Dance Central 2 preview: This is how we (both) do it
Dance Central was undoubtedly one of the best and most successful launch titles for Microsoft's Kinect. Keeping that in mind, Dance Central 2 has some pretty big shoes to fill or, at the very least, another pair of shoes. The marquee new feature is definitely simultaneous two-player dance battles, which I was able to try out at Microsoft's expansive E3 booth.
Having something of a history of making an ass of myself for journalism, I was sure to capture the momentous occasion on video. Find it -- and a few more details about Dance Central 2 -- after the break.
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Among the other new features in Dance Central 2 are score multiplying choreography sections. These cards are highlighted in gold and count for twice as many points as others. Harmonix senior designer Matt Boch also mentioned a new story mode, in which dancers have their own turf and are part of posses, though he wouldn't divulge further details. The freestyle section has seen a few changes too. It might have been the adrenaline -- or the burning red eye of my camera -- but freestyle seemed a tad longer. The first Dance Central took real-time pictures of players during freestyle sections, a feature that could be turned off. This time around, freestyle sections can be turned off entirely.
Again though, the real meat of my demo was the simultaneous two-player mode. It works exactly the way you'd expect. Each player's silhouette is displayed in either the upper right or left corners of the screen (protip: if both players can get situated in their respective box, it's time to move some furniture). Once the track starts rolling, well ... this is how we do it:
Huge thanks to G4's Dana Vinson for sharing the screen with me.
