Dance Central 2

Dance Central 2
Developer:	Harmonix Music Systems
Publisher:	Harmonix Music Systems
Distributor:	Microsoft Studios
Release date:	AU October 21, 2011 EU October 21, 2011 NA October 25, 2011 JP October 27, 2011
Platforms:	Xbox 360 Kinect

Dance Central 2 is a music rhythm game for the Xbox 360 and is the sequel to Dance Central. It was released on October 2011.

Gameplay

The core gameplay of Dance Central 2 is similar to the first one where players mimic characters along on-screen with flashcards there for guidance. The game has been largely revamped compared to its predecessors, including the ability to allow two players to dance side by side, adding voice commands, and enhancing the Break It Down feature. The Freestyle section, while still available, can also be disabled within the game. If done, additional moves will appear in the game as a replacement, creating one uninterrupted routine depending on the mode used.

There are five modes available in Dance Central 2

• Perform It: Gives the player a chance to show of his moves and skill while performing a dance routine. This mode can be played with one or two players and allows a person to swap in and out while the other is playing if desired. Both players do not have to play the same difficulty, but this can only happen prior to the routine starting.
• Dance Battle: A head-to-head mode between two players to see who is the best. Players go through a song, with two interloops mixed in. One of them focuses on one player to do the routine as the other player is temporarily disabled, and the other involves the players nailing moves from the routine to earn extra points. In that interloop, up to four moves can pop up at any time, and some are marked in gold, indicating more points. Likewise in Perform It, the players do not have to play on the same difficulty.
• Break it Down: A training mode that allows the player to learn the routines in the game. The mode has been enhanced from the previous game, allowing the player to pick certain moves to focus on and record themselves dancing to moves to compare how well they are at aceing them.
• Crew Challenge: A campaign mode that gives a player a chance to reach for the top by impressing the game's in-game crews. Succesffully dancing to each crew's challenge song, once unlocking it, gives the player the oppurtunity to represent them, and the more reps earned, the higher the notibility will be.
• Fitness: A workout mode that tracks calories, with an indicator of how many have been burned along with the amount of time spent in the mode towards the top when enabled. There are also pre-made playlists available, along with customizable ones that can be made outside the mode for use in Fitness.

Characters

Dance Central 2 features eighteen characters, each divided up in pairs as a crew. Twelve characters are available from the start, while the other six are locked.

Crew	Crew Card	Members	Members Image
Starting Crews
Riptide Crew		Bodie and Emilia
Flash4wrd		Taye and Li'l T
Lu$h Crew		Angel and Miss Aubrey
Hi-Def		Mo and Glitch
Ninja Crew		Shinju and Kichi
Icon Crew		Marcos and Frenchy
Unlockable Crews
The Glitterati		Kerith and Jaryn
D-Cypher		CYPH-78 and CYPH-56
D-Cypher Elite		Dr. Tan and CYPH-ELITE

Alternate Outfits

Most characters feature alternate outfits separate from the main outfits (known as their "Crew Look" ) to wear during gameplay. These alternate outfits are labeled as "Street Style", and are unlocked by earning 36 stars within the character's selection of songs from the crew they are a part of within Crew Challenge mode on any difficulty. Additionally, some characters have a third outfit labeled "DC Classic". These outfits are ones they wore in the previous game, and they are unlocked by putting in cheat codes for the game at the "Redeem Code" section. (Aside for Mo's, which is unlocked by importing songs from the previous game into this game. Note that importing is not available anymore, making his DC Classic unavailable if a player has not yet imported)

• Angel's DC1 Outfit - Y, Right, Left, Up, X, X, Down, Y
• Emilia's Classic Dance Central Outfit - Left, Left, Up, Right, Right, X, Down, Y
• Miss Aubrey's Dance Central Outfit - Left, Down, X, X, Down, Right
• Taye's Classic Outfit - Up, Left, Y, X, Left, Up, X, Y

Venues

The game features six venues for the player to dance in. All except two are available from the start. You can unlock Penthaüs, and The Airship in the story mode of the game. Venues can be changed before the player starts a routine.

Name	Description	Normal State	Peak State
High Tide	A beach
Set Adrift	A luxurious yacht
Tee Off	A mini-golf course
Lowdown	A subway station
Penthaüs	An unfinished skyscraper
The Airship	A large aircraft

Story

Crew Challenge is the story mode implemented in the game. It involves the player earning the ability to rep crews throughout the city while underlyingly trying to defeat Dr. Tan from taking over the dancing population. Before the first crew in introduced, Dr. Tan is monitoring the status of the city in The Airship, maniacally laughing while doing so.

Bodie explains to Emilia the player's potential after she declines them to be a part of their crew

The player first meets up with Riptide Crew at the High Tide. When they arrive, Emilia rejects and discloses to them that auditions to be in their crew were last week. However, Bodie gives them an opportunity after hearing about the player's potential, so Emilia follows forth. Once they are impressed, the player receives their Crew Card, but not without Bodie stating there are other crews existing nearby, adding a warning about some of them being unfriendly.

Li'l T expresses her displeasure towards The Glitterati

Flash4wrd is the next crew they meet, and they appear at the Tee Off. Taye recognizes the player as the one Bodie mentioned to them earlier while Li'l T compliments their style. They both give the player the chance to dance. After the player completes their set of challenges, Li'l T says how hot their dancing was. On the other hand, Taye questions if their dancing will be hot enough to take on The Glitterati. Li'l T immediately responds with fearlessness and describes them as "two pale primadonnas living in a skyscraper". But Taye dismisses her statement by challenging her to say it again the following night without a nightlight. Afterwards, she gives the player their crew card and reminds them to stay focus while staying true to themselves.

Miss Aubrey corrects Angel in thinking the player arrived to party

Lu$h Crew is next on deck, appearing on Set Adrift. Angel mistakes the player for wanting to party, but Miss Aubrey corrects him about them as the one everyone is gushing over. When the player completes their tasks, Miss Aubrey formally welcomes them into their crew. Angel uses this as an opportunity to flirt with Miss Aubrey after complimenting the player's looks, only for her to quickly shut him down. He then gives the player their crew card.

Mo assures the player that their style cannot be taken by The Glitterati and hands them their crew card

Hi-Def becomes the next crew the player interacts with. Appearing on Lowdown, Mo and Glitch are talking to each other when Glitch notices the player from behind and mistakes them as a spy for The Glitterati. Mo does not think of that to be the case and simply sees the player as someone who would like to dance with them. When Hi-Def's challenges are completed, Glitch is stunned and compares the player's dancing to Mo's, but quickly retracts it to him when he is not trying. Mo allows the player to rep for their crew as a way to deny The Glitterati from stealing their style, and gives them their crew card.

The Glitterati welcomes the player at Penthaüs

After meeting the four crews, The Glitterati becomes the fifth crew the player encounters. Up at Penthaüs, Jaryn gives them a short welcome before quickly doubting their talent. However, Kerith overrules her statement and gives the player a chance to dance with them. Once The Glitterati's goals are achieved, they comment on how they underestimated the player's talent and allow them to rep for their crew, with Jaryn throwing their crew card in the air to the player.

With D-Cypher, Dr. Tan believes he is unstoppable

When all five crews were encountered, the player is taken to Dr. Tan in The Airship. He notes all what the player has done lately, and explains his knowledge of them by displaying them on the screens, revealing that he was monitoring their every dance move. Then he introduces them to D-Cypher, a crew he ensures will not be defeated, to battle the player with the goal in conquering them so that he could take over the dancing world.

Dr. Tan rues that he is not done, escaping The Airship in the process. The end of the story finishes off with an image of his emblem in remembrance

Once the player beats D-Cypher, they shut down with The Airship turning into chaos and the screens behind Dr. Tan starting to fall off. Enraged, he gives a lengthy statement on how he will not give up on achieving his goal, pushes a button on his control pad and escapes The Airship, letting out a hysterical laugh.

Songs

Dance Central 2 features 44 new songs for the player to dance to. Unlike its predecessor, all difficulty levels are available from the start.

Song	Artist	Default dancer	Skill level
Sandstorm	Darude	Kerith	Warmup
Mai Ai Hee (Dragostea Din Tei)	O-Zone	Glitch	Warmup
Reach	Atlantic Connection and Armanni Region	Bodie	Warmup
Real Love	Mary J. Blige	Miss Aubrey	Warmup
Venus	Bananarama	Miss Aubrey	Simple
Bulletproof	La Roux	Miss Aubrey	Simple
Turn Me On	Kevin Lyttle	Angel	Simple
Last Night	Diddy ft. Keyshia Cole	Miss Aubrey	Simple
The Humpty Dance	Digital Underground	Bodie	Simple
Impacto (Remix)	Daddy Yankee ft. Fergie	Taye	Simple
The Breaks	Kurtis Blow	Angel	Simple
This Is How We Do It	Montell Jordan	Glitch	Simple
Hot Stuff	Donna Summer	Li'l T	Moderate
Body To Body	Electric Valentine	Jaryn	Moderate
Fire Burning	Sean Kingston	Miss Aubrey	Moderate
You're A Jerk	New Boyz	Glitch	Moderate
Oops (Oh My)	Tweet ft. Missy Elliott	Jaryn	Moderate
Right Thurr	Chingy	Li'l T	Moderate
Rude Boy	Rihanna	Taye	Moderate
Nothin' On You	B.o.B. ft. Bruno Mars	Angel	Moderate
Club Can't Handle Me	Flo Rida ft. David Guetta	Emilia	Moderate
I Like It	Enrique Iglesias ft. Pitbull	Emilia	Moderate
Massive Attack	Nicki Minaj ft. Sean Garrett	Bodie	Tough
My Prerogative	Bobby Brown	Bodie	Tough
Grenade	Bruno Mars	Angel	Tough
I Wish For You	EXILE	Mo	Tough
Meddle	Little Boots	Kerith	Tough
Goodies	Ciara ft. Petey Pablo	Taye	Tough
Born This Way	Lady Gaga	Kerith	Legit
Whip My Hair	Willow Smith	Li'l T	Legit
Conceited (There's Something About Remy)	Remy Ma	Taye	Legit
What Is Love	Haddaway	Emilia	Legit
Like A G6	Far East Movement	Jaryn	Legit
Yeah!	Usher ft. Lil' Jon & Ludacris	Glitch	Legit
Bad Romance	Lady Gaga	Kerith	Legit
DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love	Usher ft. Pitbull	Emilia	Legit
Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)	Gnarls Barkley	Mo	Hardcore
Baby Got Back (Mix Mix)	Sir Mix-A-Lot	Emilia	Hardcore
Technologic	Daft Punk	Mo	Hardcore
Somebody to Love	Justin Bieber	Mo	Hardcore
Satellite	Lena	Jaryn	Off The Hook
Get Ur Freak On	Missy Elliott	Taye	Off The Hook
Toxic	Britney Spears (As Made Famous By Britney Spears)	Jaryn	Off The Hook
Sexy Chick	David Guetta ft. Akon	Mo	Off The Hook

Downloadable content

Dance Central 2 has additional songs that can be purchased as downloadable content (DLC). They were initially listed for 240 Microsoft Points (US$2.99), but as of August 26, 2013, DLC is now priced at an equivalent amount in real-world currency. All DLC from Dance Central is compatible with Dance Central 2 as well. Any DLC released on or after November 22, 2011 is only compatible with Dance Central 2 and Dance Central 3.

Song Title	Artist	Skill Level	Default Dancer	Release Date
Marry the Night	Lady Gaga	Moderate	Jaryn	November 22, 2011
The Edge of Glory	Lady Gaga	Simple	Miss Aubrey	November 22, 2011
What's My Name?	Rihanna	Tough	Taye	December 20, 2011
S & M	Rihanna	Tough	Jaryn	December 20, 2011
Only Girl (In The World)	Rihanna	Off The Hook	Li'l T	December 20, 2011
Closer	Ne-Yo	Moderate	Mo	January 10, 2012
Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'Em)	Busta Rhymes	Tough	Bodie	January 17, 2012
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)	C+C Music Factory	Hardcore	Emilia	January 24, 2012
Forget You	Cee Lo Green	Simple	Glitch	January 31, 2012
Say Hey (I Love You)	Michael Franti & Spearhead	Simple	Bodie	February 14, 2012
Milkshake	Kelis	Tough	Miss Aubrey	February 21, 2012
Party Rock Anthem	LMFAO	Hardcore	Mo	February 28, 2012
Yeah 3X	Chris Brown	Legit	Bodie	March 13, 2012
Escapade	Janet Jackson	Simple	Emilia	March 27, 2012
Nasty	Janet Jackson	Legit	Miss Aubrey	March 27, 2012
We No Speak Americano	Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP	Hardcore	Glitch	April 10, 2012
Commander	Kelly Rowland ft. David Guetta	Hardcore	Kerith	April 17, 2012
Give Me Everything	Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo	Tough	Angel	April 24, 2012
Spice Up Your Life (Stent Radio Mix)	Spice Girls	Simple	Li'l T	May 8, 2012
Hello Good Morning	Diddy-Dirty Money ft. T.I.	Legit	Bodie	May 15, 2012
Scenario	A Tribe Called Quest	Legit	Glitch	May 22, 2012
Low	Flo Rida & T-Pain	Moderate	Taye	May 29, 2012
Replay	Iyaz	Legit	Angel	June 12, 2012
Hot in Herre	Nelly	Legit	Mo	June 19, 2012
Whine Up	Kat DeLuna ft. Elephant Man	Legit	Taye	June 26, 2012
Round & Round	Selena Gomez & the Scene	Legit	Miss Aubrey	July 10, 2012
La La Land	Demi Lovato	Simple	Li'l T	July 17, 2012
Never Say Never	Justin Bieber ft. Jaden Smith	Tough	Mo	July 24, 2012
Down On Me	Jeremih ft. 50 Cent	Moderate	Angel	August 7, 2012
O.P.P.	Naughty by Nature	Off The Hook	Glitch	August 14, 2012
Let It Rock	Kevin Rudolf ft. Lil Wayne	Tough	Bodie	August 21, 2012
Promiscuous	Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland	Legit	Angel	August 28, 2012

Escapade and Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'Em) are no longer available for purchase.

Importing

Main article: Imports

Songs from the first Dance Central, including its downloadable content, can be played on this game using an importing technique. Downloable content will automatically appear in the game if it has been purchased already, but the on-disc songs can be moved in using an Import Pack. This is done by retrieving the code from the first game's manual, which is then put in through the "Redeem Code" section of the game that will then prompt the player to download it. In order to download it, it costs $5.00 and requires a Xbox Live gamertag. Once downloaded, they are available to play within Dance Central 2, and they also recieve Mo's "DC Classic" outfit as a bonus. Only the actual songs get transferred, associated scores do not. Additionally, the Freestyle section is still embedded; disabling the feature will not disable the section within those songs. The list of songs, and its downloadable content, can be seen here.

Importing has since been disabled. Players who have not imported do not have the option to anymore, but if players have, they can still access them in the game.

Avatar items

Main article: Avatar items

Dance Central 2 has avatar awards that can be obtained by completing certain tasks. Additionally, items for the player's Xbox 360 avatar are also available on the Xbox Marketplace as purchasable DLC. In addition to the avatar items for Dance Central, there are 10 new avatar items.

Avatar awards

Name	Unlock Method	Men Fit	Women Fit
Neon Tee	Get a solo score of at least 2,000,000 points on a song.
Ribbon Tee	Earn Gold Stars on a song.
Bring It Tee	Play every song in the game in Perform It mode.

Xbox Marketplace

Image	Name	Release Date	Fit	Cost
	Emilia's Crew Look	October 20, 2011	Women	$4.99
	Flash4wrd's Boombox	October 20, 2021	Men, Women	$2.99
	Glitch's Crew Look	October 20, 2011	Men	$4.99
	Hi-Def's Boombox	October 20, 2011	Men, Women	$2.99
	Jaryn's Crew Look	October 20, 2011	Women	$4.99
	Lu$h's Boombox	October 20, 2011	Men, Women	$2.99
	Miss Aubrey's Crew Look	October 20, 2011	Women	$4.99
	Riptide's Boombox	October 20, 2011	Men, Women	$2.99
	Taye's Crew Look	October 20, 2011	Women	$4.99
	The Glitterati's Boombox	October 20, 2021	Men, Women	$2.99

Reception

The game gained mostly positive reviews from gaming websites and magazine. praising a lot of its new feature and its style. IGN gave it a score of 9/10, Metacritict gave an average score of 86 out of 100 from 56 critics and Gamespot rated it as great giving it an 8.5 score.

Dance Central 2 is currently dubbed as the best Kinect game to date.

ESRB Rating

ESRB Rating:

Category:

Platform: Xbox 360

Content descriptors: Lyrics

Other: Music Downloads and/or Streams Not Rated by the ESRB (Xbox 360)

This is a rhythm-and-dance simulation game in which players perform dance steps by following the movements of on-screen characters. Players score points by accurately moving their bodies in time with the music and scrolling flashcards. Some song lyrics contain suggestive and/or sexual material (e.g., “Damn, you's a sexy chick,” “I like the way you touch me there/I like the way you pull my hair,” “I was feeling so good I had to touch myself,” and “[M]y humpty nose will tickle ya rear”).

Trivia

• This is the first game in the installment to include crews.
• I Wish For You is the first J-pop song in the series.
• The first Dance Central game in the installment to include crews.
  • It is also the debut for all crew names.
• This marks Bodie, Glitch, Li'l T, Kerith, Jaryn, CYPH-56, CYPH-78, CYPH-ELITE, Kichi, Marcos, Frenchy & Dr. Tan to make their debut appearance in Dance Central.
  • CYPH-ELITE is the only one who doesn't return in Dance Central 3

References

1. http://www.1up.com/news/dance-central-2-pre-production-underway

2. http://kotaku.com/#!5754185/these-might-be-the-great-new-features-of-dance-central-2

3. http://www.joystiq.com/2011/06/06/several-dance-central-2-tracks-boogie-loose-assets-shake-out/

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQv-OEjh1So

5. http://www.dancecentral.com/game