Common Sense Media Review
By Jinny Gudmundsen
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Passable motion game on the Wii; best for fans of the show.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
What's It About?
If the battle of the ballroom show Dancing with the Stars tickles your fancy, then this Wii game might be of interest to you. In DANCING WITH THE STARS: WE DANCE!, you shepherd a pair of dancers through their ballroom paces in hope of winning the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy. This is a movement game where you swing the Wii remote and Nunchuk to try to match arrows that cascade down the screen. There are 10 dance pairs including Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough, Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke, and Mel B and Maksim Chmerkovskiy. These pairs are shown dancing in animation but not in real video footage from the TV show. The game includes contestants from the first seven seasons.
While your selected couple dances on the screen, you use both the Wii remote and the Nunchuk to match arrows that float down the side of the screen. When an arrow enters the target zone on the screen, you try to do the request motion, including gesturing in a specific direction, shaking the controls, or even twisting back and forth. At first there are only two dance couples to choose from, but you can unlock one more each time you play through a season of competition. The game can be played on two levels of difficulty.
Is It Any Good?
This is an adequate movement game, but it isn't spectacular. The animations look somewhat like the performers, but it would have been better to watch actual footage from the show. The voice talent is of the show's actual judges, but their comments are abbreviated and repetitive. The Wii controls work, but at times, it seems as though you did the motion at the right time but got no credit for it. Also, this game works better with a wireless Nunchuk so that cords don't get in the way.
The multiplayer mode is a plus, allowing you to take on a friend or family member in a dance-off on the same screen. And the game will get you up and moving. The DS game of the same name provides a deeper game experience but its close-up character graphics are atrocious.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why they wanted to play this game? Are you a fan of the TV show or do you simply like games based on dance? Do you think this game caught the flavor of the show? Who is your favorite contestant and why?
Game Details
- Platform : Nintendo Wii
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Activision Value Publishing
- Release date : October 23, 2008
- Genre : Music & Dance
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : June 19, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate