Review of Dancing With the Stars for Wii

The first thing to get out of the way is to make clear that Dancing with the Stars for Wii is not really a dancing game. You don't learn dance steps, you don't get scored on how well you dance, and you don't even use your feet.

The best way I can describe this game is that it's like "Dance Dance Revolution for your arms". To play it, you hold the Wii-mote in one hand, the Nunchuk in the other hand, and as in Dance Dance Revolution you move your arms to the beat, getting higher scores depending on how precise your timing is. Something they added to the game are "flair moves" with names like "Maracas", "Mashed Potato", and "Twist" which will fill up a meter if you do the move right, boosting your score.



Dancing with the Stars will be enjoyed most by those who are already fans of the show. It has all the same theme music, and on-screen graphics as the show, and the dancers you compete using are actual celebrities and dance experts from past seasons of the show, including Season 5 chamption Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough, among others.

The judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Toniolli have all lent their voices to the game, and they'll "grade" your performances. You advance by getting "voted for" by the audience. The music is the same popular music played on the show (thank goodness the producers chose to license the music rather than playing generic stock music). And while you won't learn any dance moves, it is entertaining to watch the animated celebrities dancing on the screen as you're moving your arms,

The controllers are mostly accurate, but from time to time as is common for games like this theymay fail to register movements. But there's nothing too bad here, unlike other games like Samba Di Amigo.

Even after you've won the game, the game is still a lot of fun with a friend. You can compete against a friend, or the two of you can dance with in "Duet" mode.

There are actually two Dancing with the Stars games for Wii out there. You'll want to get the newer one called Dancing With the Stars: We Dance! (in some cases, it's also called Dancing With the Stars: Get Your Dance On), which has gotten far, far more positive reviews than the original.