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Dance Central
Box art
Developer(s)	Harmonix
Publisher(s)	MTV Games
Director(s)	Kasson Crooker
Producer(s)	Naoko Takamoto
Designer(s)	Dean Tate
Programmer(s)	Marc Flury
Artist(s)	Dare Matheson
Writer(s)	Helen McWilliams
Series	Dance Central
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	NA: November 4, 2010 EU: November 10, 2010 AU: November 18, 2010 JPN: June 2, 2011
Genre(s)	Rhythm
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Dance Central is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and published by MTV Games for the Xbox 360 Kinect. It is the first installment in the Dance Central series. It was released on November 4, 2010, in most areas and on June 2, 2011, in Japan.

A sequel to the game, titled Dance Central 2, was released for the Xbox 360 Kinect in October 2011.

Gameplay

Dance Central is a motion-based dance video game in which players mirror a dance performed by an on-screen character. On the right side of the screen are flashcards of the previous two moves, the move currently being performed, and the next two moves in the routine. Players can earn one of four ratings depending on their accuracy: "X", "Almost", "Nice", and "Flawless". The ratings a player earns can influence the venue in which the character is dancing; earning a consecutive amount of "Nice" or "Flawless" ratings darkens most background elements and adds neon lights, while earning a consecutive amount of "Almost" or "X" ratings results in the venue becoming dull and the music becoming muffled. The moves in each routine are influenced by the difficulty rating they are listed under and the skill level the player chooses. Initially, only the Easy difficulty is available, but Medium and Hard can be unlocked by earning at least 4 Stars in the previous skill level. Each song features a freestyle section in which players have the chance to be photographed by the Kinect's camera as they dance however they desire. Each rating provides a point value that can be increased with a score multiplier, which is raised by earning consecutive high ratings and lowered by earning low ratings. Stars are earned at specific point thresholds that vary depending on the skill level a player selects, and up to 5 Stars can be earned, with the maximum rating being 5 Gold Stars. Earning Stars unlocks content for the game such as new venues, new characters, and new outfits for characters who are already available. In addition to Perform It!, the main mode of the game, there is a Break It Down mode in which a player can practice a routine's moves and a Dance Battle mode in which two players dance one at a time in competition for the highest score.

Characters

Dance Central features ten different characters. Eight of them are available from the start while two are unlockables. Each character, with the exception of Ttiw Tolrep, has a main outfit and an alternate outfit, which can be unlocked by earning 25 Stars with them (or, for ELIOT, reaching the "Living Legend" rank).

• Angel: A Latin lover who seeks romantic attention from women.
• Miss Aubrey: A very confident and snooty queen bee.
• Emilia: An athletic woman who frequently works out at the gym.
• Dare: A British, pink-haired clubber who enjoys partying.
• MacCoy: A man with an interest in old school hip-hop and technology.
• Mo: A friendly man who occasionally enjoys joking around.
• Oblio: A mysterious, poetic man.
• Taye: A self-assured, outspoken woman.
• ELIOT: A robot who represses his robot roots and swears he is human. He can be unlocked by earning at least 4 Stars and over in the Grand Finale challenge or reaching the Living Legend rank.
• Ttiw Tolrep: (later known as Shinju in the sequel) A silent ninja who wears pink and carries nunchuks. He cannot be selected in the character roster and is unlocked by entering ←↑X↑→Y (spelling "luxury") at the title screen using the Xbox 360 Controller.

Story

While there is no story mode in the game, there are two cutscenes in the game that suggest a story.

In the opening cutscene, Mo is promoting a club in various different areas of a city. This catches the attention of multiple characters, who decide to attend the club. In the closing cutscene, Mo stops at a phone booth, picks up the phone, and talks to someone on behalf of the club. After hanging up the phone, the platform underneath him takes him to the club, which is revealed to be Dr. Tan's Estate. While most of the characters in attendance are partying, Oblio is sitting against a wall with a disgruntled expression. He eventually leaves the club and rides away on his motorcycle. The scene is rewound and replayed repeatedly before it is revealed that Dr. Tan has him under surveillance alongside various areas of the city. Intrigued by what he is seeing, he turns off the rest of the screens, smirks, and laughs hysterically.

Songs

Dance Central features a soundtrack consisting of 32 songs. Each song has a default dancer associated with it that can be changed before starting the song.

Challenges

Challenges are a combination of songs mixed together as one. They are typically unlocked once the player earns at least 4 Stars on each song in a certain difficulty category. The skill levels for challenges can be unlocked in the same way as regular songs, but can also be unlocked by earning the minimum amount of Stars needed for each song on higher skill levels. Unlike regular songs, Break It Down is not available for challenges. There are eight challenges, seven of which focus on songs categorized under a certain difficulty and one of which contains songs from every difficulty category. The last challenge, the Grand Finale Challenge, is unlocked by earning at least 4 Stars on every other Challenge. Completing it unlocks Eliot (if players have not done so already) and Dr. Tan's Estate.

Downloadable content

Players can purchase additional songs as downloadable content (DLC).

^a Free with Best Buy code.

^b No longer available for purchase.

Legacy

In the Arcade from the Asian Attractions in the Expo 2011, the Dance Central arcade was named "Dance Hero".

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
1Up.com	A−
Eurogamer	8/10
GamePro	4.5/5
GameSpot	8.5/10
GamesRadar+	8/10
GameTrailers	8.1/10
Giant Bomb
IGN	8/10

Critical reception

Dance Central received positive reviews from critics. It received a score of 83.22% on GameRankings and 82/100 on Metacritic. It received a rating of 8/10 from IGN and a rating of 8.5/10 from GameSpot. Video game talk show Good Game: Spawn Point gave the game an 8 out of 10 calling it the best launch game for the Kinect and a step forward for dance games. They said workout mode was a nice addition which will definitely give you a workout and the Dance Battles would be a big hit at parties. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aimé was impressed, and said in an interview that "Dance Central is, by far, the best Kinect game". During the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Dance Central with "Family Game of the Year"; it also received nominations for "Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering", "Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack", and "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming".

Sales

Dance Central sold 2.5 million copies.

References

1. "Arcades from Asian Attractions at Expo 2011". 29 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2021-03-15.
2. ^ "Dance Central for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
3. ^ "Dance Central for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2012-12-27. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
4. Troup, Christina. "Dance Central Review for 360". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
5. Gibson, Ellie (2010-11-04). "Dance Central Xbox 360 Review". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
6. "Dance Central review". 2010-11-09. Archived from the original on November 9, 2010. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
7. ^ Watters, Chris (2010-11-04). "Dance Central Review for Xbox 360". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
8. "Dance Central Review". GamesRadar. 2010-11-05. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
9. "Dance Central Video Game Review". GameTrailers. 2010-11-04. Archived from the original on 2011-06-24. Retrieved 2011-03-26.
10. starts in (2010-11-10). "Dance Central Review". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
11. ^ Clements, Ryan (2010-11-03). "Dance Central Kinect Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
12. Bendixsen 8/10, O'Donnell 8/10 (29 November 2010). "Kinect Round Up Review". music rhythm game. Season 5. Episode 42. ABC Television. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
13. "Nintendo President Talks Kinect, PlayStation Move - Gearlog". Archived from the original on 2011-01-08. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
14. "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Dance Central". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
15. "2011 Awards Category Details Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
16. John M. Guilfoil (June 8, 2011). "Game expo has high stakes in Mass. firms". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.

• 2010 video games
• Dance video games
• Kinect games
• Music video games
• Video games developed in the United States
• Xbox 360 games
• Xbox 360-only games
• Harmonix games
• Multiplayer and single-player video games