'This spring'

Dance Central debuted back in 2010 and since then it's popped up every few years on Xbox platforms to compliment Harmonix's own Rock Band series. It got a full sequel one year later, Dance Central 3 came in 2012, and Spotlight, a sort of bite-sized rendition of the formula on Xbox One, dropped in 2014. And that was pr??etty much it for th?e series...until now.

Vaguely by way of Twitter, Harmonix confirmed that the simply titled "Dance Central" will arrive "exclusively" on the Oculus Rift and the Quest "this spring." Yep, this is the first time a Dance Central game has been released off of the Xbo??x platform. No specifics were given on the setlist.

So yep, I'm sure some fans are going to dig this, and with the rhythm revolution coming to VR platforms led by the trendy Beat Saber, it's the perfect time to strike.

Dance Central [Twitter]

The post ??The once Xbox exclusive Dance Central series is still alive, bound for Oculu??s appeared first on Destructoid.

From Inside Gearbox panel

Gearbox and Harmonix have worked together in the past with a dance section in one of last year's trailers for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. At the PAX East Inside Gearbox panel, Gearbox and Harmonix announced a new partnership. Vault Hunters Nisha and Claptrap are now available as character models in Harmonix's Dance Central Spotlight. 

The panelists discussed the trepidation over i?ncluding Claptrap, since he doesn't have legs. As it turns out, it was fairly easy for Harmonix to insert him into the dance game. The usual tailbone is mapped to his wheel, and it ended up working without any extra tweaks?.

Dance Central Spotlight players ?can download the newest patch, then enter X, X, X, X, X or Y, Y, Y, Y, Y on the character select ?screen to unlock these characters. No money necessary; it's a cheat code! Like the old days!

The post Borderlands characters are now? in Dance Central Spotl??ight appeared first on Destructoid.

A bite-sized performance

_{[??Disclosure: Nick Chester, who is currently employed at Harm??onix, previo??usly worked at Destructoid.? As always, no relationships, personal or professional, were factored into the review.]}

Although it's been a lot tougher to get people together for a Dance Central party than a Rock Band one, Harmonix's new franchise gave some hope for the Kinect, as it was one of the most accur?ate games for it.

The series isn't as groundbreaking as it used to be -- especially in the era of Kinect-less Xbox Ones -- but it's still good for a fun dance session every so often. That also goes for Dance Central Spotlight.

Dance Central Spotlight (Xbox 360, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: Harmonix
Released: September 2, 2014
MSRP: $9.99 (with 10 songs)

First things first -- what is Spotlight? It's basically a delivery system for all the game's DLC, and a bite-sized offering of the original games. It is $9.99 at its base price, which nets you 10 songs. Every other song can be purchased for roughly $2 as DLC, and all of your past DLC will import into Spotlight (but you can't import the games proper).

Here are the 10 tunes you get with the core game: "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic, "Diamonds" by Rihanna, "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, "I Wish" by Cher Lloyd, "Royals" by Lorde, "Show Me" by Kid Ink, "Talk Dirty" by Jason Derulo, "#thatpower" by will.i.a??m, "Titanium" by David Guetta, and "Wake Me Up" by Avicii. The problem right off the bat for me is that a number of these tracks aren't particularly exciting, with the exception of "Happy" -- provided that you haven't gotten sick of? it yet -- and "Titanium."

With a very strong core pack of songs, including a mixture of both new and old tunes, Spotlight could have been a must-buy for fans. Instead, you'll have to dig into the DLC library to get some variety, such as A-Ha's "Take on Me" and The B-52's "Love Shack." My favorite thing about Dance Central 3 was that it constantly switched between classic and modern tracks without players needing to ??fumble around wit??h DLC, which isn't really represented here.

Having said that, $10 isn't a bad price for a starter pack, and considering the price of past games, you can build your own library as more songs are released. Each track also sports eight routines (Beginner, Standard, Deluxe, Pro, Alternate, Cardio, Strength, Alternate Pro) in Spotlight.

If you look at the core game though, Spotlight looks, feels, and controls like a full release. The Kinect movements are still accurate, you can still dance with a friend, and the routines have enough variety in them to keep you interested for at least a few sessions each. In fact, the Kinect 2.0 hardware feels even more accurate than its predecessor, which goes a long ?way if you're a perfectionist. I definitely can't state that strongly enoug??h -- fans who have played past games in the series will pick up on the enhanced accuracy.

One of the best parts of Spotlight is the instant practice mode concept. All you have to do is basically ask Kinect to practice in the middle of a song, and it will take you to another screen that lets you learn a part you're having trouble with. In the past you either had to practice the entire tune or skip to a certain part with multiple clicks, so having this instant mechanic is great for mastering that one part you always screw up.

Gone is a lot of the charm that came with Dance Central 3's campy "crews" -- instead, you're going to see a lot less flair and just straight gameplay. That may be a good thing for a lot of people who disliked the goofiness of the series, but for me it's all part of what makes Dance Central unique.

As a side note, a few features have also been cut, like H-O-R-S-E, eight-person multiplayer (it only supports two now), and Kinect photo sessions, though fitness mode is still in, with some improvements like more workout tweaks. Although most people won't really notice the enhancements, if you still play fitness mode to this day Spotlight is probably worth the upgrade.

If you have an Xbox 360 and a Kinect handy, you'd be better off just picking up prior Dance Central games on the cheap and reaping the benefits of an ext??ended library, better multiplayer, and more game modes. But for everyone else who bought an Xbox One and has a Kinect collecting dust, it's a great way to bring some life to your next party.

The post Review: Dance Central Spotlight appeared first on Destructoid.

That's the game that came out today on Xbox One

Dance Central Spotlight is a thing that's out today o?n Xbox One. It's basically a digital bite-sized version of the series that includes 10 songs as its base, with more available as DLC. For fans of the franchise, it's not a bad deal, and something to play?? on a new console.

When I went to boot it up this morning though I f??ound that it constantly crashed -- not a good sign on launch day. After seeing that a number of othe??r people are having this problem, Harmonix provided us with a fix.

All you have to do is go to your Xbox One profile, change your gamerpic, then enter the game -- it should work (it worked for me) -- then you can change your picture back. Harmonix ?is? "actively" working on a fix soon to alleviate this issue entirely, but it's a relatively painless process in the meantime.

The post Harmonix offers Dance Central Spotlight crash fix appeared first on Destructoid.

Priced at $9.99

Harmonix's latest venture in exploiting how uncoordinated you are is set to take off in the fall. Just announced today, Dance Central Spotlight will release on Xbox One on September 2 at a price point of $9.99. Right off the bat, pl?ayers will have access to the following ten songs:

• Avicii –  "Wake Me Up"
• Cher Lloyd – "I Wish"
• David Guetta ft. Sia "Titanium"
• Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz – "Talk Dirty"
• Kid Ink ft. Chris Brown – "Show Me"
• Lorde – “Royals”
• OneRepublic – "Counting Stars"
• Pharrell Williams – "Happy" 
• Rihanna – “Diamonds”
• will.i.am ft. Justin Bieber – "#thatPOWER"

The party don't stop there, though; there's still plenty of rump shaking and twerking to go 'round. On launch day, Harmonix will have more than 50 additional songs available to download, of which "Safe and Sound" by Capital Cities, "Next to Me" by Emeli Sandé, "I Love It" by Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX, “Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)” by ??Lana Del Rey, and "Love Shack" by the B-52's have been ?confirmed.

As a nicely added bonus, any songs that players have purchased as DLC from any Xbox 360 Dance Central game will be free on Spotlight as soon as they're released on Xbox One. That should?? be enough to keep you a??nd yours dancing all throughout the night.

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Kinect lives on

Dance Central Spotlight is a new Xbox One Kinect dancing title. The idea is to keep the focus on dancing and music, serving as a sort of follow-up to the hit Xbox 360 title Dance Central.

The difference here?? is that Spotlight is a smaller package, coming with only 10 songs, and released as a download-only title. Harmonix plans to launch with a DLC library of at least 50 tracks, and says that they'll follow with weekly DLC for a time after that. They have i?mproved their authoring pipeline, letting them create song content more quickly.

You'll get more out of each song now, too. With Kinect 2.0's improved skeleton tracking, they can do more with each song. So now, instead of three routines, you'll get eight: four core (easy t??o difficult) routines, strength and training routines, and finally both easy and difficult ch??oreography routines.

And here's some great news: Legacy DLC will be supported. If you've ever purchased DLC f?or Dance Central, you'll get the Spotli??ght version for free when it is released, complete with the 8 routines.

There's a new fitness mode t?hat will give players up t??o 90 minutes of non-stop dancing to burn calories. A new practice mode can be called forth at any time to learn moves. There's also the ability to do a loop of routines, like a sort of playlist.

So far, these are?? the only con??firmed songs for the tracklist:

• “Wake Me Up” –  Avicii
• “Talk Dirty” –  Jason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz
• “Show Me” –  Kid Ink ft. Chris Brown
• “Counting Stars” –  OneRepublic
• “Happy” – Pharrell Williams

The post Harmonix announces Dance Central Spotlight??, a digital-only Xbox One exclusive appeared first on Destructoid.

Rock Band isn't the only franchise to stop DLC

In a shocking turn of events, after 275 straight week of DLC, Harmonix announced that Rock Band would cease offering new content.

Now, it seems as if its other major franchise, Dance Central, will be following suit "for the near future" after developing a song ??library of over 200 ??tracks.

Just like their reasoning for Rock Band, Harmonix cites that it ??is moving forward with "several new titles," and it's choosing to focus on those instead.

W??ell, it was a good ride, Harmonix -- I can't wait to see what you come up with next.

March DLC update [Dance Central]

The post Dance Central’s DLC is coming to an end as well appeared first on Destructoid.

Here is what's in store for March

This month, downloadable songs from Drake, Rihanna, and Fergie will be joining the Dance Central 3 library. It all starts tomor??row with Drake's "Take Care"; March 12 will see the release Rihanna's "Umbrella" and "SOS"; and on March 19, it's Fergie's "Lo?ndon Bridge."

These songs will be 240 Microsoft Points each, while the two Rihanna tracks can be bought bundled together for 400 Microsoft Points. "London Bridge" is one of those songs you forget ever existed, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's only so much information I can store in my brain at one time. Sorry, Fergie. "Umbrella," on the other hand, sounds like a plan?.

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Guest blog: How Harmonix teamed up with a fan to make it happen

_{[In this guest blog written by Dance Central superfan David Nguyen, we're given a look at how he was able to go from cosplaying and creating some mash-up art for the fun of it to working with developer Harmonix on the pixel-based end credits sequence for Dance Central 3, shown above.]}

Note from Dance Central community manager, Annette Gonzalez:

PAX is hands down the most exciting event of the year for the Harmoni??x community ??team, as it gives us a chance to meet with awesome fans from all around the world.

During PAX Prime 2011, we had an exceptional cosplayer, David Nguyen, swing by our booth as Dance Central 2’s Glitch. David had covered every single detail in his costume, from the hand-painted test pattern shirt to the green streak in his hair. His love for Dance Central characters and his incredible abilities as an artist made him the perfect fit to create art for Dance Central 3’s credits sequence. We were psyched to have such a talented member of our community be a part of the project. The amount of love and detail he has put in each of his Dance Central costumes is well represented in eac??h pixel sprite that he has created. We’re thrilled that we can share his amazing work with fans from all parts of the world!

David Nguyen

Hey everyone! Before I begin, I just wanted to thank everyone at Harmonix for giving me the opportunity to do something for one of my favorite game series. If someone had told me last year that I would be working on the credits of Dance Central 3, I probably would have just laughed it off a??nd said “The Glitch costume doesn’t actually mean I work for Harmonix!” But it’s funny how things pan out.

I studied animation at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver. I strictly work with 2D animation, as I fear anything that involves mathematics (I kid; I’m just terrible at it). I’ve always been interested in pixel art (Paul Robertson is one of my idols), but I’ve only ever dabbled in it. I didn’t really dive into it until I decided to animate my grad film, Insert Credit, in sprite/pixel art. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with pixel art. I try to take current games and work them into pixel art now and then to hone my simplification techniques; that’s actually how I was approached to work on DC3!

[Dance Central 3 Project Director] Matt Boch seemed to really dig my Dance Central/Pokemon crossover pictures (which… I need to make more of!) and he cryptically asked me over Twitter if I would want to work on something awesome that I would probably love doing. After signing the NDA, he told me that he’d call me and go over the entire project with me. It’s funny, because I was actually with Raffy (@RiffraffDC) at his apartment when I got the call. I think I told Raffy something vague about having a super important call and he let me use his bedroom for some privacy. When Matt went over the story of DC3 with me (which was COMPLETELY bonkerz.net) and told me what I’d be doing, I was floored. As a huge fa?n of the series and of Harmonix, this was the best thing that I’ve ever worked on. I think I was having a giggle-fit when I went back into the living room… Thankfully, challenging Raffy to another dance battle was an easy way to change the subject.

I created animated sprites of the Dance Central 3 crews in a 16-bit style and I worked on translating [Harmonix artist] Matt “Perly” Perlot’s incredible drawings into pixel art. As a fan, working on this was pure joy. Not only was I contributing to the game, I got to see everything before the rest of the fans?! Dare’s adorable makeover, the new DCI crew, and The Glitterati’s “Haute Blooded” outfits all elicited a huge reaction from me that I had to suppress in public!

[Producer] Tom Bartlett got things started and helped guide me along, while Matt Perlot sent me all the concept art and gave me critiques on the work. In fact, Rasa and Lima’s animations were completely Perly’s ideas. I only had their character models in a T-pose to work with, so I couldn’t gauge their personalities through voice or actions. I actually think they ended up being my favorites to work on! Digging into things like MacCoy’s goofy answering machine quotes from Dance Central 1 and translating that into a silly sprite was also blast to do. The most challenging thing about working on the sprites was probably my obsessive attention to certain details that probably didn’t matter that much… I think I spent too much time going over and revising things like Aubrey’s anchor bracelet. But you know what? Harmonix and the Dance Central fans deserve that kind o??f obsessive quality, so I don’t regret it one bit!

I was SO relieved to be able to talk about the game when it released. I remember while hanging out at the Harmonix booth at PAX, [Director of Communications and Brand Management] John Drake was telling [Community Manager] Eric Pope “Yeah! He’s the one that did the ending credits!” ?while pointing at me. All I could muster up at the moment was nervous laughter while thinking “IS IT OK FOR THEM TO BE SAYING TH??IS HERE?!” and failing to come up with a different topic to change to. I love those guys.

I think the hardest part about keeping mum on the subject was watching the Glitterati fans become progressively more distraught because the crew hadn’t been announced as the game reached closer to launch day. The poor things… It was all worth it though. I’ve gotten the nicest messages from people, telling me how much they liked the credits and how surprised they were to see them! Fans seemed to have really liked Lil’ T and the dinosaur egg, or anything involving Glitch, but my personal favorite was the Glitterati illustration. When Perly sent me a reference shot, he also sent me pictures of their new outfits. I was so excited and inspired that I actually worked on? that piece without resting from start to finish!

It’s been really flattering and surreal seeing people compliment my work and posting it up on Tumblr and such. I guess that’s the word that best describes how I feel about all of this. “Surreal.” When I saw my work pop up at the end of the g?ame, I just sat down with a stupid grin plastered on my face. I couldn’t stop thinking about how I got this chance. Cosplay? Twitter? Fan art? Harmonix havi?ng an incomparable love for their fans? I can only wish that I get to work on something in the future that made me half as happy as this did.

I currently hope to get into the indie game scene, as 2D and pixel/sprite art still seem to thrive there. Studios like Capybara are doing great things with pixel art and would be a dream to work for! My film, Insert Credit, is also still doing the festival circuit, but hopefully I’ll be able to release it publicly online soon. You can keep up with me on Twitter (@euthanasian). Just don’t send me a?nything weird! I’m not actually Glitch, you guys! <3

The post Dance Central 3 goes 16-bit for its end credits appeared first on Destructoid.

Corgi!

I'm going to be straight with you on this blog post. I like Dance Central 3 and all (I got a copy for my niece for Christmas), and Carly Rae Jespen is great, but I really jus?t posted this story to have another excuse to share the corgi parody music video that I've watched probably two dozen times already. 

I like this parody so much that I bark over the original s??ong whenever I hear it. I hold my dogs' faces to the screen to force them to watch it too, hoping that they'll someday learn to pitch their barks to help me do other pop song parodies.

Starting tomorrow, you'll be able to download the plain, non-corgi version of "Call Me Maybe" from the Dance C??entral Music Store for 240 Microsoft Points. Try barking along as you dance.

Harmonix says that those that buy Dan?ce Central 3 from GameStop between now and Dec. 16 will receive a voucher to download this song for free. Woof!

The post Dance Central 3 gets Carly Rae Jepsen?s ‘Call Me Maybe’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Also Usher

Urrrrsherrrrr? Say his name correctly, you idiot!

In the coming weeks you'll see a couple of fun track additions to Dance Central 3. The big??gest of the bunch is PSY's "Gangnam Style," though you'll have to wait until November 27 to get your horse dance on. 

In the meanti??me, enjoy the moves and m??usic of Usher. "Twisted," by Usher and Pharrel, drops November 20, as does Usher's "Euphoria."

Each track will be priced at 240 Micr?osoft Points, and the Usher duo can be purchased as a pack for 400 MSP.

The post Dance Central 3 gets ‘Gangnam Style’ and Usher tunes appeared first on Destructoid.

It was only a matter of time

You had to have known that Psy's "Gangnam Style" was in the works for Dance Central 3. I'll be curious to see what society ?thinks of the song a decade from now, but for now, Harmonix is getting in on the sensation while the going's still good.

The game's track list will also be expanded with Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" and songs from One Direction, Justin Bieber??, and LMFAO in "the com??ing months." It's almost frightening to think about how well this stuff is going to sell.

The post Yes, Dance Central 3 is getting ‘Gangnam Style’ as DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

Handful of games supported at launch

SmatGlass lets your phone or tablet becom??e the most connecte??d remote control ever. Or, in games, turns it into a second screen. All this functionality goes live on October 26, alongside the launch of Windows 8, Windows RT and Microsoft Surface.

Microsoft has shared the first wave of partner games and apps we can expect to use with SmartGlass.  Dance Central 3, Forza Horizon, and Halo Waypoint are among th??e games su??pported in this first round. On the app side, some TV and sports outlets are supported. See the full list below, and check out screenshots of SmartGlass in action in our gallery.

Gaming

• Ascend
• Dance Central 3
• Forza Horizon
• Halo Waypoint
• Home Run Stars
• Karaoke
• Kinect Sesame Street TV
• Prima Games

Sports

• ESPN
• NBA Game Time
• UFC

Entertainment Apps

• Elections 2012
• HBO GO
• MSN
• NBC News
• NOW TV
• Slacker Radio
• TODAY
• Univision

The post Xbox SmartGlass launch on Oct ??26, supports Fo??????????????????????????rza Horizon appeared first on Destructoid.

45 songs in Dance Central 3

[Update: Check the ridiculous launch trailer!]

Dance Central 3 is out today (and on Oct. 19 for our friends in Eur?ope and Asia) for those that like to sha?ke their ass in front of their televisions. Its songlist has been slowly teased in the past months leading up to day, but now we have the full 45-song tracklist for you to review.

Personal highlights include: "Everybody" by the Backstreet Boys, TLC's "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg," and Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger," with the ?latter's chorus hook lyrics being substituted with the line "ears like corgi.??"

See the full list below.

Full song list for Dance Central 3

• 2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)”
• 50 Cent – “In Da Club”
• Afrojack ft. Eva Simons – “Take Over Control”
• Alexandra Stan – “Mr. Saxobeat”
• Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone”
• Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
• Bellini – “Samba De Janeiro”
• Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”
• Cali Swag District – “Teach Me How to Dougie”
• Ciara ft. Missy Elliott – “1, 2 Step”
• Cobra Starship ft. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…”
• Cupid – “Cupid Shuffle”
• Daft Punk – “Around The World”
• Dev ft. The Cataracts – “Bass Down Low”
• E.U. – “Da’ Butt”
• Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina – “Stereo Love”
• Enur ft. Natasja – “Calabria 2008”
• Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
• Gloria Gaynor – “I Will Survive”
• Heavy D & The Boyz – “Now That We Found Love”
• J.J. Fad – “Supersonic”
• Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “On The Floor”
• Justin Bieber – “Boyfriend”
• Katy Perry – “Firework”
• Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
• Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low”
• LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”
• Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
• Marcia Griffiths – “Electric Boogie”
• Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
• Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette – “Hello”
• Missy Elliott – “Ching-A-Ling”
• New Kids On The Block – “You’ve Got It (The Right Stuff)”
• Nicki Minaj – “Starships”
• Panjabi MC – “Beware Of The Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke)”
• Sean Paul ft. Keyshia Cole – “(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me”
• Shannon – “Let The Music Play”
• TLC – “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg”
• The Trammps – “Disco Inferno”
• Usher ft. Will.I.Am – “OMG”
• Usher – “Scream”
• Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
• Van McCoy – “The Hustle”
• Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around”
• Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”

The post Here’s the full Dance Central 3 track list, crazy trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus: They are making video games about DANCING now

Today on The Destructoid Show, we do what we always do on The Destructoid Show?: talk about video g??ame news, 

For starters, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will be making CoD: Elite a free service, but will be offering a season pass for the DLC. There's a pile of comic-related news coming out of New York Comic Con, including Domino's involvement in the Deadpool game, a Marvel Civil War-themed pinball table, some details on Green Arrow in Injustice: Gods Among Us, and the announcement of Usagi Yojimbo: Way of the Ronin, featuring everyone's favorite samurai bunny. Metro: Last Light scraps multiplayer, which makes sense, and Sleeping Dogs announces some amazing-sounding DLC, and Dance Central 3 is great in spite ?of encouraging a sinful decadent lifest?yle.

The post The DTOID Show: NYCC, Sleeping Dogs DLC, & CoD Elite appeared first on Destructoid.

Surprsingly useful boogie facilitator

I was having a hard time remembering whether or not Smart Glass is cool, because I feel like I haven’t been primed on the application since Microsoft’s E3 conference -- I’ve already forgotten most of the neat uses it was promised to have. Given how invested in the concept Microsoft seemed at the conference, I figured it’d be more prominently touted and already a part of the Xbox experience. After all, the c??ompany is getting better and better at pushing things that are not games on its platform.

During a Harmonix event last week, I was able to see how Smart Glass functionality works in concert with Dance Central 3 and was surprised to find it&r?squo;s actually a u?seful augmentation to the embarrassingly fun Kinect savior.

Dance Central 3’s Smart Glass companion app can be used to usurp the Kinect for a host of functions. Most notably, it can be used, even while people are dancing, to queue up new songs to play. Playing these sorts of games in a busy, party-style environment is always a bit of a drag when you hit th??at lull between songs and the next person up is scrollin?g through every single title to find what they want to play, so this is a rather nice way to circumvent all of that.

Those stationed in front of the TV screen will see the next queued up song on and have the ability to play it or skip to the next track, so if a nefarious rabble-rouser decides to queue up twenty “Macarenas,” you’re not obligated to play through them all bef??ore finding where they hid the phone or tablet. Unless you want to. I hope it’s stuck in your head now.

Organizing playlists is the main draw, since it keeps people dancing and away from having to try and navigate the Ki??nect menus (particularly as nights wear on and that becomes more of a challenge in and of itself), but there are a few other functions the app can provide. You can alter certain gameplay parameters with it, choosing whether to play full or abridged versions of selected tracks.

Additionally, you can scroll through songs available for purchase and pl?ace them in your cart before buying them through the 360, as well as check out your progress on challenges, view leaderboards, and connect with Facebook to view and share the pictures the Kinect occasionally takes of you making a fool of yourself. You can also manage fitness goals, setting how many you are aiming to burn in a given stretch of time.

The free app works with existing Windows tablets and phones, formatting itself a bit differently on either, but effectively functioning the same. If you’re planning to play Dance Central 3 in the party-style environment it&rsquo;s so good for, or even if you want to make p??laylist for yourself to keep your boogie flowing smoothly, this Smart Glass app has its uses.

The post A look at Dance Central 3’s SmartGlass companion app appeared first on Destructoid.

Get down like Doc Brown

The Dance Central franchise took me by surprise. In the very early stages of Kinect, I was extremely skeptical of the tech --  to be blunt, I didn't really believe in it. After testing the first entry at E3, however, I was pretty much sold that it could work given the right dev?eloper, which? given Harmonix's pedigree should have been obvious from the start.

Eventually Dance Central became the de facto "Kinect showoff" game in my household, and I still enjoy it from time to time with my wife. In short, the series pretty much d?elivers everything you expect from it.

So does Dance Central 3 carry on the legacy?

Dance Central 3 (Xbox 360 [reviewed])
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: Harmonix/MTV Games
Release: October 16th, 2012
MSRP: $49.99

Dance Central 3 attacks and tops the previous iterations in two ways: It bolsters the party scene by including the incredibly streamlined party mode, and it enhances solo play with story mode and specific dance tutorials that actually strive to teach you the moves themselves. As far as I'm concerned, PaRappa the Rapper is the only game in the genre to truly pulled off a fun, unique story mode, so I was initially fairly hesistant to accept Dance Central 3's.

Have you ever been to Disney World or Disneyland and seen those cheesy pre-ride shows? The ones that require you to suspend your disbelief and just go along for the ride? That's kind of what Dance Central 3's story is like -- and I love it.

As a member of the Dance Central Intellige??nce agency (DCI), it's yo??ur job to travel through time and stop the evil Dr. Tan from eliminating the spirit of dance everywhere.

In order to progress to the next decade, not only do you have to score 15 total stars across the five select songs of the era, but you also have to decipher a handful of "era craze" dance moves. I don't want? to spoil things for you, but depending on your perspective, this will either be the most exciting or most frustrating part of the game.

During certain songs, there are special moves that you have to complete. I would rehearse songs at least a few times for some of these moves, because on occasion they can be extremely difficult to pull off??. Once you get all of them, you can assemble them to decipher then master the "era craze," a definit?ive dance for each decade.

When they're actually completed, you feel an awesome sense of accomplishment, and odds are you actually learned that move in real life -- a twofold process that helps Dance Central 3 transcend its predecessors. If this sounds appealing to you, you'll most likely get addicted to "catching them all," and I hope this mechanic returns in Dance Central 4.

Time travel is the catalyst to give you an excuse to check out tunes from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, as well as the more contemporary 00s and 10s. While there are around ten-and-some-change songs from the 70s and 80s eras (which puts them far below the song count of the 90s and beyond), an amicable attempt is made to include a ton of classic songs, which is already an improvement from the decidedly contemporary-centric Dance Central 1 and 2.

While you're doing all this, you'll earn level-up??s and thus more unlockables, such as playable characters and costumes. Speaking of the characters, they're actually more fleshed out in this?? title due to the fact that they're supposed to represent their eras, giving them a bit more personality.

As for the gameplay, individual dances are much more unique and feel more closely related to each song. I was actually smiling the entire time while doing the Tin Man Hop from Daft Punk's "Around the World." Same?? thing with "cleanup" move during the "skeet skeet" hook of Lil Jon's "Get Low."

As evidenced by the story mode, Dance Central 3 sells more of an educational stance than the past two titles even in the free play modes, and I like where they're going with this. Specifically, it has dances like the Electric Slide, the Dougie, and the Macarena, obviously put in to show you how to groove step by step and actually learn the dance -- kind of like how Rocksmith soug??ht to do the?? same thing with real instruments.

Party mode is what you'll want to put on if you're having a party, obviously. It's a streamlined mode that randomizes everything and dynamically changes the difficulty depending on your performance, kind of like God Hand (yeah, I name-dropped God Hand in a rhythm game review). Thankfully, you can also use Microsoft's Smartglass to DJ the songs in Party mode, which is a nice touch, and the? H-O-R-S-E mode is one of the best additions to the franchise to date.

Fitness mode is back and still as great as ever. Becau??se of the sheer amount of songs, you can set a playlist and watch your calories burn off in front of your eyes, just as in past games. You can set goals for yourself after inputting your personal info, wheth?er it's a daily or weekly target. Songs start immediately after one ends, which lets you keep a solid heart-rate.

The focus on these popular dances is a cool addition, as they'll most likely come in handy at a weddi?ng or a club or something at some point in your life. I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't know how to dance until my mid-20s, and this game would have helped me tremendously in high scho?ol.

An all-new easy mode simplifies things, making this game the ?most ac??cessible entry yet. It's little incentives like this that will entice non-dancers to attempt the game, which is a great thing when it comes to this genre.

As is the case with Harmonix games, Dance Central 3 will wholly support DLC, whether it's songs you already own from past titles or a steady release of future songs. You can also easily import all of your songs from Dance Central or Dance Central 2 for 400 Microsoft Points per collection (with the code included in new copies). Oh, and there might be "Gangnam Style" DLC down the line, if you're interested.

The fact that you can import music from the first two games is one of the most appealing aspects of Dance Central 3, as I personally have benefited thanks to owning more songs than I know what to do with. It's absolutely perfect for Party mode, as you almo?st never hear the same song twice, and Harm??onix should be commended for this kind of support.

So long as you enjoyed the series in the past, you should jump on the opportunity to tackle these new modes. If you're not sold on dancing in front of a robotic camera yet, I doubt Dance Central 3 will change your mind, but this iteration?? makes more con??vincing arguments than ever before.

The post Review: Dance Central 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

There are a lot of games that let you dance in front of your television, but how many of them tell you an original story while doing so? This new movie trailer for Dance Central 3's Story Mode had me saying 'what?!' over and over as it played. Harmonix calls the game's story "a heart-pounding saga of time travel and dance crimes." ?Again: what?!

Join Danc?e Central Intelligence to take down dance criminal Dr. Tan with your ??moves. Say it with me: what?!

Harmonix, you so crazy.

Dance Central 3 will be available in stores on October 16.

The post This Dance Central 3 Story Mode trailer is crazy appeared first on Destructoid.

The Burch brood do their best Shabba Doo and Boogalo Shrimp impersonations in the latest Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? Can they move to the groove and shake what?? their mama gave them? Probably not. But give them prop??s for the effort!

Also, SUPER SECRET ENDING! Is Ash gonna die? Also probab??ly not.

Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? - Dance Central 2 [GameTrailers]

The post HAWP: You know what to do, Ash, bust a move! appeared first on Destructoid.

I was both excited and scared when I learned Harmonix would be swinging by the studio last week to show off some of Dance Central 3's new Story mode. Excited at the prospect of upholding my reign of internet humiliation, but scared by the thought of enduring a tacked-on story mode for a game that really doesn't need one to begin with. Whatever your opinion on the matter, make no mistake: Dance Central 3 is fun as hell.

After my demo, I grabbed the game's Lead Designer and Harmonix Project Director, Matt Boch, to chat about their motivation for adding a story mode, as well as the hot new tracks you can expect to hear, the fun (and weird!) mini-games that go along with them, and whether or not I should be a contestant on next season's Dancing With the Stars. (Spoiler alert: I totally should be!)

The post Dance Central 3’s Story Mode will make you sweat appeared first on Destructoid.

With a mostly sorry launch lineup, Kinect's first-year appeal came almost entirely from Dance Central. Since then, it too often feels like this series is solely providing the legs for Microsoft's motion platform. L?ess than a year later, Harmonix gave us a follow-up with all the sequel bells and whistles (new modes, more songs, etc.).

Dance Central 3 seems to be taking a similar route. There are no big shakeups to the core gameplay, but it does bring a sle?w of new content to ensure the party does go on.

Dance Central 3 (Xbox 360)
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: Microsoft
Release: October 16, 2012

New to this year's game is the inclusion of a story mode. Yes, a story mode. The plot follows you as you attempt to join the ranks of the Dance Central Intelligence (DCI). You see, the evil mad scientist Dr. Tan has be?en building an army of evil dancers and sending them through time warps in order to learn the dance crazes of each decade in an attempt to use those moves in the ultimate dance off that will forever stop the party. Being the super saver defender of all dancing crime that you are, you will go back in time as a DCI agent to learn all the dance crazes dating back to the '70s and combat Dr. Tan to make sure the party never stops. If it's not already clear, the story is balls-to-walls insane and not at all taking itself seriously. As a means to move you along the ?main campaign mode, it isn't really needed, but it lays the cheesiness on so thick that you can't help but give in and crack a smile or two.

More than just serving as a crazy plot point, time travel brings with it a few key changes to Dance Central 3. The biggest, of course, is the addition of dance moves from the 1970s onward. Your main task, apar?t from high scores, is to find five dance moves hidden within the routines that you will be performing through the decades. Once you nail each routine in a given decade, you decipher then perform the completed dance craze -- in our 1970s demo, for example, we unlocked the Hustle. Perform it correctly, then its on to the new decade.

Story mode is all fun and well, but the crux of the Dance Central experience has always been its multiplayer modes. The first mode shown off was a interesting twist on the traditional Dance Central experience, called Strike a Pose. As the name suggests, Strike a Pose has players striking individual poses in a routine rather than performing a full dance move. So instead of actually dancing, you would just hold a pose for a few seconds at a time. An interesting addition, to be sure, but a welcome one for those with two left feet. If you suck at Dance Central (like Dtoid's ver??y own Max Sc??oville and Tara Long proved during their time with it), Strike a Pose is a great way to get acquainted with exact positioning.

Of course, if you just want say "to hell with learning choreographed dances" and instead create your own, you now have that option in the Make Your Move mode. As obvious a title as "Strike a Pose," Make Your Move gives players the chance ??to flex a bit of their creative muscles and hopefully make their friends look like an ass in the process. In this versus mode, players take turns adding new steps to a routine while the others must match the additional steps. When a total of five steps have been created, the game mashes them up into one routine that both of you perform together. While the main purpose of this mode seems to be to encourage creativity, what struck the most was the back-and-forth dynamic. With both players making their own moves for the other the match, it feels about as close to a dance battle as we've seen in the series so far.

The final party mode shown off was also aptly named: Party Time. Party Time is built as a customizable experience -- the default mode when playing Dance Central 3 in an actual party environment. You start by simply having two players walking into Kinect's field of view and high fiving each other to start a match. From there, the game throws various modes and songs from a preset playlist, which can be customized beforehand in the options menu. The best thing? about Party Time is its accessibility. Being tailored to a party environment, it's a seamless experience to walk in, play a song or two, and back out until the next pair of would be ?b-boys step up and high five. 

Simply put, if you have played and enjoyed any game in the Dance Central series, there is plenty here to be excited about. And of course, you will be able to import all the songs and from the first two games as well as the DLC tracks. Haters gonna keep hatin', as there may not be anything to win you lot over, but if your Kinect has been getting little love lately, Dance Central 3 cou??ld be just what you need to put that spark?? back in the romance.

The post Pre?view: D??ance Central 3 WILL teach you how to Dougie appeared first on Destructoid.

Do you like to dance in front of a robotic eye bar in your living room? The best way to do that is with the Dance Central series, and it looks like Dance Central 3 will top its predecessors with a story mode and several hot tracks??. Harmonix sends word that the release date is set for October 16 in North America, and October 19 for the rest of the world.

The game will come packed with more than 40 tracks on disc, and we already know that Usher and 50 Cent will provide songs, but now we know of 11 more tracks that will be included. Let's just say that if you don't already have moves like Jagger, you will after you finally stop, collaborate and listen to Dance Central 3. After this you'll be sexy and know it, too.

Hit the jump to see the full list. 

• 2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)” 
• Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone” 
• Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” 
• J.J. Fad – “Supersonic” 
• Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low” 
• LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It” 
• Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” 
• Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger” 
• Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby” 
• Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around” 
• Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”

The post Dance Central 3: Release date, new t??racks unveiled appeared first on Destructoid.

As co-host of The Destructoid Show, I consider it my prerogative - nay, my mission - to embarrass myself on a near daily basis. It's not something I typically take issue with, as long as I can say that at the end of the day, it was for journalism. Needless to say, when I pitched the idea of a Kinect-themed fitness segment to our producer, I was immediately met with an incredulous, "Are you sure you want to do that? People are going to see this, y?ou know."

So, after some heavy reconsideration and one too man?y gin and tonics, I decided to go ??for it. Who needs a future career in politics anyway, right?

Check out the video above for my run-down of some of Kinect's top fitness games, including Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012, UFC Personal Trainer, Zumba Fitness Rush, and more!

The post Tara Long’s Kinect Fitness CHALLENGE! appeared first on Destructoid.

The new Dance Central 2 Facebook app lets you check your high scores, compare leaderboard rankings and see how you stack up against your friends (or the world) on individual songs. Go here, get the app, link your gamerta??g, and then check the charts to see how bad of a dancer you are. If you get ballsy, you can issue challenges to your friends from the app. ?;

Below you'll find that I've created a computer rendering of motion capture of my moves using a complex Kinect hack ?to show you why you will not find m?y scores among those at the top of DC2's leaderboards.

The post D??ance Central 2 Facebook app lets you track your scores appeared first on Destructoid.

Whether you're a part of the old school or the new, fresh beats are always something to get excited about. Harmonix has just announced their new tracks for Dance Central 2, kicking it off with Cee-Lo Green's "Forget You" on January 31. The track will be available on the Marketplace, or through Dance Central 2's in-game store, for the reasonable price point of 2??50 MS Points.

February will debut three new tracks for dancing rookies and veterans alike. For that special b-boy or b-girl in your heart, February 14 will make "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti and Spearhead available. On February 21, Kelis' "Milkshake" will bring more boys to the yard, along with some challenging dance moves. Closing off the month will be LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem," one of the most requested songs by the Dance Central community.

To spread the word, Best Buy and Harmonix are giving customers early access to the LMFAO track. By purchasing Dance Central 2 at any Best Buy after January?? 29, customers will receive a code that will allow them to download the track a few weeks early. If you've been waiting to cut a rug, or haven't used your Kinect in a while, it seems like February will be a good month to get back on the dance floor.

The post Dance Central 2’s February DLC lineup: Cee-Lo, LMFAO appeared first on Destructoid.

As if dancing in front of a camera in the comfort of your own home didn't make you look silly enough already, Harmonix has released an app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices today to take the humiliation to the next level. Called Dance Central Dance*Cam, the app is availab?le ?to download absolutely free of charge because embarrassing yourself wherever you happen to be is truly priceless.

The idea is that you'll have access to a certain portion of seven different songs taken straight from the Dance Central 2 sound??track. While the song you picked is playing??, a friend has to record you doing your own made-up dance routine. The app will then montage your dancing into a music video once you upload it. If you're feeling brave enough, you can post that video up on Facebook or challenge a friend and, should they accept, the app will combine both of your performances into one video.

The post Dance Central Dance*Cam is available now for free appeared first on Destructoid.

Been getting enough of the dance game craze yet? Well, I'm sure some of you out there aren't because the dancing games are still selling like crazy. As a result, new DLC is on the way for Dance Central 2 tomorrow ??and this time it's apparently a c??lassic club hit from Ne-Yo.

"Closer" is taken from 2008's Grammy-nominated Year of the Gentlemen and is the only track hitting the in-game Music Store and Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow. Kunle Oladehin did the choreography for the song's move over to Dance Central. You can pick up "??Closer" ??for a mere 240 Microsoft Points.

The post Ne-Yo’s ‘Closer’ is coming to Dance Central 2 tomorrow appeared first on Destructoid.

More Dance Central 2 DLC is on the horizon and tomorrow's bounty brings more Lady Gaga tunes to shake your groove thing to. "Edge of Glory" and "Marry the Night" from her recent album Born this Way will be available for 240 MS points each.

I really should grab Dance Central 2. I mean, if I'm going to listen to dance music and get funky in my living room, it would ??be wise to make it look as though I had a reason to do it when I get caught.

The post More Lady Gaga coming to Dance Central 2 tomorrow appeared first on Destructoid.

Update: This contest ends tonight!  Good luck!

News-wise, people are going nuts for Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim's got a bitchin' soundtrack, Sony's cutting down on game sharing, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots got an official announcement.

Las??????????????????????????t but not least, if we haven't said it enough times already, thanks so much to each and every one of you who's tuned into the show over the past year. We started this thing over a year ago, fully expecting to be shunned by the website's dedicated and long-time reader??s. Instead, we were met with open arms and a flood of (mostly) positive encouragement, and I couldn't be happier that Destructoid is the place we now call our home. Thanks for sticking with us, y'all! We owe you one. /fistbump

The post The DTOID Show: It’s Naked Pizza Dance-Off Time! appeared first on Destructoid.