If the measure of a good dance game is the songs you want to dance to, then Just Dance 3 has that in spades.

If you have not heard of the game, you are not alone.

The first two games were exclusive Nintendo Wii titles, which used the motion controllers to register movements.

But with the arrival of Kinect and the PlayStation (PS) Move controllers, Ubisoft’s breakout hit has finally received the high-definition upgrade and mass recognition it deserves.

Unlike the PlayStation 3 version that has players hold motion controllers, the Kinect version for the Xbox 360 no longer requires controllers and the Kinect sensor now ‘reads’ the player’s entire body movements for scoring purposes.

This means you cannot stand still and wave your arms to gain points, and this is also why the Kinect is the superior platform for dancing games, compared to the PS Move, which measures only hand gestures.

From tracks by Katy Perry (California Gurls), Queen (Crazy Little Thing Called Love), A-ha (Take On Me) to Cee Lo Green (Forget You), Just Dance 3 beats most other dance games with its wide selection of tracks that covers the last three decades and various music genres.

Based on this alone, this Just Dance 3 game trumps Dance Central 2 as the game that most folks would rather boogie to. As a bonus, it also scores well in the dancing department, with its more fluid and natural motions.

Instead of an on-screen avatar to dance to, players see a silhouette and simply have to mirror the motions of the onscreen cut-out.

Like Dance Central 2, the Just Dance 3 game allows for two players to take the stage, but for select songs like Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time, Just Dance 3 allows up to four players to dance together, with a different routine for each player.

All the 40-plus songs also stand out, in that the accompanying videos are all unique.

Venus by Bananarama has the dance character dressed in a bright track suit, while Let’s Go To The Mall by Robin Sparkles will remind TV fans of the song’s origins – from the hit TV show, How I Met Your Mother.

As a klutz with two left feet, I appreciate the more forgiving nature of this game as it is easier to score.

This makes a world of difference when it comes to playing with friends and convincing them to give it a spin.

Each gesture and motion offered in the game also feels more natural.

When four people are playing, there is more fun as everyone is dancing to his own beat.

While I am a fan of Dance Central, Just Dance 3 is an improvement on many fronts.

All it needs now are step-by-step dance lessons for those who really want to master the moves.

Download now: Just Dance 3

Gamers looking for a pretty video game console can check out these new colour options.

The slim version of the PlayStation3 console packs a 320GB hard disk drive for storing game data and multimedia files. Each set comes with a wireless controller in the same matching metallic Splash Blue or Scarlet Red as the console unit

Think of this game as Glee with show tunes instead of pop favorites.

Just as dancers on the hit show perform on stage to familiar songs, the attraction of Dance on Broadway depends heavily on your love for Broadway hits – from notable favorites like Fame, My Favourite Things and Luck Be A Lady, to the lesser known ones like Good Morning Baltimore and One Night Only.

There is no singing involved here and using two PlayStation Move controllers, players follow screen silhouettes to mimic dance movements.

Each song recreates the stage setting and while great care has been taken to showcase the various dance moves, the graphics are rather cartoonish.

Granted, this does not take away any of the fun in the game, as the dance steps are fairly easy to follow. As with all dance games on the PlayStation 3, the focus is on the hands since the game tracks the Move controllers. So shaking your legs adds nothing to your score.

On the flipside, the game lets four players dance simultaneously, so you can determine if your performing troupe has a chance in the spotlight, or if someone is a Glee dropout.

Instead of displaying all 20 tracks for users to pick from, there is a career mode in which players have to audition and impress a crowd before moving up the stages.

This means that you will have to dance through unfamiliar numbers to unlock a few of your favorite ones.

Though there are some quick numbers, there are no electrifying tunes to really jive to, so after several tracks of swinging and moving those arms, you will feel like the game is one big aerobics work-out played to popular show tunes.

While both this and the Michael Jackson game are published by Ubisoft and enjoyment of either game depends a lot on your preference for the music, Dance on Broadway has slightly less going for it.

Aside from the too-easy dance steps, the tunes are rather weak. It would have been better if there were tracks from Wicked, Grease or West Side Story to add some spice to the repertoire.

More:
Dance on Broadway PS3

The King of Pop may be gone, but his legacy lives on with this new and exciting dance game that features a collection of Michael Jackson‘s hottest hits.

If you have always dreamed of singing and dancing like Jackson, this is the game for you.

Trackwise, the collection of more than two dozen songs serves up an impressive list of his greatest hits, including Beat It, Smooth Criminal and Who Is It.

Like SingStar and Lips, players have to sing in pitch with the songs to score points but, as any singer knows, Jackson’s high-pitch wails are almost impossible to duplicate.

Instead of allowing players to choose the level of difficulty, songs are labelled based on the level of vocal mastery needed. But no matter what the level, many are going to croon to his signature tunes Billie Jean and Bad.

If you think singing is tough, wait till you try the impossible dance moves, although you have it easier with the PlayStation compared to the Xbox360.

That is because the PlayStation Move controller tracks only your hand movements but not your feet, so you will see the on-screen avatar moonwalking even though you are standing still.

The Xbox360 version, with the full-body motion sensing capabilities of the Kinect sensor bar, allows you to jive like the legend, but it makes it a lot more challenging coordinating your hands and feet – unless you are a dance king.

While players on the PS3 move to Jackson’s avatar, the Xbox version grants you stage presence, as the on-screen avatar is a video image of you.

Aside from the sense of being on stage, players can easily compare their moves to the game’s back-up dancers in real time to note their mistakes, for example, to see if one hand is raised too high or if their movements are a second too slow.

For the Xbox, Will You Be There and I Just Can’t Stop Loving You are sing-only tracks, while some, like Dirty Diana and Who Is It, offer short dance segments but not the whole song.

On the other hand, the PS3 version has dance moves for all tracks, and in I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, there is a two-player dance that the Kinect does not offer.

Singingwise, both games are similar but the game has a pro mode where if you sing and dance, the dance steps get more difficult. Since the Kinect sensor bar has a built-in mic, one way to cheat is to turn your speakers up, so that the Kinect mic detects the vocals from the speakers and you can just keep quiet and still score points.

More:
New: Michael Jackson The Experience Simulation Game Playstation 3 Excellent Performance

New: Michael Jackson The Experience Multiplayer Dance Challenges Dance Crew Performances

PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter
PlayStation release the first-person shooter game Killzone 3, this add-on turns your motion controller into a mean-looking machine gun.

The attachment houses both the motion controller and navigation controller for a more realistic experience in shooter games.

There is a digital trigger and easily accessible buttons on the side. The shoulder stock can be adjusted to fit different users.

More:
Killzone 3
PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter

SingStar Dance Cheat Sheet
While the game has been officially released here, which allows users to buy more songs, is not. There are three SingStore catalogues online, from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. While the three markets offer the same songs, there are some that are unique to each market.

To get around the restrictions, you have to create a PlayStation Network (PSN) account for the country that holds the catalogue you want to access.

You will then need to purchase a PSN Network Card, which are prepaid cards, from that country.

So if you want to buy songs from the UK, create a UK PSN account and get the UK PSN card.

A PSN card for one market will not work in a store in another.

With the low US exchange rate right now, I recommend starting out with the US store and stocking up on the cards online.

With the disc, log in to your US account and enter the store via the game. You can then purchase any song, as long as you have credits.

Song packs, which contain multiple songs, are cheaper than buying each individually.

Go easy

The gamer in you insists that you reject the easy levels, but if you just want to sing, pick the easy mode.

You get better scores while on this mode and can unlock more in-game trophies. After all, you are not challenging the game but the person holding on to the other microphone in a sing-off.

Now let’s SingStar Dance Party.

Having made its mark as the premier singing game on consoles, SingStar has expanded its routine with some dancing but everything ends up looking more burlesque than brilliant.

With the addition of PlayStation Move controllers, you can now dance to the songs on disc, ranging from NSync’s Bye Bye Bye to Gwen Stefani’s What You Waiting For?

The problem is, I do not know how to dance.

Compared with the Dance Central game on the Xbox Kinect, which has step-by-step instructions and walkthroughs, dancing on SingStar Dance is akin to learning how to dance by watching movies like Flashdance or Dirty Dancing.

Alongside the lyrics on display is a video of a dancer that you watch and try desperately to imitate. And that is all there is.

When they move, you move, but this visual imitation means you will always be a second slower in your steps.

SingStar Dance Party Pack

Whereas Dance Central has visual cues informing dancers of the next few moves, and even has a lesson mode for folks like me, SingStar Dance assumes you are a natural born dancer.

Points are scored with the camera tracking the Move controller, to see if it moves in accordance with those of the video being played, but I ended up looking more like a wayward bartender holding a radioactive mixer than a club dancer.

And the other let down: you cannot dance and sing at the same time. Well, you could, if you call holding a microphone with one hand to the mouth, and moving the other vigorously, dancing.

If you use the wired microphones provided, the wire will interfere with spins and other movements. Those who own wireless mics may fare better, but try matching the pitch of the song while gyrating.

This is more a tag team routine, much like Wham, where you get a lead singer and the other guy whose name no one can remember.

Luckily, SingStar maintains the quality of tracks on the disc, with popular tunes like Paula Abdul’s Straight Up and I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.

For those who want to master more realistic but complex dance routines the hard way, as compared to Dance Central, feel free to mirror the ones in the game if you can.

If singing is more your thing, SingStar 2offers a library of over a dozen game releases and thousands of songs for download, to built your own karaoke collection.

Let’s now SingStar Dance