Product Details
- Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
- ASIN: B0053BG122
- Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches ; 2.4 ounces
- Media: Video Game
- Release Date: October 7, 2011
By : Ubisoft
List Price :
$39.99Price :
$33.96You Save :
$6.03 (15%)
Product Description
Platform: Xbox 360
From the Manufacturer
Key Game Features
- Just Create: Create and record your own dance routine right into the game with this innovative mode. Upload your signature dance routines online and have your friends and the Just Dance community download, vote, and play your dance on their own Xbox 360!
- 4 Players on Kinect: For the first time ever on Kinect, compete with 4-players at the same time.
- Top Of The Charts: Over 45 all-new tracks, ranging from chart-topping hits to classic dance party tracks! There's something for everyone to get their groove on.
- Don't Stop the Music: Want more songs? Preview and download from an expanding catalogue of new tracks from the in game Just Dance store.
- Just Sweat: Just Dance is not only fun but it can also be a workout! Accumulate sweat points, feel good, and Just Sweat.
- Shout Out!: Give your sweet dance moves a voice with the Kinect-exclusive feature that lets you and your friends sing along to the lyrics for extra points – and total party fun.
- Play Your Way: With individual player difficulty settings, short version song selection and player jump in/jump out capability, play the way you want to play.
- Top Score Challenge: Get rewarded for your stellar performances with over 20 Xbox achievements and rank against your friends in the all-new leaderboards!
Just Dance 3: The World's 1 Dance game brand is back and now available on Kinect for Xbox 360!
Just Dance 3 kick-starts the party with over 45 tracks from today's hottest hits like "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO, "California Gurls" by Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, and "Forget You" by Cee Lo Green, just to name a few.
And for the very first time, Just Dance is now available on Kinect for Xbox 360 with simultaneous 4 players for the ultimate party experience.
Not only does Just Dance 3 on Kinect include everyone's favorite game modes, but it also offers several Kinect-exclusive features that take advantage of the unique Kinect Sensor: Just Create, Shout Out, Online Sharing, and more!
Track listing
Tracks available in Just Dance 3 include:
- 2 Unlimited – "No Limit"
- a-ha – "Take On Me"
- Anja – "Dance All Nite"
- Bananarama – "Venus"
- Bollywood Rainbow – "Kurio Ko Uddah Le Jana"
- Cee Lo Green – "Forget You"
- Countdown Mix Masters – "Beautiful Liar"
- Daft Punk – "Da Funk"
- Danny Elfman – "This is Halloween"
- Donna Summer – "I Feel Love"
- Dr. Creole – "Baby Zouk"
- Duck Sauce – "Barbra Streisand"
- Girls Aloud – "Jump (For My Love)"
- Groove Century - "Boogie Wonderland"
- Gwen Stefani – "What You Waiting For"
- Inspector Marceau – "The Master Blaster"
- Janelle Monae – "Tightrope (Solo Version)"
- Jessie J featuring B.o.B – "Price Tag"
- Brahms by Just Dance Classical Orchestra – "Hungarian Dance No. 5"
- Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg – "California Gurls"
- Kiss – "I Was Made For Lovin' You"
- Konshens – "Jamaican Dance"
- African Ladies – "Pata Pata"
- Latino Sunset – "Mamasita"
- Laura Bell Bundy – "Giddy On Up (Giddy On Out)"
- LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock – "Party Rock Anthem"
- Madness – "Night Boat To Cairo"
- MIKA – "Lollipop"
- Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland – "Promiscuous"
- Pointer Sisters – "I'm So Excited"
- Queen – "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
- Reggaeton Storm – "Boom"
- Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman - "Somethin' Stupid"
- Scissor Sisters – "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'"
- Sweat Invaders - "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)"
- Taio Cruz – "Dynamite"
- The Black Eyed Peas – "Pump It"
- The Buggles – "Video Killed The Radio Star"
- The Chemical Brothers – "Hey Boy Hey Girl"
- The Girly Team – "Baby One More Time"
- The London Theatre Orchestra ; Cast – "Think"
- The Sugarhill Gang – "Apache (Jump On It)"
- Tommy Sparks – "She's Got Me Dancing"
- Wilson Pickett – "Land of 1000 Dances"
- And more!
Legal:© 2011 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Just Dance, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Xbox 360 is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies and is used under license from Microsoft. based on NPD and MOKA sales.
America's Hottest Dance Game is Back! Just Dance 3 is now available for the Xbox 360 Kinect. The advanced technology of the Kinect gives Just Dance the ability to track full-body moves for an improved dance experience. Just Dance 3 on Kinect has everyone's favorite game modes, but will also offer several Kinect-exclusive features that take advantage of the unique Kinect camera. Your body is now the controller, Just Dance!
Product Features
- Top of the Charts - Over 40 all-new tracks, ranging from Billboard/top-charted hits to classic dance party tracks!
- Dynamic Environments - Watch the background change as you perform progressive moves.
- Just Sweat It Out - The popular Just Sweat mode gets an upgrade with more workout plans and playlists.
- Just Dance - Just Dance 3 still has everyone's favorite modes like Classic Mode, Duet Mode, Medley, Simon Says, and more.
- Kinect Required
Customer Reviews
Like most of you, I was curious about a few questions with Just Dance 3. First, how does Just Dance 3 for Kinect compare to its counterpart on the Wii? Second, how does it compare to the gold standard for dance games on the Kinect, Dance Central? Third, how does it stand on its own as a game? I'll try to cover all those questions in this review.
As with the Wii version, the opening menu of Just Dance 3 is delightfully simple. You're given four choices:
Dance
Just Create
Extras
Shop
"Dance" has four options. "Songs" allows you to jump into the songs and start dancing. You scroll through a list of songs. As with the Wii version, you'll see icons signifying the difficulty level (gears) and the intensity level (drops of sweat).
If you know and love the Wii version, it'll be an easy transition to play the Kinect version. The gameplay and the graphics are virtually identical. A colorful silhouetted figure will dance on the screen and you have to dance the "mirror image" to it. The more accurately you dance, the more "stars" you'll earn. At the end of the dance, you'll see your point total and earn "Mojo Points" to unlock new songs, choreography, and playing modes (the first gift is "Jamaican Dance Mashup")
Ubisoft has wisely kept the songs and the choreography identical across the platforms, which means you can learn the dances on a Wii and know the routines inside and out when visiting a friend with an Xbox (and presumably with a PS3, once that version is finally released).
There are two important distinctions from the Wii version: first, you're not holding a remote in your hands so you have complete freedom of movement. Second, you see a little postage-sized silhouette of yourself in the upper left-hand corner which lets you easily compare how well you're performing the dance with the on-screen silhouette. Both of these things are definitely an improvement over the Wii.
One thing that is decidedly not an improvement over the Wii version is multiplayer mode. It says that up to four players can play together, but all four players have to squeeze together in a staggered pattern to fit within the Kinect camera range, and players are so tight that you invariably end up hitting and bumping into each other. The way the system tries to automatically detect players can be spotty as well. Before the song, each player has to stand in front of the silhouette whose moves they want to follow and follow it throughout the dance routine. I found that it can take several tries before getting it right, but once you get it right it's a lot of fun, especially if you have four players (You can see from the song selection icon whether the choreography is designed for one, two, or four dancers).
Before each song you can choose a "difficulty level" by raising your hand. You can choose between "Easy" and "Normal". The "Easy" setting icon shows a person whose torso is highlighted but whose lower body is white; presumably this was added to the Kinect version because some folks' Kinects (like mine) are set up in a small room where there's not enough space to capture the whole body. But to be honest, I tried dancing to the same songs on both settings and I really didn't notice a difference between either.
The motion tracking seems to be spot on, if a little lenient. The first time I danced to "California Gurls", I easily got 10,295 points and 5 stars. I started to think pretty highly of myself until I noticed that for practically every song I tried (even ones I never tried before), I'd get 4 or 5 stars. As an experiment, I tried just standing still and flailing my arms up and down through the whole song, and I still ended up getting 3,613 points and one star. I think Ubisoft learned from their experience with the original Just Dance that it's better to be a little more lenient in scoring than to be overly harsh. Some people (particularly kids or newbies dancing in a party setting) will welcome this, while others may be a little annoyed that there's not much of a challenge in racking up a high score. As for me, I've learned to ignore the score and just enjoy the game on its own merits.
The best way to sum how up Just Dance 3 deals with motion detection is that it seems that the greatest emphasis (as with the Wii version) is placed on arm movements and general body movements, more so than precise detection of where your hands and feet are at any given time.
This is probably a good way to describe the difference between Just Dance and Dance Central. Dance Central definitely is a superior title if you're looking for a much higher degree of precision or something approaching "detailed dance instruction". On the other hand, Just Dance 3 is arguably the better title if you just want to hang out with friends and have a fun time. And this is just personal preference, but I much prefer the simplicity of Just Dance's silhouetted characters over the overly stylized hipster doofus characters in Dance Central.
The other options under "Dance" include "Playlists", which lets you choose from similar types of songs grouped together (e.g. oldies, songs that make you sweat, duets, etc.); "Specials", which lets you play unlocked play modes; and "Sweat", which lets you activate "Sweat Mode" and accumulate "Sweat Points" with every song you play. Just as in the Wii version, about 4.2 sweat points = 1 calorie burned. As you hit milestones, the system will offer encouraging comments (after 1000 sweat points, it'll tell you that you just exercised the equivalent of walking across Central Park).
The "Just Create" menu is unique to the Kinect, and it is where Just Dance 3 for Kinect really shines. In it, you can record your own choreography. You can select "Coach Me", where you can create your choreography based on the existing Just Dance 3 choreography (the dancers will be dancing the standard routine behind you as you record your movements in front), or "Freestyle", where there are no background dancers and you just create your choreography from scratch. There's also "Dance Off" mode, where you'll dance most of the song to the pre-set choreography, but be able to go off and freestyle during specific parts in the song. In all these modes, you appear on screen as a grainy silhouetted figure yourself, not exactly the same as the usual on-screen characters, but close enough.
After you create your dance moves, you or your friends can play them just like any other Just Dance song, complete with scoring (not as accurate as the pre-set choreography, but you'll have so much fun you won't care). You can even share your original creation with the world in the online "Gallery", or play other peoples' creations. While no doubt there are some dancers who will use this to create intricate and professionally choreographed dance routines, I get the sense most people will use it to just goof around and have a lot of fun with friends to see who can come up with the silliest moves. The good news is, it works well for both.
Under Extras, you can view Credits, enter an Unlock Code (presumably a future feature that Ubisoft will use for promotional purposes), select a Hard Drive "for loading and saving your progression", and turn on/off Pictograms, Lyrics, How to Play Tips, Short Dance, or Short Create.
Under Shop, there are only three choices as of this writing: Fame by Irene Cara, Heart of Glass by Blondie, and U Can't Touch this by MC Hammer (these were songs that were available on the original Just Dance for the Wii; I assume over time they will port all of those over eventually).
You may notice that I give the game 5 stars for "fun" but overall 4 stars. And this is mainly because of Ubisoft's very poor execution of the Kinect user interface, which seems like a trivial point but really impacts the overall enjoyment of this title.
The first indication of a problem was when I was selecting the list of songs. It was painful to try to choose one. There's a very long list of songs to scroll through, and you have no control over the scroll speed. You just lift your arm to scroll up and lower your arm to scroll down. When you find the song you want, it takes several tries before you can pinpoint the one you want, and then you have to keep completely still to select and "swipe" it in a very precise way. The controls are so hypersensitive that the slightest body movement in the wrong way and you need to start over, which can get very annoying. This could have been executed much, much better.
The hypersensitivity of the controls is a problem throughout the menu selection process. Here is a true story: I played a few songs before sitting down to write this review in front of the TV. I then looked up at the screen and saw a purchase of downloadable content had been made. What happened was, the Kinect continued to track my body movements and had, completely on its own, selected "Shop" "You Can't Touch This" "Buy It", and then checked out (deducting 240 Microsoft Points from my account) all without me realizing it! So the poor execution of Just Dance 3's user interface ended up costing me in a very real sense. The irony is, while the system is horrifically hypersensitive on screens like the home screen, in other parts of the program you have to swipe and swipe at a menu option before it'll let you select anything.
At the end of the day, I turned on my Xbox Controller and stopped trying to use the Kinect to navigate the menus. That made things a thousand times better.
Poor execution of the Kinect user interface notwithstanding, Just Dance 3 is overall an extremely enjoyable game. If you're more of a dancing purist, I would hold off and see what Dance Central 2 has to offer. On the other hand, if your goal is to just have fun... Read more›
There isn't a dance game around that has had the success of the Just Dance brand. Selling over five million copies worldwide, Just Dance 2 was a dance game juggernaut on the Wii. This time, the party has returned bigger and better than ever with Just Dance 3. And this time, the party is on the Kinect for Xbox 360.
No review of Just Dance 3 would feel correct without mentioning the other giant Kinect dance title, Dance Central. Once Dance Central 2 comes out, I will do a review of the game and then do another separate article comparing the two games. Do they compete or is there room enough for both? We'll soon see.
For now, my immediate thoughts on Just Dance 3 are about a game trying to make itself accessible to a larger crowd. The playlist (found here) represents a variety of songs from various generations, genres, and ethnicity. There are no opportunities to slow things down and learn each step. The idea of Just Dance is simple, just dance.
Those familiar with Kinect's other major dancing game will feel right at home here. As soon as the game starts, move your hands up and down to find the right menu, and swipe to select. Here is where I have to give Just Dance 3 some worthy credit, because there is a lot of content to play around with.
The first mode that will draw your attention is the Just Dance mode. Hop in, pick a song, and you are off. Instead of a menu of options, everything is decided on stage. Before you start the dance, you set the difficulty and number of players. Raise your hand to pick from easy or hard. If you have multiple players, have them stand side-by-side or by staggering, where they will all show in the feedback panel.
The difference between easy and hard modes is how the Kinect tracks you. For just upper body tracking, pick easy. This is a good way to ease in players coming from the Wii version. It is also a good mode for players that don't want to jump or spin. For full body tracking, pick hard. The tracking is where I have a small problem with the game. There is nothing to tell you what you are doing wrong or right. You are given a "X", an "OK", a "good", or a "perfect". This can be a bit frustrating when trying for high scores or to earn certain achievements.
Speaking of tracking, the tracking in Just Dance 3 seems very well done. If your living room allows for it, you can have up to four people dancing and tracked at the same time. I was able to cram myself and both kids into the routine and I scored just as well as when playing solo. For added fun, Just Dance has brought back Duets and added a Dance Crew for several songs. Duets is where two players can do complementary dances during the song. Dance Crew is similar, but for four people and usually involves an orchestrated performance. For those solo artists out there, don't fret. You can still have your own one-person party by selecting whichever Dance Crew coach to follow and then square dance the night away with your invincible friends.
The routines of Just Dance 3 are what separates it from most dance games. You will either love them or hate them. You will either let loose and have fun or you will dismiss them as being a bit too corny. If you are fine with dancing as a cheerleader to Britney or acting like Mr. Pumpkin man in a Halloween themed song, you'll be fine here. As I said earlier, the main thrust of Just Dance games is accessibility. Nothing says accessibility like swinging a lasso or playing a virtual guitar. Everything is done in fun and is choreographed perfectly with the music. The dances are easy to learn and follow. Instead of the choreography changing to reflect the difficulty level, the difficulty level is set by how the game tracks you (upper versus entire body).
Each song is scored on a five-star scale. Higher points are awarded to "perfect" moves and even more points are given to players hitting several perfect moves in a row, which is also called being "on fire". There are extra points available in the song through Gold Moves and Shout Outs. Gold Moves are specially highlighted moves during the song, which are an added bonus to the score. Shout Outs are specially selected portions of the lyrics, which are sung for even more points. Earning more stars after each song will fill up the Mojo Bar, which is a currency used to unlock items in the game.
There are several nice unlocks in the game, either through the Mojo Bar or by uPlay. The Mojo Bar is simply filled up by dancing. uPlay points are earned through special feats and can be used to buy anything from Ubisoft game themes for your Xbox Dashboard to in-game unlocks. The game specific selection for uPlay is about four items, while the unlocks from the Mojo Bar are many. Just in my first time playing, I unlocked special modes and new choreography for current songs. For instance, instead of rocking out to one song, I was taken to a gym to do aerobics. This is a very nice way to keep things fresh in the game.
Just Dance 3 features downloadable songs, with three available at launch. What is nice about these songs is the ability to demo them before purchasing them. At 240 points a piece, they can get a bit pricey, even though they are pretty fun. Hopefully we will see the store exclusive songs that were made for Best Buy and Target. I'm also hoping Ubisoft follows the pattern of Just Dance 2 and makes a couple of songs free down the road.
Now for my favorite, the Just Sweat mode. Essentially, this is a switch that is turned on and follows you around whatever you are doing. Everything you do is given a `Sweat Points' score. The more you dance, the more points you earn. The points rack up pretty fast and I don't think they can be associated with calories. They do give you an idea of intensity though. An added touch to the last game is various summaries of your progress. For instance, when I earned 1,000 Sweat Points, I was told this was the same as a brisk walk across Central Park.
The best thing to do while in Sweat Mode is to use the set play lists. Unfortunately, you can't create your own play lists, but there are many to choose from. My personal favorite is the Non-Stop Shuffle and Speed Shuffle. Each of these is a non-interrupted cycle of songs in the game. I wish there was a way to skip the slow songs, which I'm not really sure why they are included in the game anyhow. The difference between Non-Stop and Speed Shuffle is the length of the song. Just like in the regular song mode, you can pick to dance to a minute and a half or to the full song.
One of the last features, which is very unique to the Kinect, is the Just Create mode. Here you are given the chance to create your own routine and challenge friends to it. You are actually recording an image very similar to Ubisoft's other Kinect games, such as Michael Jackson: The Experience (reviewed here). The dance can then be saved to your Xbox for challenging others later. Or, you can upload your video to Just Dance Planet and have it ranked and downloaded for more competition.
Speaking of competition, any song that you are about to play, that has been played by one of your friends, will show the current high score and the person with that score. This keeps the game fresh and competition heated, but a leaderboard would have been even more appreciated. Perhaps some kind of stat tracking will show up on Just Dance Planet at a later date.
The presentation of Just Dance 3 is fairly solid with nice visuals and most music being song by the original artist. My only complaint about the visuals is how similar the Xbox version is to the Wii version. Not that this is a bad thing, considering how vibrant most of the visuals are with a changing background. There just seems to be that extra level of polish missing. This by no means subtracts from the fun or usability of the game, but I can't help to wonder why the two versions look and act so similar.
In reviewing games, I look at the five f's: fitness, fun, functionality, family, and firsts. As far as fitness, you can definitely expect to see some motivational stories come out of this. Just look at what this woman and this woman did with Dance Central. Now you have Just Dance 3`s approachable dance game, added with a non-stop playlist, and you have yourself a fitness masterpiece. What will produce those future success stories is the amount of fun Just Dance gives you. There are a large number of songs with a wide variety to choose from, with each being easy to learn. The functionality is spot-on. Occasionally I had an issue where the game thought I slid, when I meant to raise, but that is pretty minor. I wish there was a feedback on my dance performance to tell me what parts I'm missing or how. As for being a family game, everything is edited for proper language. If you are fine with the occasional Britney or B.o.B song in your house, there shouldn't be a problem here. Younger kids can play along with joy, but may have trouble navigating the menus by themselves. And, as for firsts, this is the first dancing game to allow up to four people dancing at one time. This is also the first dancing game that allows you to upload videos and use them as challenges for other people to follow.
In summary, Just Dance 3 is an extremely fun and accessible dance game that anyone can enjoy. There is a huge variety of music and styles to dance to, so this may not appeal to someone looking to perfect their club dance moves. This is a pick up and play type of game, with a lot of variety and content. People playing by themselves or in a party will find something to enjoy here. The bottom line is, if you own a Kinect and you like to have fun, you should definitely pick up Just Dance 3.
