Just Dance 2 Versues Country Dance 2 for Wii

Many who know me knows I have a huge passion for dancing. Many also know that since I am sitting at home taking online classes I have become lazy, fat, and very inactive. My son has been asking me to dance for weeks. I have not been in the mood to dance on my own free will so I form a plan. I will research some of the new video dance games for the Wii. When I find one I like I will buy it and then we can dance!

I wanted to get a feel for these games before I invested the $39.99 to own one of them. I went to Stop and Shop here in town and rented Just Dance 2. We had a blast dancing to the variety of songs provided. The moves were average and mostly not too difficult. The choreography steps were not too hard to look at and act out. The songs were varied and not focused on just one genre so I feel most could find a song they would like to dance to. This game allowed you to score by simply shaking the controller but you had better luck if you actually did the dances as you were intended to do.  The graphics were decent with Just Dance 2. The dancer I used was already named. I do believe there is an option to name your own character but I did not take the time to get into this since I had only rented the game for 2 days. On screen the woman was not presented to look like a normal human but was more of a colorful display with a human form. My son was able to play and could have done well had he not got upset that I was scoring higher than him on most of the songs. My favorite dances and songs were "It's raining men" by the Weather Girls, "Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis, and "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. My least favorites were "That's not my name" by The Ting Tings,  and "Iko Iko" by Mardi Gras. There were a few songs I skipped altogether because I did not know them, "Dagomba" by Sorcerer and "A Punk" by Vampire Weekend just to name a few. On a scale of 1 -10 with one being the lowest and 10 the highest I would give Just Dance 2 a score of 9. I only give a 9 because I would have liked to have seen the game require dance steps and not just shaking the controller to receive a good score.  Below is a video of "It's Raining Men". Yes I actually did this dance and loved it!



Yesterday I decided since I had had a good experience with Just Dance 2 I would go ahead and spend the almost 40 bucks to own Country Dance 2. I soon realized this purchase was probably premature. I see potential to learn actual country dances from this game. The sound track was super hot including top country artists and songs. The game is not a total loss and is fun but I soon learned it is not as detailed and choreography was not as important as in Just Dance 2. You actually score higher by standing still and shaking the controller than you do if you actually do the moves. I do not know about all of you but I do not find this much of a challenge. The name of this game says it all, if you are not a fan of newer country music you will not enjoy the soundtrack. The music is strictly country in this one. The graphics were what I would call good and countrified on this game. The people were both male and female form dressed in country fashion. Boots adorned their feet and a hat was on their heads in most songs. These characters were in human form and looked like an individual on screen. I enjoyed the short introductions at the start of the song and the way these songs ended. Jacob loved this game because he could swing his controller and not have to move to beat my score with me putting in all the effort!  Like in Just Dance 2 there were a few songs I did not dance to at all, “A Buncha Girls” by Frankie Ballard and "Gettin Married" by Joanna Smith are two of the songs I chose to skip. "Country Girl" by Luke Bryan and "Sideways" by Dierks Bentley were two of my favorite choices. "Here for a good time" by George Strait and Honey Bee by Blake Shelton were probably two of my least favorite dances despite the fact I like the songs. On the same above scale as used before to measure Just Dance 2 I would have to give Country Dance 2 a 7.5 overall. I was not impressed with the more I effort I put in the less I score at all. The choreography was not as easy to follow with this game as it was with Just Dance 2. The game does have a warm up session I skipped that may better explain these moves and make them a bit easier to perform. The soundtrack was "boot stomping" but did little to get my hips shaking and my arms swinging. The thing I found is if you do not do the fancy footwork you do not get the benefits of the country dance style. This can be a challenge in living room filled with furniture and carpet.





Overall I am not ready to part with my Country Dance 2 just yet. You may see a listing for mine on Ebay later but right now I am hoping it will grow on me as time passes. I would love to learn some of the new dance steps to the hottest country tunes and this game is a perfect way to do it. I would like to see improvement toward a next edition in regards to effort you put in paying off more but I know without something to monitor leg movement this could be difficult and make the game entirely too difficult for a younger audience. I do not believe I would like the games that must have a mat to perform the movements but I would like to see a leg band that would read leg movement. The band could come in the game like the fitness band that comes with the Zumba exercise bundle. These are just a few suggestions I have. Do others agree I do not know but they are my personal suggestions for a slightly better game in the future. I am starting to consider the new Just Dance 3 as a future investment!