Dance Central

Dance Central is a dance arcade game for a camera that tracks movements. There is no controller in your hands at all: the game watches how you move and evaluates the accuracy of your timing. More than six hundred and fifty movements and about fifty licensed tracks provide enough reserve so that the evening does not end after half an hour. To score points, movements need to be linked into chains: about nine dozen transitions allow you to smoothly move from one element to another, and it is the chains that bring the most generous rewards. There are five modes, and each offers its own: learn a dance, fight with an opponent, practice individual elements or conduct a full training session. Since the player is being watched by a camera, no special preparation is required - just enough space in front of the screen. This is both a plus and a minus: a person unfamiliar with the games will figure it out quickly, but random movements like trying to catch balance also count, and the result sometimes comes out unexpected. Separately, it is worth noting the training mode: it breaks down the movements into parts and allows you to learn the dance without going out in public. The camera evaluates not only getting into rhythm, but also expressiveness, so over time you want to move not just correctly, but also beautifully. For home exercise, this is a pleasant replacement for the usual warm-up. The Dance Central is not so much a game as it is an excuse to have a dance party at home and get a good sweat on. It's more fun for a group of people than any sports simulator, because fooling around is allowed and even encouraged.