Common Sense Media Review
By Erin Bell
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Nothing dirty about this G-rated Facebook sim.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Dirty Dancing
What's It About?
In DIRTY DANCING, Kellerman's romantic retreat has fallen into disrepair, and players must restore it to its former glory. Players choose a guide (either Johnny Castles or Frances \"Baby\" Houseman from the film), then set about achieving the game's main goal: to get the resort's guests to fall in love. This is achieved by dropping \"Romance Waves\" onto guest to increase their romance meters, which eventually causes them to form couples and pair off. Players can also build attractions for couples to visit to earn coins and experience, and throw dance parties by recruiting some Facebook friends (or spending real cash to hire dancers).
Is It Any Good?
Dirty Dancing is really only loosely tied to the movie, but there are enough nods to the source material -- including a scrapbook of unlockable still images from the film -- that fans shouldn't feel totally alienated. Although the game's central theme is romance, there's nothing "dirty" or objectionable about its content. Romance blossoming between two guests is shown as hearts rising above their heads, and the game uses a pixilated art style that's quirky and cartoonish rather than steamy.
The addition of dance parties sets Dirty Dancing apart somewhat from similar social sims, but players must wait at least an hour of real-time in between dance rehearsals (unless they shell out real-world cash to speed things up), so it's easy to run out of things to do.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about where this is a satisfying tie-in to the Dirty Dancing movie. What makes a good license-based game versus a bad one?
Families can also talk about some of the dance styles mentioned in the game (such as waltz, foxtrot). Are you inspired to learn some of these dances in real-life after playing the game?
Families can talk about online privacy and staying safe while online. Players should consider putting strangers on limited profile so they can play the game together but not be able to view private and personal profile information.
Game Details
- Platform : Facebook
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Release date : September 14, 2011
- Genre : Simulation
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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