Grease Dance Kinect Review [XBox 360]

rating:3

The film has already transcended into super-cultdom, as well as mainstream success - which is somewhat odd considering the controversy and anti-establishment sentiments of the original far raunchier play - and now the super-franchise has moved into the movement based gaming arena with the help of the Kinect. For fans who also happen to own Microsoft's next-gen peripheral (which is perhaps more fairly judged as a console in its own right given how many titles are released for it) Grease Dance will already be an essential purchase. At a paltry £24.99 I would suggest a good deal of those fans will have already invested, but it's still my job to evaluate whether those who remain undecided would be well advised to shell out for the newly released game. It's not exactly a hugely immersive game experience, but there's more of the karaoke spirit about Grease Dance than other Kinect dance titles, and there is a lot more of a free spirit. Crucially also, there's not as much competitive spirit either, and you get the sense that 505 wanted to present a gentle celebration of the Grease phenomenon, rather than turning it into a stark competition that wouldn't necessarily fit the way fans think of the film. That is perhaps also partly why the characters are presented as caricatured versions of the film's original stars, and not phot0-realistic sprites, so that any technological restrictions didn't limit how realist they would look, and thus spoil the magic for the fans. Grease Dance allows players to dance - if it didn't there'd surely be grounds for complaints about that title - but it also allows them to sing: it combines a Dance Central style dancey engine with the same sort of lyrics-on-screen, pitch-matching mechanics of almost every other singing game on the market. But the hook here is that we get to sing along to songs in such an environment that we've all belted out before. Grease is such a phenomenon that the lyrics and the tunes that define that film more than any of the storylines are ingrained in us, deep under our collective skin, and there is a lot to be said for a game that encourages that wanton musical spirit. In many ways, any success the game enjoys will probably be thanks to the fact that it so cleverly channels an activity that its potential players are already used to. And in the cartoony aesthetics and the simple, colourful set-up, 505 have provided enough reasons to invest the necessary cover price to enjoy those activities - of singing along with Sandy, or dancing along to the Hand Jive - in a new, different way. The game favours multiple players, as with most dance and song simulators, especially since solo singing can often mean attempting to harmonise with yourself by singing the backing track as well as the main lyrics. Since the game offers the opportunity to sing and dance at the same time, it is at its best when players are doing both at the same time - though there is a necessary compromise, as those who choose to take on the singing are forced mostly off-screen, with no pitch meter to track how well they're doing. There is also the opportunity to play some mini-games though in all honesty they are the weakest element of the package, and don't really add anything to the experience. There's still some enjoyment to have in them, but the random selection process is slightly baffling, and for once the technology doesn't seem to respond as well as usual. Overall, Grease Dance works as a harmless tribute to the Grease phenomenon - the opportunity to sing your way through classics and dance along with the Pink Ladies will be a massive draw for fanatics, and the simple multiplayer fun offers more than enough entertainment for more casual fans. It's probably best not to expect a great deal, but this is certainly not the worst musical Kinect game on the market and it will achieve exactly as intended - to offer an interactive tribute for Grease fans. Grease Dance is available to buy on XBox 360 and PS3 now. Kinect or Move are of course required.