 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Just Dance
- Nintendo Wii
- Price: $39.99
- Genre: Music
Common Sense Media says
Unresponsive controls make dance game difficult to play.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this multiplayer dance party game could be the cause of frustration and tears for kids who are sensitive to negative feedback. A child who feels they are doing reasonably well at copying the choreography, can become very discouraged if they are then be told by the game that they missed 86% of the moves. Add to that a younger sibling who wildly swings the remote and manages to receive a higher score, and you've got yourself the makings of a meltdown.
What's it about?
Here's how JUST DANCE is supposed to work: While an onscreen dancer, clad in era-appropriate garb, dances to hit song from the last four decades, up to four players try to mirror the choreography with Wii remotes in their hands. The Wii remote allegedly senses how close the players are to perfectly mimicking the virtual dancer's moves, and grades them accordingly.
Is it any good?
So what went wrong with this game? Well, you can't fault the soundtrack -- Just Dance features a really nice selection of songs to groove to, including Irene Cara's "Fame," Katy Perry's "Hot and Cold," and Dee-lite's "Groove is in the Heart." The funky iPod-ad-style visuals are also pretty cool. And it definitely gives you a good workout. So why does this game potentially frustrate players? Because the scoring makes no sense whatsoever. In trying out Just Dance, players who appeared to pull of a pretty darn good imitation of the onscreen dancer got tons of X's in their score column, meaning they'd missed move after move. At the same time, a 3-year-old who grabbed a remote and jumped around wildly somehow managed to hit a series of "GREAT" moves. Dancing to these songs is fun, but if there's no sensible scoring being done, why play the game? You might be better off simply playing the music and just dancing.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about how well or how poorly one does at a virtual skill in a video game has no bearing on how successful they would be at that same skill in real life. Do poor scores in a dance game mean your a bad dancer? No more than high scores at Guitar Hero mean your ready for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Kid, 11 years old
September 5, 2010
AGE
Fun, but not for younger children
It's a really good game but, in some lyrics there are inappropriate language and some inappropriate dance movements.
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Kid, 12 years old
April 12, 2011
AGE
IDK what's wrong with it!
I don't get why everyone is freaking out about this game. Its scoring is perfectly legit. Plus, The a** thing? Seen all the songs. Nothing. Yeah, but only one problem: people can hit each other my accident. But as long as you're spread out, get this game.
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AGE
You are being totally unfair.
Did the reviewer get beaten at this game by a three year old, or did they just not play it at all?? Just Dance is one of the best dancing games I have ever come upon. It's easy, if you work hard. You don't just acquire the physical skill right away! A message to everyone who has ever given up on this game:Take it off the shelf again. I dare you to do half an hour on it for five days in a row. Then you'll see results.
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AGE
Fun for everyone!
Great content, but there is the ocasional suggestive dance move,
and there are very few profanities. The only ones are the rather tame ones. This game is great for everyone, though the controls are unresponsive at times, I have noticed with ours, it just takes time for the remote to adjust, then the scoring is better, This is a great game to help you get fit. Be aware, the controls need time to adjust.
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Kid, 12 years old
March 12, 2011
AGE
just dance rocks
This is awsome awsome game to play, I do see why they think 11 year-olds shouldn't play it but i am mature for my age, my dad says I'm 11 goign on 40 :P (not really) But I enjoyed this fun game. I suggest just dance 2 also!
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AGE
OK for 10 year olds, just go through the songs
This game is alright, but it sometimes fustrates me. In the song "A little Less Conversation" theres a part that made me feel uncomfortable. The moves and language aren't apporopriate, like I like to Move uses the word "Sexy", but this game also encourages people to excersise more
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AGE
easy to play family game
Our kids LOVE this game. Has both "girl" and "boy" songs. Up to four can play at a time. You dont need great skill to play this game and have fun. Adults can dance "silly" and not be embarrassed. A friend of ours play it at our house with her kids and went out and bought it that afternoon! (If you stay on beat you score better)
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AGE
Fun Fun Fun
Exellent game for a party. You can play it even without a Wii remote because its so fun!
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AGE
OK game
I just got this game for Christmas 2 days ago, and my whole family is already all over the game. But there are some down-sides. I agree with Common Sense that even if you do the moves exactly right, it will probably not give you the score you deserve. There are some sexual moves and lyrics, and in the song Hot N Cold, there's the lyric "You PMS like the chick i would know." Overall, this is an OK game that's not entirely clean.
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AGE
Make sure you turn the lyrics off!!
This is quite a good game, though I don't like the lyrics being shown because it has the word h**l. The song, I like to move it, is talking about women being s**y and f*t. when I first bought this game my 6 year old brother was staring at the lyrics but I didn't want him too so I took the lyrics off. Thank you so much to however invented that lyrics off button!
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| Platforms: | Nintendo Wii |
| Available online? | Not available online |
| Genre: | Music |
| Developer: | UbiSoft |
| Release date: | November 27, 2009 |
| Price: | $39.99 |
| ESRB rating: | E10+ for Lyrics, Mild Suggestive Themes |
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