Dance Central 2 – the sequel to one of Kinect’s most popular launch titles, has been officially announced by its developer, Harmonix. Allowing for gamers to import songs in from its predecessor, this sequel allows you to shake your digits to over one hundred songs at launch. That makes it the dance game with the most playable songs, by a long shot.
Multiplayer is the biggest addition to this entry, allowing for two players to dance side by side. The Kinect sensor did a good job of sensing the movement of each of the two dancers who demoed the title on stage, so hopefully it ends up working well upon release. The pair were rather close together during the live dance-athon, so that bodes well for its movement tracking.
Take a look at the game’s press release below. It sure sounds like a great sequel.
Cambridge, MA/Los Angeles, CA – June 6, 2011 –Today at the Microsoft E3 Media Briefing, Harmonix Music Systems, the premier music video game developer, gave the world its first look at Dance Central™2, the highly anticipated sequel to the first controller-free, full body-tracking, fully immersive dance video game, available exclusively on Kinect™ for Xbox 360®.
Dance Central 2 keeps the wildly addictive Dance Central experience going with a new focus on simultaneous multiplayer. Friends can now team up in Perform It or go head-to-head in a simultaneous dance off within Dance Battle. Additionally, players can seamlessly drop in or out at any point during a song, so the party never has to stop!
The title was revealed during an on stage performance by Harmonix. The demonstration showed off simultaneous full body tracking for two players, drop-in/drop-out functionality, and more amazing authentic choreography. Dance Central 2 will be playable on the E3 Expo floor within the Microsoft Booth.
Along with the announcement, Harmonix unveiled the first batch of new dance hits and booty-shaking classics from the Dance Central 2 soundtrack. Fans will be able to import songs from the original Dance Central disc and add-on content for the game into their Dance Central 2 Music Library, with access to more than 100 songs will be available at launch!* Dance Central 2 will feature an unparalleled on-disc soundtrack, including:
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”
Available later this year, Dance Central 2 also expands the Dance Central universe with new venues, characters and game modes. Players will meet new “dance crews” and be able to team up with their friends or challenge them to a head-to-head Dance Battle, proving once and for all who really has the best moves!
Harmonix also released a behind the scenes video today, giving fans of the Dance Central franchise their first look at Dance Central™2 from inside Harmonix. The video is available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaHh_NtopSE
For additional information on Dance Central 2, as well as new art and video assets, please visit http://www.dancecentral.com/press.
Follow Dance Central on Twitter (http://twitter.com/dance_central) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/dancecentral).
*Available songs include downloadable content and disc import of the original Dance Central, additional purchases required.
