Just Dance 2

Just Dance 2 booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2010.

The gameplay of Just Dance 2 remains similar to the original; while holding a Wii Remote in their hand, players must mimic the routine of an on-screen dancer to a chosen song. Players are judged based on their accuracy, scoring points.[1]

Selected songs offer "Duet" modes, which feature choreography designed for two players.[1] A new mode known as "Dance Battle" was also introduced; it is a team-based mode in which players compete across a series of songs and minigames to earn points for their team. The mode can be played with up to eight players, divided into two teams of four.[1]

A new exercise-focused gameplay mode known as "Just Sweat" was also added; the mode is designed to serve as a daily exercise regiment, allowing players to select an intensity-based selection of songs. Activity in Just Sweat mode is gauged using "sweat points".[2]

The game contains 48 music tracks, and additional downloadable content (DLC).

An asterisk (*) next to the song title indicates that the song is covered.

A (BBE) indicates that the song is exclusive to copies sold at Best Buy. Most of these songs are available on Just Dance: Summer Party

A (DLC) indicates that the song is available as downloadable content (DLC) by using Wii Points. Most of these songs are available on Just Dance: Summer Party.

A (NM) indicates that the song is not available on Just Dance: Summer Party.

Note: All DLC is no longer available for purchase due to the shutdown of the Wii Shop on 30 January 2019 & the removal Wii Points on 26 March 2018.

Critics suggested Just Dance 2 would be a good competitor with a similar motion-control dance game by Harmonix, Dance Central (2010), in that the purchase of an expensive Kinect camera wasn't required.[11][6]

Just Dance 2 was commended for being a great social experience with friends, which was frequently attributed to its choreography described as "goofy,"[8] "absolutely ridiculous,"[11] "silly,"[1] "ludicrous,"[1] and filled with "playful touches,"[9] "comical spins, jumps, and crossovers."[1] Explained Keza MacDonald of IGN, "The measure of any social video game is the memorable moments they create – the evenings (or wee small drunken hours) spent floundering in the face of doing the robot to Satisfaction, watching a friend topple head-over-arse attempting Ra-Ra-Rasputin's cossack dancing, the mildly awkward moment in the middle of The Shoop Shoop Song where you accidentally meet your duet partner's eyes."[6] A common highlight was the ballet dance segment in "A-Punk"'s choreography;[9][1] Wrote Martin Gaston of Video Gamer, "there is simply no way for two fat men to look cool when trying to pirouette around each other in Vampire Weekend's A-Punk, for instance, but seeing as it's so outlandish you don't have to worry about looking like a pleb."[11]

In addition the variety of choreographies and songs,[4][9][6][1][7] the addition of new modes (especially towards the "Duet"),[1][9] a download store,[8][1] and improvements in motion control detection[7][4][6][1][11][8] and presentation[8] (specifically the "much less amateurish" score meters[6] and incorporation of animated backgrounds,[4][11][1]) were praised. Opined Martin Gaston of Video Gamer, "Backgrounds are more detailed than the tacky last-minute Photoshop gradients of the original, and the on-screen displays have siphoned off a bit of Strictly Come Dancing's excess pizzazz. The screen is also less cluttered, with the game able to convey the same information as before without taking up half the screen with long vibrating bars and a pair of sunglasses (my favourite icon) having an epileptic fit at the top."[11] In describing how Just Dance 2 differentiated itself from other dance games, IGN explained, "many dance games recycle the same old moves for every song, but not this. The dancers on-screen are even decked out in appropriate gear: swaying wigs, robot suits, flares, canes and even bobble hats."[6]

Problems from the first Just Dance game were noted. Motion controls were claimed to still be imprecise sometimes,[11][1] Nintendo Life reporting its reporters "experienced more than a few dance battles with questionable end results."[8] Additonally, "there's almost nothing for a solo player to do," wrote Will Holdsworth.[9] Some critics also found the DLC song prices a little too high.[11][8]

Sales of Just Dance 2 surpassed those of the original; with over 5 million copies as of January 2011, it was the best-selling third-party title for the Wii.[12] Laurent Detoc, CEO of Ubisoft's North American operations, stated that this achievement "[solidified] the Just Dance brand as a pop culture phenomenon."[13][12]

• Official website