ToyQueen.Com

Thank you to Ubisoft for sponsoring this post. Please click here to learn more about Ubisoft. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective. #UbiChamps

Thanksgiving is here, the Christmas music has been playing 24 hours a day on the radio since last week and everyday I fill out a sign-up sheet at work to indicate what side dish or appetizer I’ll be bringing to family and office parities. My parents always taught me to bring something to someone’s house to show appreciation. So, instead of bringing an appetizer or food dish, I think I’ll just be bringing my Just Dance 4 for XBox Kinect to every party I go to. Seriously.

Just Dance 4 is a popular dance game from UbiSoft. It is available for XBox Kinect, Nintendo Wii, Wii U and Sony PS3 at retailers like Amazon.com or ToysRUs.com. Up to 4 players can play simultaneously and the game is recommended for kids ages 10 and up.

The menu to scroll through the songs was fairly easy to navigate with the Kinect, and with time I was much more accurate at making my choices. After selecting a song, the name of the song, artist and difficulty level is displayed. Popular artists from today and yesterday are included within the game such as One Direction, FloRida, Pink, Justin Bieber, Rhianna, Carly Rae Jepsen, Barry White, and the B-52’s.

The music choices in this game are awesome. However, in my opinion, even the songs with the easiest level of difficulty were really quite challenging until I had the opportunity to dance each song 3 or 4 times in a row in order to learn the routines. Initially all I could do was focus on the dancer and try to imitate their moves, but as I began to anticipate the next move once I practiced a bit, I noticed there were small icons on the bottom right of the game that showed the upcoming dance moves. The more you practice the easier the routines get committed to memory, but the choreography is definitely NOT easy in my opinion. I will say, no matter how awful or off beat I felt, I always accrued some points, and unlocked different features.

That being said, I haven’t exercised regularly in years. Trying to manage a full-time work schedule outside the home, coordinating daycare pick up and drop off times, and blogging, my energy level waxes and wanes throughout the day. Moments before I turned this game on I was minutes from snoozing soundly on my son’s pillow after tucking him into bed. Turning Just Dance 4 on for 30 minutes gave me the jolt of energy I needed to be productive. I even woke up the following morning with some sore muscles.

One of my favorite parts of the game is that various videos and pictures are taken during the routine. When the song is over, players can chose to have them spliced into a highlight video, and it’s hilarious to watch.

Just Dance 4 is a great family game to add to the home video game library. So skip bringing the extra food to parties and gatherings and for those people who have a Wii or XBox Kinect, Just Dance 4 will definitely provide you with some memorable party entertainment.

I participated in this campaign through Clever Girls Collective. UbiSoft provided this game free to facilitate this review.