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I held off on the Wii version to get this for the Kinect. Major disappointment. I'm a Dance Central fan and couldn't wait for this game to come out.
I got release day delivery, and practically raced home from work eager to try out the MJ game. First song I picked was Smooth Criminal....the dancing was so-so, but I thoughtsurely it must be because I'm doing it on the easiest level....replayed the song in Performance mode....same moves, now singing was added to the mix. Not the Michael Jackson workout I'd hoped for....
Pros:
All your favorite songs
Great stages (this is one area where I'm glad I got the Kinect version)
Really hard to get a dance move wrong
the kinect captures your movements and clothing to reflect it on your on-screen liquid avatar (think Your Shape in true color)
Cons:
Hardly any dancing
Hardly any dancing
Where's the dancing?
Dancing?
Did they forget to add dancing?
Oh, and you can't turn off the singing mode
If you're hoping for an exercise/dance game, then this is going to disappoint. If you're looking for some relaxed, karaoke night, beer drinking game play-then this might fit the bill.
***Update 4-17-11****Giving Kinect and extra star******
I went out and bought the PS3 version and gained a different reference point to review the Kinect version. The PS3 version is great for a workout, not as fun or natural as Dance Central on Kinect...or even as MJ Experience Kinect, but it's definitely a workout. Seeing the leg work on the PS3 version (which only tracks your right hand), if they had replicated this on the Kinect version, 90% of players would've been alienated because most of us are incapable of even [remotely] replicating the King of Pop's dance moves...much less for an hour or two of gameplay.
To keep the Kinect version family-friendly and all-ages friendly, I imagine that the lengthy pauses and poses throughout the songs are to give novice users a chance to catch their breath and to gain some easy points so they don't feel completely defeated on every song. The MJ Experience for Kinect is still NOT a good 'workout' game, but it's a slower, fun game that you can play with the family. By that same token, that's what levels are for-give the majority of us the simpler dance movesand make an 'Impossible' level for those that have mastered MJ's dancing.
In summary:
Kinect Version:
*Some of the songs are all singing and no dancing
*The dancing is ok, but for the most part is slower, and there are a LOT of pauses between dancing and poses that you have to hold for 5 secondsso don't plan on getting your heart rate up
*Much more natural feeling than the Wii and PS3 versions
*The stages and backgrounds blow the PS3 version's away (it would be nice to be able to switch your on-screen avatar to your Xbox avatar, but if you're trying to learn how to master the moves correctly, then it is helpful to have your 'liquid reflection' on the stage)
*You can't turn the singing off, and if you live in an apartment and don't feel like embarrassing yourself in front of the neighbors, then don't plan on getting a decent singing score (or achievements)
*If they had 'dumbed down' MJ's dance moves to match more closely with the Dance Central experience, most of us MJ fans would've been in an uproar and the game couldn't be called the MJ Experience...
PS3 Version:
*You'll get your heart rate up
*You can pretty much suck at the leg work as long as you have your arm in the right place at the right time
*Fun, engaging, you get to be MJ's backup dancer
*Much more dancing, less singing, this could definitely be a workout game contender
*You'll get tired of the remote in your hand and wish you were playing the Kinect again
All in all, if you want exercise-get the Wii or PS3 version. If you want some slower fun, want to master some difficult dance moves with more precision, want a beer-drinking karaoke/dance game, or enjoy the Kinect and all it can do-then go for this version. If you're looking to add an exercise routine to your game mix-then opt for the Wii or PS3 versions.
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The Wii version of Michael Jackson the Experence is very fun. You feel like the moves you're doing are pretty close to what you remember from the videos. You feel like you're Michael Jackson. The kinect version takes out what makes those games fun, dancing like Mike. I really hate ubisoft for messing this game up. All they had to do was create a controller free version of the wii game. Instead they wanted to crush the hearts of everyone looking foward to the kinect version of this game. You can't dance to every song. When you do dance it's slow and boring and feels nothing like how michael jackson does them. You can never get into a groove because the dancing is broken up by pauses where you just stand there for 3 secs. The singing portion works ok as long as the volume on your tv is turned down. However you don't have to sing you can just hum to the beat. The UI and navigating the menus is pretty good. Even the load screens are cool. Too bad the actual gameplay is horrible.This game uses Ubisofts Virtual Projection Technology to put you in the game. You can see a silhouette of yourself dancing and singing onstage. This is very cool to look at, however not fun to play. A better implementation would have been a hard mode were you do the whole routine from the wii version by memory. Then on completion it shows you how you did next to the real mike avatar. That would've been very cool. Once again I really hate ubisoft for screwing this game up.
Buy the PS move or Wii version if you want to dance like mike and have fun.
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I made the mistake of playing the wii version first and that was so so much fun. So when this game came out I went and purchased a brand new Xbox 360 along with the Kinect to play this game. Needless to say, I have kept the Xbox and the Kinect, but this game went right back to the store. The whole time I was playing the game I was waiting for the "Michael Jackson Experience" unfortunately I never got it. The Que cards are to low on the screen and the games doesn't recognize some of your movements. Thriller is boring, Smooth Criminal was just upsetting, BAD was just plain bad and Beat It was the icing on the cake. If you have a phobia about looking fat, then this is not the game for you. If you have played the wii version, keep the memory alive and don't buy this game. If you are expecting to see cool looking dancers in the back ground and not a feminine looking guy doing aerobic exercises and you standing in the middle going what the "Heck" then this is definitely not the game for you!! My BAD for not reading the reviews before purchasing the game...sorry MJHonest reviews on Michael Jackson The Experience - Xbox 360
What would possess them to make the xbox version horrible? Maybe Sony and nintendo paid Ubisoft to make it this bad because xbox was running away with the kinect technology. The reason I bought the xbox was because of dance central and this game. There's no dancing in here and its so slow it doesn't seem like you are dancing like MJ. WTH?Well at least dance central is still the bomb. Way to go ubisoft. Xbox you should be mad with them as they just seriously hurt your product on purpose.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Michael Jackson The Experience - Xbox 360
I own Dance Central and love that game so I will compare Michael Jackson: The Experience to it. I had been anticipating this game for months.When you first start, skip the MJ Dance School. MJ Dance School are videos of 3 dance instructors demonstrating signature MJ moves. However, they go too fast for most people to follow. I felt frustrated and hoped that this was not the only training video for the game since the dance break down for Dance Central was so good. After finishing watching all of MJ Dance School, I selected Solo. This is where you'll find the songs and then can select the practice mode.
MJ vs. Dance Central dance lessons:
In Dance Central, you select an animated dance avatar who takes you step-by-step for each move of the dance routine. You get to practice each move several times with feedback by the little boombox. DC takes you through the entire dance routine. In MJ, your dance instructor is a motion captured dancer who teaches you a segment of the dance routine one time. If you need more practice, you need to select that segment from the menu again. The advantages of MJ's practice mode is that you can practice just a segment of the dance vs. DC which you have to do the entire routine. However, DC makes it nice where there's no interruption of practicing the entire routine.
Dance Avatars:
In DC, you can select from a list of animated dancers. You can either use the default character for the song or change it. You can also unlock new clothes for the character. In MJ, the dance avatars are images of people captured on computer and they are dressed in the style of the appropriate MJ song/video. You cannot change them. In Black and White, what is really cool is that the avatars change several times in the song to mimic the music video. So it starts off with the African dancers, then Native American, to Russian, Thai, and Indian and then to street rapper.
Stage/Backgrounds:
In DC, there are several dance stages that you can select from. In MJ, the dance stage designed are inspired by the MJ videos and you cannot change them since they are so closely identified with the MJ song. For example, in Remember the Time, the stage resembles an Egyptian pyramid and Billie Jean has the street scene at night time. The backgrounds in MJ are also constantly changing, especially in the Black and White song to mimic the video. You'll also see additional background dancers appear later in some dances, such as Thriller and Smooth Criminal.
Music:
Obviously there is more variety of songs in DC because they are from different artists and different eras. In MJ, the music is many of MJ's classics with a few lesser known songs. In MJ, you have the option of singing along with the songs. The words are displayed karaoke style. In some songs, only the vocals are available, no dancing which makes sense because not all of MJ songs are dance music. You also have the choice of dance only in some songs, dance + singing (Performance), and Master Performance (more authentic MJ routine, plus singing).
Dance Play:
In DC, the dance avatar is the focus and your projected image is only displayed in a little box. In MJ, YOU are the star as if you are in MJ's shoes. The backup dancers are the ones you follow along with. In both games, there are flashcards on the right that show you the current and next dance moves. There is a golden king crown that appears at one time in each song. If you touch it, your score multiplies. However, I'm so focused on the dance moves, sometimes I don't notice it until it's too late and it goes away.
Pros:
*MJ music, the best ones, Beat It, Billie Jean, Thriller are in the game
*Beautifully designed stage backgrounds, many of which are inspired by the music videos
*Fun MJ dance moves
* Great party game
Cons:
*Practice mode not as good as Dance Central
*Motion tracking not as good as Dance Central
*Vocal recognition for karaoke not accurate. For example, I didn't sing a word during one of the songs and the game was still giving me some points.
*Some MJ song choices like Dirty Diana, Speed Demon would have been better replaced by PYT, Human Nature, Man in the Mirror, and You Rock My World. But perhaps these may be available later as downloads.
Overall, Michael Jackson: The Experience is a fun game, especially if you are a MJ fan. Even though the points for the karaoke isn't accurate, you can still have fun singing along with your favorite MJ song. I recognize many of MJ's dance moves from the videos and although they are modified from the videos, they are still fun to learn and do.
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