Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii) > Reviews (7)

Michael Jackson: The Experience

I’ve always loved Michael Jackson’s music and I’ve always loved games like Just Dance on the wii - so I really LOVED the idea of a game just like Just Dance except where all the songs were Michael Jackson’s!
I was so excited and happy when I received the game this year as a Christmas present. As soon as I unwrapped it I began to itch with excitement, I couldn’t wait to start playing on it! It looked so great and I had such high expectations, I couldn't wait to find out if the game would live up to them and if I would enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
Fast forward to later on that day and my little sister and I were both having the time of our lives, dancing away, copying Michael’s moves and singing along to all his best records.

Idea of the Game

The concept of the game is a bit like an exercise DVD, as there is an animation on screen, and you have to follow the animation dancing onscreen as though it were your mirror reflection. Except this game is a lot more fun than an exercise DVD! It is very similar to another Wii game I have and love; Just Dance (and Just Dance 2). You can have up to four players, there are excellent multiplayer functions, and you all dance along with a Wii remote in hand. The scores add up depending on how well you follow the moves onscreen. Sometimes it can get quite competitive!
Obviously this sort of game might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I absolutely love it! I think it is so much fun. As a style of game I would say it is generally more suited to girls and women; however I have known some boys and men to enjoy it just as much as I do. And under the influence of alcohol I have found out that everyone loves this game!

Playability

The game is really easy to understand and everything is explained clearly onscreen so that you aren't stuck or confused at what is happening. I'm no technical genius and I understood everything on it and learned how to work the game straight away. Even my grandparents can get used to how it works after just a few minutes of playing on it, which just proves really that the game is suitable for most people and shows that people all ages can enjoy it.
It is recommended as being suitable for people aged 12 and over, however I don't think there is anything in it that anyone under this age wouldn't be allowed to see. Some of the dance movements include movement of the hips and in a way that suggest they are perhaps a little unsuitable for young children, but to be honest I think they are more embarrassing to do than anything else!

Choreography & Duets

For some of the songs on the game, there are two different sets of choreography available for you to follow rather than just one. So you could choose either Michael’s choreography or his backing dancer’s choreography. Some of the dances, such as Dirty Diana, are duets, so if two people were doing it one could be Michael and the other could be the girl dancing next to him. Or the great thing is, all the players could just be Michael, or everyone could just be the girl, so that everyone is doing the same dance.

You get to choose yourself before the song starts which you want to do, it is set out very clearly so it is easy to understand.

Levels Of Difficulty

There are three levels of difficulty, easy, medium and hard. For the songs that give you a choice on which choreography you want to follow, one might be hard and one might be medium. You can’t choose a level of difficulty for each song yourself; the level of difficulty has already been set to each song. So, as you are scrolling through the list of songs to choose which one you want to dance to, it will say at the top how difficult it is, for example, Earth Song, which only has one set of choreography to it, would say ‘Easy’, but ‘Thriller’, with a choice of choreography, would say ‘Medium/Hard’.
At first I found even the ‘easy’ songs really hard to follow but after playing on the game a few times now I am starting to get used to them all.

Songs

The game includes twenty six of Michael’s best songs. There is a good selection, in my opinion, of slow ones, fast ones, old ones and new ones. I will talk about some notable ones now. . .

Bad

I love the music video for this song and have always been really fascinated at the way Michael and his backing dancers move in it. So non-surprisingly I was keen to have a go at attempting the dance moves myself.
The outfit that Michael wears in this dance is just like what he wears in the video, and although the moves he does aren’t exactly the same (that would be way too difficult for a non-professional dancer like me to keep up with!) they are very similar, and instantly recognisable to the song. They really go with the music and the beat, which is really helpful and makes it all the more fun.
This one includes moves such as the way Michael sort of wipes his mouth, which is just like how he does it in the music video, and also the way he points out to the side. There are also a couple of other moves which can be quite embarrassing to copy when you’re dancing against your family! I’ll leave you to think about what that move could be yourself!

Beat it

This is another of my favourite Michael Jackson songs and one that I couldn’t wait to try the moves to.
Again the outfits and dance moves are very similar to what the video is like. I’m really glad that the makers of the game have kept everything similar to what it is like in Michael’s music videos. I was worried they wouldn’t, as in Just Dance, the costumes etc can be completely different to what you expect them to be like.
In this dance, just like they do in the music video, you have to look like you’re walking forward while pointing out to the side, then you have to punch upwards twice and then sort of push forwards then backwards. It is easy when you do the hand action without attempting the legs, but when you try and add the whole thing together, it becomes really difficult and I think I need some practice on this one!
When I'm on this against my family, I'm there just trying to beat them, beat them, I don't want to be defeated!

. . . sorry couldn't resist.

Earth Song

I like this song - I love the dance for it! I find it really funny because the dance moves are so dramatic. When my family did this on Christmas day we were all falling about laughing. It was so much fun. It just looks so funny how he kind of moves his head in and out, quite slowly to the beat, then suddenly when the screamy part starts he throws his arms out, spins round, falls to the floor, punches the ground, jumps up again, head bangs a bit, and turns to the side and throws his arms back behind him really fast. Some of the songs like this are just so much fun and are great to do on occasions like parties. They get everyone laughing and wanting to join in and just generally having a good time.

Thriller

Well, you couldn’t have a Michael Jackson dance game and not include Thriller on it, could you?! This dance probably isn’t exactly the same as the real set of choreography but it is so similar and you can tell exactly what it is when you see us, for example if say, one of your neighbours was walking past and they saw you dancing to it in your living room then they would think “oh, that’s the thriller”, (and they might also think “crazy”! We have to close the curtains sometimes as it could be quite embarrassing, if anyone walking outside saw us dancing, we must look so funny, but that only adds to the entertainment!)The other songs on the game are:

• Billie Jean
• Black or White
• Dirty Diana
• Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough
• Ghosts
• Heal the World
• In the Closet
• Leave Me Alone
• Money
• Remember the Time
• Rock With You
• Smooth Criminal
• Speed Demon
• Streetwalker
• Sunset Driver
• The Girl is Mine
• The Way you Make Me Feel
• They Don’t Care About Us
• Wanna Be Startin’ Something
• Who Is It
• Will You Be There
• Workin’ Day and Night

I think there is a really fantastic selection of songs on the game. There are none that I don’t like. All the best songs that I would have liked to see on it are on it, so I’m really happy about that. I suppose if I was being really picky, I would say that they could have added a few more songs, perhaps ‘Man in the mirror’ and ‘Come Together’ would have been good on there as well. But to be fair I’m just being really picky, and that’s only because Michael Jackson has got so many incredible songs. Overall I think the songs on the game are brilliant and I think there are plenty to give the game a good longevity. I can’t see myself getting bored any time soon.
The sound quality is also really amazing and makes full use of the speakers. We normally have it on a loud volume as that’s when we enjoy listening and dancing along the most.

Graphics

The graphics on the game are really incredible. The animated Michael’s and backing dancers move so quickly and expertly they look almost like real dancers. Real, really, really good dancers!
The game makes good use of special effects, which makes the game feel like being at a Michael Jackson concert, as although I’ve never been to one myself, I’ve heard that he always liked to make a really fantastic show with lots of special effects.