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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program We already own Dance Central (DC) and we enjoy that. We got Just Dance Kids2 (JDK) because we have a 3 year old and a 6 year old and I figured this would just be like DC, but a bit more kid-friendly. Specifically, here is what I wanted to see improved:
1) The user interface in DC can be a little touchy. I was hoping JDK would have an interface that would be easier for little ones (with less coordination) to use.
2) When you don't do a great job, the characters in DC will let you know at the end. My kids don't usually score very high, but they have fun thinking they are doing a good job. It really bursts their bubble when they get negative feedback at the end of a dance. Little kids don't play for points--they just like to follow along.
3) Some of the characters in DC have clothing that isn't necessarily vulgar, but isn't strictly modest, either. Also, some of the songs are fun to dance to, but are objectionable for kids.
4) More songs with really easy moves that are repeated several times so that kids can learn them and easily follow along.
When we put JDK in, the first thing I noticed is that hope #1 (an easier-to-use interface) was NOT going to be met. On the contrary, my 6 year old got so frustrated with trying to select songs, that she eventually gave up refused to play unless someone (like me) helped her select the song and get the round started for her. The first problem is when you are setting up your avatar--Hand up changes the avatar, hand left pages left and hand right pages right which is all great, but then you also need to select the "OK" button which can only be done by keeping your hand close to your body. This took a little while to figure out and if they were over-eager in their hand movements, they wound up changing their avatars by mistake. This was something they were able to overcome. The second problem was changing the song. It wasn't too difficult for me, but the kids had the hardest time with it--if you go too slow, you wind up selecting a song you don't want and if you move too fast, you scroll the screen. DC's version is you hold your right hand out and move it either up or down to scroll up and down the list and then you move your hand to the left when you want to select the song. The problem is when you move your hand to the left, sometimes you also accidentally move your hand slightly up or down and you wind up selecting the adjacent song. This is what I hoped to be improved, but the kids do much better with DC than JDK.
As for #2, the game never criticizes you, even if you do very poorly, so this was a great plus!
#3: All the dancers in DC are computer graphics. All the dancers in JDK are videos of real kids. Each video is different, but so far, I haven't seen or heard anything that was objectionable in any sense.
#4: As far as I can tell, the easiest DC song is easier than the easiest JDK song as far as simple, repetitive moves.
I asked both my kids which game they liked better and both chose DC over JDK.
According to my 6 year old, DC is better because it has an easier interface and the dances are easier to follow. The song selection is equally good in both versions. She also doesn't have a preference between the CG dancers of DC and the live video of kids in JDK.
My 3 year old said she liked everything (songs, dancers, easy of use, following the dancer) about DC better. That could partly be because she is used to the old one, but quite frankly, I would have to agree with her.
JDK is a great idea, but it still needs some work before it becomes exactly what it is meant to be: a dance game that little kids will be able to use on their own and enjoy.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine ProgramWhat a treat. I wouldn't have guessed this Kinect game would be so fun but it quickly drew my sons onto the dance floor and they spent an hour playing through the songs. The next day they were back at it again, dancing away to raise their scores.
We own several other Kinect games (Kinect Sports, Wipeout In the Zone and Children of Eden to name a few) but this is the first dancing title we've tried. My sons' favorite songs (as you can see in the video) are:
* Despicable Me
* I Am A Gummy Bear (The Gummy Bear Song)
* Mah Nà Mah Nà
* Jingle Bells
* Lollipop
* Shake Your Groove Thing
What I like most about this title is the cooperative 2-player mode. Many of the Xbox titles are one-player games, so finding something that both boys can play together is great. They dance for about 5-6 songs and then need a break for some ice water. The game isn't as strenuous as, say, Sonic Free Riders, but it does get their hearts pumping.
Now, there are issues with the set-up screen. The Kinect has a harder time reading the second player (not during the song though). The menus are a little tricky but my sons had no problem figuring it out. The Kinect is no more or less wonky with Just Dance Kids 2 than I've found with the other titles. Your level of frustration with the menu controls will depend on how much previous experience you've had with the Kinect system.
In summary, this is a family-friendly, active game that pulled my kids off the couch and had them dancing in minutes. I think it is a perfect title (just in time for the holidays) that will entertain kids 10 and under.
BTW: Please forgive my video quality; I hadn't intended to do a video review but when I saw my sons' response to the game I quickly grabbed our Flip Ultra HD to share their excitement.
Rating: Four stars.
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My Just Dance Kids 2 Review....My kids 7,5,4 Really enjoyed playing this game. The songs were excellent and had a nice variety of kids Songs. Some songs were slow, while others can wear down a kid pretty fast. That's what we want right! Even my 9 month old enjoyed watching the screen and her sisters dancing to the music
The backgrounds were fun and well suited for the song being play.
The kids follow along with other kids on screen.
Now for the cons:
The two player works good, but ever time the song is over, you select a new song, and the second player needs to add them self again by waving there hands up. Normally no big deal but.... see below )
The game has a hard time reading people kids at times. You move your hand to hit start and even with a steady hand it moves off the button, that is if it even see's your hand at all. Sometimes when a second player wants to join a game, it does not read them, no matter how hard they wave at it. I can see the kids getting frustrated with the menu.
My light is not perfect. But pretty good.
It's a really fun kids game with a few issue that are fixable.
I give it a 4/5.... Clean up the readability issue and it's a 5/5 for kids that enjoy music and dancing.
Honest reviews on Just Dance Kids 2 - Xbox 360
I have 2 young kids, 6 and 4. They *love* Just Dance 3, so we decided to go ahead and get Just Dance Kids 2, especially given some of the song choices. However, we were instantly frustrated with the UI. Loading songs and changing options is an exercise in extreme frustration, especially for my 6 year old daughter. In Just Dance 3, you can override the Kinect interface and use the controller to pick songs. This was much easier for my kids (and I admit it, me). In Just Dance Kids 2, this option is not available, which IMO is a gross oversight. My son is usually waving his hands around, which quickly confuses the Kinect interface on most games, but its particularly bad with Just Dance Kids 2. Coordinating them to walk away from the screen on each song selection and then getting them to come back, stand still to pick their options, etc quickly became tedious and the kids lost interest. They went back to playing Just Dance 3 and were all the happier.Save your cash.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program We have Dance Central 2 (DC2), and my 2 and 4 year old love that game. So we thought it might be cool to check out this version too. Unfortunately, this game falls short in a few but important areas:1. You can't use the controller to drive the menu you have to use the Kinect. My kids are good dancers, but keeping them still enough to use the kinect controller to select menus doesn't work. The controller option is great because we can sit back and select the info / dance / dancers for them.
2. Feedback mechanisms while dancing are not nearly as good as DC2.
3. The dancers are "human forms" and are a little creepy. Their smiles are obviously fake.
4. The dance routines are overly simplistic (in DC2 you can go easy, med, or hard). DC2 does a good job at picking up my "little people" and giving points and credit for the dances.
Overall, DC2 is just better. The music is good, the dance routines are good, and the dancers are animated. It would be nice for DC2 to have more options for younger dancers avatars.
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