Sunday, October 28, 2018

"Just Dance 2019" Review


The "Just Dance" series continues to thrive, superseding a graveyard of rhythm games, including other dance titles that fell to the wayside. The main reasons are ease of use, as well as the novelty of seeing how ridiculous -- and if you're lucky, even how good -- you look when you're busting moves in your living room.

With "Just Dance 2019," Ubisoft continues to refine what worked for the series in the past, get rid of extraneous fluff and innovate with compelling new features. A finely curated tracklist of some of the songs that made the most memorable impact on the pop culture landscape over the past year continues to freshen up the exergaming superstar, keeping "Just Dance 2019" front and center as not only the premiere party game on the market, but also one of the most efficient and fun ways to work out daily while gaming. Games from the series have become my personal go-to. I ditched jogging in favor of dancing like an idiot in front of the Kinect sensor, and have never looked back.

If you lack Kinect, a PS4 camera or a similar console camera, you can use a mobile device to track your movements. The ideal way to play the game, though, remains with video accompaniment.

The game comes with a 30-day trial subscription for Just Dance Unlimited, which opens up just about the entire back catalogue of the series' songs  -- around 400 total. The cost is $24 a year if you decide to go with it, and is well worth it if you're a daily user.

Kids Mode is a godsend for parents, not only rounding up the most innocuous -- if also the most ear-splitting -- tunes, but covering up the dancers' faces on videos in order to prevent any accidental exposure if the video is shared online.

The choreography is as creative and cutting-edge as always, and the visuals also get a significant boost, with media such as claymation making appearances.

One of the better-kept secrets of "Just Dance 2019" is how it doubles as a karaoke machine. While the likes of "Singstar," "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" have long since faded into the background, "Just Dance" continues to be the go-to place for musicians to get their work in front of would-be performers.

It's a tribute to the game's design acumen how it manages to stay replayable even after copious use. With loads of side modes, unlockables, a calorie tracker and online shenanigans to chase after, "Just Dance 2019" is yet another crowning achievement in a series that never fails to impress. Here's to yet another memorable encore.
Publisher provided review code.

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