Dance Central is a dance game that sees gamers using their own body to perform dance moves, controller free thanks to Kinect. The game is currently in development at Harmonix, who are no strangers to the music genre having created the successful Rock Band franchise. It will be one of the 15 launch titles available when Kinect hits shelves on the 4th of November in North America and a few days later on the 10th of November across South Africa and Europe.

Dance Central was one of the most popular titles on display, both at the gamescom Xbox 360 booth and at the pre-gamescom Play Day held recently in Cologne, Germany. El33tonline put their grooves to the test and discovered why you just can’t stop the beat!

The concept of the game is quite simple really, follow the on-screen prompts, mimicking the dance moves to earn score. There’s a tutorial mode to teach you how to perfect the different dance moves, but they’re very easy to pick up from the start. The dance moves will all mimic a real-life action too so you’ll be able to perform ‘Hitchhike,’ ‘Raise the roof’ or ‘Talk to the hand’ quite easily. It’s also simple to follow the actions which scroll down the right hand side of the screen.

You’ll also be able to strut your own stuff thanks to the freestyle sections of the song. Go as wild as you want, but be wary because that Kinect camera is going to catch your shenanigans for prosperity! Now not only will you be having fun while you shake your booty, you’ll also get quite a decent workout from your new dance routines. This is a great way to work off a few calories while you’re having fun, with the game even tracking the number of calories you burn.

Now add a rocking soundtrack to the mix and you’ve got a whole lot of fun on your hands, especially when you team up with a friend. Now we all know that no matter how excellent your gaming concept is, it’s only as strong as its tracklist. I’m happy to report that Dance Central includes a large selection of over 30 of today’s hot hits including pop, hip-hop and R & B artists such as Lady Gaga, Nelly Furtado, Cascada, Basement Jaxx, Benny Benassi, Rihanna, No Doubt, M.I.A. and Kylie Minogue. Luckily this sort of game also opens the window for gamers to download new tracks in the future as downloadable content, which will help to keep the gameplay fresh and interesting.

It’s clear from the start that the game will appeal to both beginners and experts, with beginners being able to learn over 600 moves step-by-step with the Break It Down mode and experts able to master over 90 dance routines with Perform It mode. Of course you’ll also be able to earn achievements as well as unlock new character outfits and venues as you perfect the dance moves, before moving on to challenge yourself with harder difficulty levels and even face off against a friend in Dance Battle.

I must also mention how easy it is to navigate the menu. Simply flick your hand up and down to scroll through the tunes available and then flick left to select. It works flawlessly and will no doubt change the face of gaming to be able to dance controller free. The overall look of the game is also great with bright colours and a varied cast of eight different characters and ten venues.

Dance Central is another great example of how well Kinect works, with the game tracking your full-body dance moves, a first for the industry. It’s very responsive and had no problem in picking up the dance moves of both players in front of the Kinect. I can’t wait to turn the volume up and enjoy those authentically choreographed routines when Dance Central launches on Kinect for the Xbox 360 in November this year.