Dance Central 2 Full Tracklist and Review Roundup

The long awaited sequel to one of Kinect's biggest titles launches in less than a week. Dance Central 2 hits stores 21st October in Europe and 25th October in the US and it looks like Harmonix are raising the bar once again for dancing games.

Dance Central 2, the sequel to Harmonix's first Kinect offering, is an impressive update and solidifies the series as a first-rate franchise. The mainstays of the original return with polished tutorials; expanded features like personalized playlists; an even richer song selection (now you can finally "Get Your Freak On" to some Missy Elliott); and an intelligently designed two-player mode. Missy be puttin' it down, but as far as rhythm games go, Dance Central 2 is the hottest 'round - 1UP, A

Servants of the dance floor, rejoice: Dance Central 2 continues the full-body experience of the original with new tracks, new routines, and new modes. If you need a great game to break out at a party, or you just love dancing as much as I do, Dance Central will serve your fist-pumping needs - IGN, 9

Dance Central 2 has become the definitive dance game on any console far surpassing its competitors. Thoughtful and intricate choreography that is still fun but accessible, a song list that is familiar and current with a depth of gameplay has made this title both challenging for previous Dance Central converts yet still welcoming for newcomers. Is this game the reason why you still have that Kinect sitting on your TV stand? Yes, yes it is - GamesRadar, 9

Dance Central 2 blew our minds because of its artful mix of movement and gameplay; it makes using your body to respond to what’s onscreen an afterthought. You just think: “Man, what a great game.” - OXM, 9.5

Here's the full list of songs in order of difficulty!

Level 1

• Sandstorm – Darude
• Mai Ai Hee (Dragostea Din Tea) – O-Zone
• Reach – Atlantic Connection And Armanni Reign
• Real Love – Mary J. Blige

Level 2

• Venus – Bananarama
• Bulletproof – La Roux
• Turn Me On – Kevin Lyttle
• Last Night – P. Diddy feat. Keyshia Cole
• The Humpty Dance – Digital Underground
• Impacto (Remix) – Daddy Yankee feat. Fergie
• This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan
• The Breaks – Kurtis Blow

Level 3

• Hot Stuff – Donna Summer
• Body to Body – Electric Valentine
• Fire Burning – Sean Kingston
• You’re A Jerk – New Boyz
• Oops (Oh My) – Tweet feat. Missy Elliot
• Right Thurr – Chingy
• Rude Boy – Rihanna
• Nothin’ On You – B.O.B feat. Bruno Mars
• Club Can’t Handle Me – Flo Rida feat. David Guetta
• I Like It – Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull

Level 4

• Massive Attack – Nikki Minaj feat. Sean Garrett
• My Prerogative – Bobby Brown
• Grenade – Bruno Mars
• I Wish For You – Exile
• Meddle – Little Boots
• Goodies – Ciara

Level 5

• Born This Way – Lady Gaga
• Whip My Hair – Willow Smith
• Conceited (There’s Something About Remy) – Remy Ma
• What Is Love? – Haddaway
• Like A G6 – Far East Movement
• Yeah! – Usher feat. Lil’ Jon & Ludacris
• Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
• DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love – Usher feat. Pitbull

Level 6

• Run (Natural Disaster) – Gnarls Barkley
• Baby Got Back (Mix Mix) – Sir Mix-A-Lot
• Technologic – Daft Punk
• Somebody To Love – Justin Bieber

Level 7

• Satellite – Lena
• Get Ur Freak On – Missy Elliot
• Toxic – As made famous by Britney Spears
• Sexy Chick – David Guetta feat. Akon

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Harmonix Interested in Trying "Non-Music" Kinect Games

After the huge success of Dance Central which they look set to repeat later in the year with Dance Central 2, it's only natural that Harmonix are keeping Kinect in mind for future projects. Their last game that didn't involve a music mechanic was itself a motion game -- Antigrav for the Playstation 2's Eyetoy.

Talking to Joystiq, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos has explained that whilst Harmonix will always stay loyal to its music roots, it shouldn't come as a surprise if they decide to venture further afield with Kinect, having itself rekindled their desire to further explore motion gaming.

"Certainly our focus always has been and probably always will be on music-themed games" Rigopulos says. "I think we're always open-minded about new opportunities. A perfect example is the Kinect, which I think that through our work on Dance Central we've developed an affinity for -- towards motion gaming."

"It wouldn't be surprising if in the future we took some steps outside of our wheelhouse in music to try some new things in non-music focused motion gaming."

Harmonix' latest sidestep is VidRhythm, which allows users of iOS devices to record video footage of themselves and friends making specific noises and tones. The app then arranges and edits the footage to create a song and accompanying video which can be shared online.

VidRhythm itself could see a Kinect release in future. "Our hope is to keep improving it and expanding it, including bringing it to other platforms, such as possibly Kinect" Rigopulos explained. We can't help but feel it would be a perfect match for Kinect Fun Labs.

Source: Joystiq

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Harmonix Considering Kinect Support in Rock Band & Six New Dance Central 2 Tracks

Harmonix once again attended PAX this year with their own panel and a strong focus on Dance Central 2. Their Q&A, which you can watch in full here, also focused on the future of the Rock Band franchise.

With little direction to take the genre aside from additional songs, and slowing sales preventing typical yearly iterations of the game, Harmonix asked fans what they want out of a future title and one of the suggestions was a Dance Central and Rock Band mash-up. Although there may be liscensing issues with that specific idea, Harmonix are certainly not ruling out a Kinect addition to Rock Band.

"Kinect elements in Rock Band is definitely something worth thinking about. I'm thinking about it" said Harmonix's Aaron Trites.

They also announced six new songs for Dance Central 2:

• Sir Mix-A-Lot – Baby Got Back (Mix Mix)
• Digital Underground – The Humpty Dance
• Kurtis Blow – The Breaks
• Usher ft. Lil’ Jon & Ludacris – Yeah!
• Haddaway – What Is Love
• Bobby Brown – My Prerogative

Brining the total number of songs revealed to 27, with the following 21 previously revealed:

• Rihanna – Rude Boy
• Nicki Minaj ft. Sean Garrett – Massive Attack
• Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It
• La Roux – Bulletproof
• Far East Movement – Like A G6
• B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars – Nothin’ On You
• Bananarama – Venus
• Usher ft. Pitbull – DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love
• Flo Rida ft. David Guetta – Club Can’t Handle Me
• David Guetta ft. Akon – Sexy Chick
• Daddy Yankee ft. Fergie – Impacto (remix)
• Darude – Sandstorm
• Daft Punk – Technologic
• O-Zone – Mai Ai Hee (Dragostea Din Tei)
• Bruno Mars – Grenade
• Donna Summer – Hot Stuff
• Gnarls Barkley – Run (I’m A Natural Disaster)
• Lena – Satellite
• Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull – I Like It
• Lady Gaga – Born This Way
• EXILE – I Wish For You

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New Dance Central 2 Trailer and 13 New Songs Revealed!

Dance Central 2 is perhaps the most anticipated Kinect game launching this fall. The sequel introduces new and revamped modes as well as simultaneous multiplayer, over 40 new songs and the ability to import all of your music from the first game.

With the game playable at Gamescom all week, Harmonix have revealed a new trailer showing the all-new cel-shaded dance crews, as well as unveiling 13 new songs for the game. New features include:

Epic Full Body Dance Battle! Players rep their favorite dance crew and go toe-to-toe against one another with two-player simultaneous tracking and compete to stand out in “spotlight sections” where their solo performance is put on display. The new Free-4-All mini-game replaces freestyle sections during Dance Battle, adding an all new competitive scoring mechanic into the mix. Players can jump ahead in score by quickly performing moves from the song worth tons of points.

Meet the crews of Dance Central 2! With the addition of simultaneous multiplayer, Dance Central 2 adds 4 dance crews to the mix for players to rep. RipTide, Hi-Def, Flash4ward and Lu$h Crew all bring fierce personalities, amazing moves and unique looks to the world of Dance Central. Whether you’re playing through the crew challenge or battling it out with a friend, you have to know: which crew are you?

Voice integration throughout the game! You can use voice commands to select songs, pause during routines, and dictate rehearsal during Break it Down. Jumping into a routine is as simple as telling Kinect the song, mode, and difficulty and instructing it do what that little box has always dreamed of: “Xbox, Dance.”

An all new, customizable Break it Down experience with improved per-limb tracking, allows players to customize practice sessions to focus on select moves. Use voice commands to speed through the process, and even compare video playback of their dancing to the on-screen dancer!

Dance Central 2 launches October 21st. Check out the new tracks and trailer below!

・Flo Rida feat David Guetta - Club Can’t Handle Me
・David Guetta feat Akon - Sexy Chick
・Daddy Yankee feat Fergie - Impacto
・Darude - Sandstorm
・Daft Punk - Technologic
・O-Zone - Dragostea Din Tei
・Bruno Mars - Grenade
・Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
・Gnarls Barkley - Run
・Lena - Satellite
・Enrique Iglesias - I Like It
・Lady Gaga - Born This Way
・Exile - I Wish for You

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Dance Central 2 Revealed and Demoed

Harmonix have announced the sequel to their hit Kinect dancing game, Dance Central. Dance Central 2 will allow players to finally dance side by side, as well as through a new single player campaign mode.

Friends can now team up in Perform It or go head-to-head in a simultaneous dance off within Dance Battle. The break-it-down practise and learning mode has also been redesigned.
Like Rock Band, Harmonix's other major franchise, all of the songs from the original Dance Central will be able to be imported into the sequel and, as a result, Dance Central 2 will launch with over 100 songs -- more than any other dancing game.

Launching later this year, here is just a few new songs featured in the game:

• Rihanna – “Rude Boy” 
• Nicki Minaj – “Massive Attack”
• Montell Jordan – “This Is How We Do It” 
• La Roux – “Bulletproof”
• Far East Movement – “Like a G6” 
• B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ on You” 
• Bananarama – “Venus”
• Usher – “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”

Check out the gameplay demonstration from Microsoft's E3 conference below!

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