Dance Central 2

Gameplay

The core gameplay in Dance Central 2 is mostly identical to the original Dance Central. Players perform given dance moves, which are tracked by the Kinect. The more accurately the player performs the move, the more points he/she scores. Higher difficulties increase move complexity, and the margin of error is reduced.

Features new to Dance Central 2 include voice control, simultaneous two player gameplay in both cooperative and competitive modes with drop in/drop out functionality, an improved fitness mode, a more in-depth and customizable "Break it Down" mode, allowing the player to practice only specific moves in a routine, and a campaign mode featuring dance crews of various styles.

On Disc

The following 44 songs appear on the Dance Central 2 disc. Songs that are in pink are cover versions. Riptide's Songs are in red are the songs in the Crew Challenge. Flash4wrd's Songs in are green are the songs in the Crew Challenge. Lu$h Crew's Songs are in blue are the songs in the Crew Challenge. Hi-Def's Songs are in yellow are the songs in the Crew Challenge. And The Glitterati's Songs are in purple are the songs in the Crew Challenge. All songs that are in light blue are final challenge songs in Crew Challenge led by D-Cypher. All songs are unlocked from the start.

Importable content

Similar to games in the Rock Band franchise, users were able to import all 32 songs from the original Dance Central disc for 400 Microsoft Points ($4.99 in the US). On October 25th 2016, this possibility was shut down and a new import is no longer possible; if the import was purchased at an earlier date, it remains intact and can still be re-downloaded.

Downloadable content

Downloadable songs from the original Dance Central are forward compatible with Dance Central 2. Downloadable songs released for Dance Central 2 are forward compatible with Dance Central 3; however, support for new downloadable content for Dance Central 2 ended with the launch of Dance Central 3 on October 16, 2012. Songs are available for 240 Microsoft Points ($2.99 local currency) each.

Development

Dance Central 2 was officially announced at E3 2011 during Microsoft's press conference. It was announced on February 2, 2012 that if the community reaches certain milestones, like star count or calories burned, three new crews and two new outfits will be unlocked. As of April 30, 2012, all the crews and outfits have been unlocked. The characters that are in purple are new characters.

Reception

Reviews of the game were positive. IGN praising the game's style, added multiplayer, and dances, but mentions how a lot of the dances feel quite feminine, and how there is no shuffle mode. As of August 2016, the game has sold 2.04 million copies worldwide.