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Dance Factory

(2006, Video Games - Music, Rated E, Play it on: PlayStation 2)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 7, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    No-frills dancing game adds new step: Your music.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

  • Educational value:

    Not an issue.
  • Messages:

    Gets kids up and dancing. This is a great game for families to play together.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Kids can add their own music -- which could include some obscentities.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

This review of Dance Factory was written by Aaron Lazenby

Parents need to know that the game's main selling point is players' ability to load music from their own CDs and build custom dances. That means potential for adding music with objectionable lyrics. The game also requires a dance pad.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the qualities that make a good dance song. Do you want to dance to a song just because it's popular -- or does it need to have a good groove? Families can experiment with different music. Kids might get a laugh at watching parents trying to dance to some blasts from the past.
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More on Dance Factory

What’s the Story?

In DANCE FACTORY, the song-loading functionality is at center stage -- and performs brilliantly. Pick any CD from your collection and let Dance Factory generate the collection of arrows that indicate when and where to step.

The real fun comes with raiding your music collection for wacky picks. Dancing to Jay-Z was predictably fun, but who would have thought the John Spencer Blues Explosion would make a great dance-pad match? Slow-grooving to Ravi Shankar was like doing tai chi, but the Squirrel Nut Zippers actually delivered a bit of swing. Your options are only as limited as your CD library.

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Is It Any Good?

Dance Factory has a few minor bells and whistles: a basic fitness mode that counts calories, an endurance mode that lets players dance through an entire CD, and unlockable avatars called "creatures" that are lame and have no dance floor flair. The only real drawbacks to the game are its cheap presentation (visuals aren't much more than a glorified screensaver) and occasional badly generated dance. A dance editor solves the latter problem, but unfortunately you'll just have to dance your way through the low-rent package. In the end, you'll be boogying too hard to notice.

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Publisher’s Details

Released on 08/29/2006, price $39.95, not online enabled
ESRB rating: E (for Mild Lyrics)

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 9
    Lives in West Virginia
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Ben Lapp told me...

    A boy named Ben told me this is cool. He reccomends it.

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in Alabama
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

    Awesome game!

    It is alot like DDR except you get to use your own music.No violance but can have languge if you put in songs that have languge.Awesome Game!

  3. Teen Reviewer Age 15
    Lives in Florida
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 5.0

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    Lives in Indiana
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

    ITS GOOD FOR 12 AND 8 YEARS OLD

    IT BRING ALL THE FAMILY TOGETHER AND WONT TO DANCE TO THE BEAT

  5. Kid Reviewer Age 12
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on for age 2 and give it 4.0

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