As we head into Summer and the temperature starts to rise noticeably, this is around the time I begin finding any means possible of keeping cool. One way to do completely the opposite of that is through Ubisoft’s annual instalment of Just Dance – with Just Dance 2016 recently released on store shelves. Since its roots as a 2009 title on the Nintendo Wii, Just Dance has proved to be a competently designed dance game series – often providing a satisfying mix of mainstream and niche songs, strong choreography, some hysterical moments when playing with friends and the occasional bout of sore muscles. Although the general approach to gameplay is still the game, this edition introduces a few new features which may or may not be popular with some.
The core gameplay of Just Dance 2016 hasn’t changed all that much over the years, and once again requires players to follow choreography performed by characters on-screen. The better you replicate the moves of your chosen character, the higher your score is. While it can be awkward performing the actions of only one character when dancing solo, it can be hysterical and highly entertaining when done with friends or family. In addition to the standard gameplay modes, Just Dance 2016 introduces a number of new ones including Dance Party (Where you and friends work together cooperatively to achieve a high score rather than competitively), Dance Quest (Where you work through a set list of tracks competing against AI players) and Showtime (Allowing players to share their own video clip). It must be noted that some modes are not available on certain consoles. Overall the new modes are creative ways to shake up a gameplay formula which has treated Ubisoft well for more than half a decade now, although are nothing I would consider revolutionary.
Continuing to run with the feature first introduced in Just Dance 2015, Just Dance 2016 provides players the option to dance along to the choreography while having their movements monitored by a dedicated smartphone app compatible with Android, iOS and Windows Phone devices. Granted I am not the best dancer, I found the app worked quite well in accurately picking up my movements. As set-up is easy and I didn’t notice any connection issues during my playtesting, it is a valid alternative to motion control provided each player does have a smartphone they can use. For those with young children who don’t own smartphones, don’t have a Wi-Fi connection or are worried about your expensive phone flying into the television screen, each consoles respective motion control systems can still be used.
Out of the box, Just Dance 2016 comes with a total of 43 tracks. In terms of licensed songs, there were only a few in this list that were from 2015, with many more from the early 2010’s and prior. These tracks were complemented by a range of what I call “niche” songs, more distinct additions to the songlist which one might not initially expect to be in a dancing game but are incredibly fun to dance to. These include “Chiwawa” by Wanko Ni Mero Mero, the Angry Birds theme “Balkan Blast Remix” and Ievan Polkka by Hatsune Miku. The song list was a mixed bag overall and mileage may vary between players. But overall I thought it was a diverse, well choreographed and overall entertaining batch of songs.
Exclusive to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Wii U gaming platforms, Ubisoft have also launched a paid subscription service known as Just Dance Unlimited alongside Just Dance 2016. Although time will tell if this has laid the framework for a shift from the traditional annual retail release or just serves as a nifty add-on, this service grants access to a sizable back catalogue of songs from past Just Dance games, alongside a few exclusively available on the service. This service grants access to approximately 150 songs already, around four times as many as what’s on-disc. Subscriptions are available on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. With school holidays coming up, a three month subscription might be a worthwhile purchase. Either way, new copies of Just Dance 2016 at this time come with a one month free trial of the streaming service.
Although it comes with a few new modes, a brand new set of songs and an online subscription service, Just Dance 2016 is still at its core more or less the same game as its predecessors. But with a good level of detail presented in the choreography of its songs (Providing a dance experience that feels both authentic and approachable) and a good variety of tracks, this is a game you can quite easily just turn on and start dancing to. It may not be the game you would want to play whilst attempting to escape the Summer heat, however it presents an overall entertaining experience regardless of if you are by yourself or with a group of up to five other friends.
