I approached Just Dance 2014 with a mix of skepticism and curiosity. Initially, it seemed like just another entry in the rhythm game genre designed to quickly grab cash. However, after delving deeper, the diverse tracklist and the potential for improving my dance skills intrigued me. Unfortunately, my experience wasn’t quite the dance revolution I hoped for.
Alt text: Two players struggling to follow on-screen dance moves in Just Dance 2014, highlighting gameplay difficulty and motion tracking vagueness.
To truly test the waters, I played Just Dance 2014 in two-player mode. Immediately, we were both puzzled about the game’s expectations. Perfectly mirroring the on-screen dancer’s movements felt almost impossible, especially for casual dancers like us. The on-screen indicator, meant to guide us, proved more of a loose suggestion than a precise tool for following the choreography. After several songs, a pattern emerged: Just Dance 2014 seemed to register general motion rather than accurately tracking dance steps in a rhythm-based manner. Before long, we were successfully playing songs while barely moving, even managing decent scores with simple wrist flicks from the couch.
While I wasn’t expecting a professional-grade dance simulator, the motion detection felt disappointingly lenient. Any kind of movement seemed to register, making it feel far removed from a true dance game experience.
Alt text: Just Dance 2014 gameplay showing score and player avatars, emphasizing the casual and party game atmosphere over strict dance accuracy.
Despite this core issue, I must admit, Just Dance 2014 offered moments of fleeting fun. If you gather a group of friends willing to embrace the game’s loose tracking and focus on lighthearted competition, you can have a genuinely entertaining time. Watching each other’s exaggerated movements and playfully arguing over who deserved the top score becomes the real game. This is where the new Party Master Mode had the potential to shine, but unfortunately, it also fell short of expectations.
Party Master Mode, designed to let one player control the dance moves of others, is hampered by a frustratingly short timer between move selections. Imagine picking a hilariously awkward dance move for your friends, only to be immediately rushed to choose the next one. The mode misses the opportunity for shared laughter and reactions to the chosen moves. Simply adding a few more seconds between selections could have drastically improved this mode, which, at its heart, is a fun idea poorly executed.
Alt text: Just Dance 2014 menu interface displaying song selection and game modes, illustrating the variety of content and visual presentation of the dance game.
Setting aside these criticisms, Just Dance 2014 does boast a solid collection of songs, both classic hits and contemporary pop tracks. The on-screen visuals are vibrant and energetic, adding to the overall party atmosphere. However, the experience isn’t without its limitations. Not every song is available in every game mode, which is a letdown. Furthermore, several modes are locked behind in-game currency, requiring playtime to unlock, which feels unnecessarily restrictive.
Ultimately, if you have friends ready to dive into the experience with a party-game mindset, Just Dance 2014 can provide some entertainment, as it did for me. However, the fun I had felt more like it happened despite the game’s mechanics rather than because of them. Anyone seeking a precise rhythm game will likely be frustrated by the inaccurate motion tracking. Those hoping to genuinely improve their dance skills would be better off with dedicated dance tutorial videos. Just Dance 2014 will likely find its place at casual gatherings and parties, and perhaps that’s precisely the environment Ubisoft envisioned. But the reality remains: Just Dance 2014 is essentially a visually appealing interface layered on top of what is fundamentally a glorified dance video.
