Jun 15th 2010 5:11AM]

Dude with camera reminded me of the annoying guy "HUD" from Cloverfield. "HOW MUCH FUN ARE YOU HAVING ROSS!?! HOW MUCH FUN ARE YOU HAVING ROSS!?!"

[shpe Posted Jun 15th 2010 6:11AM]

when project natal for phones (finger recognition by fron camera)?

[nicolescooter Posted Jun 15th 2010 6:19AM]

I agree editor dance off is the only way to go!

[nabberuk Posted Jun 15th 2010 6:51AM]

@nicolescooter

we should all pledge some money for charity, whichever editor wins the dance off gets to choose the charity it goes too!

would be funny!

[drkztan Posted Jun 15th 2010 7:48AM]

@nabberuk omg yesplz

[darknessangel Posted Jun 15th 2010 6:19AM]

Shake that booty! XD I'm pretty sure that if someone hacks into your Xbox and steals a vid of you it can become a powerful tool of blackmailing.

[drkztan Posted Jun 15th 2010 7:23AM]

i seriously hope there will be a dance-off between the editors.
PLEASE ENGADGET!

[kutt Posted Jun 15th 2010 7:56AM]

You idiots call this GAMING?

[Hopper6 Posted Jun 15th 2010 9:13AM]

Bring out Topolsky

[godwheel Posted Jun 15th 2010 10:11AM]

I'm really looking forward to this game.

[majg Posted Jun 15th 2010 10:26AM]

Get in touch with your inner Diva. lol

[knwldg0010 Posted Jun 15th 2010 12:31PM]

That was great and very brave of you.

[heiki Posted Jun 15th 2010 4:31PM]

Joy of Sex edition with online ranking.. no?

[calecabbage Posted Jun 16th 2010 1:40AM]

I love how no matter what you do, you're always going to look like an idiot with the Kinect