The king is dead, long live the king. The death of Michael Jackson, which took place a year and a half ago, as often happens in these cases, has made it possible to transform a figure with many chiaroscuro, professionally and humanly in decline, into an impeccable myth complete with a resounding commercial relaunch. Leaving aside any further reflection on the hypocrisy of the market and consumers, there is no doubt that MJ's "brand" is absolutely back on the crest of the wave at the level of the great glories of the good old days; and so after films, new albums and various merchandising, here comes the posthumous video game, entitled Michael Jackson: The Experience and made by Ubisoft. Exploitation or real quality, we are here to find out ...
I dance like him
It is certainly not the first time that Michael Jackson makes his appearance in the videogame world, and on the other hand it could not have been otherwise for a character who has gone through the most brilliant years of his career in parallel with the growth and expansion of electronic entertainment. . SEGA's Moonwalker is certainly the most vivid memory, but there are also appearances in Space Channel 5 and the unlikely one in Ready 2 Rumble: Round 2. With Michael Jackson: The Experience however Ubisoft wanted to focus in a focused way on the artist qualities of the King of Pop, more specifically in that of an excellent dancer that allowed him to give life to some of the choreographies and steps that have remained in history. It is no coincidence that the product was created by the French house, which for a couple of years has been experiencing the Just Dance phenomenon on Wii with great success; at this point it is really enough to do 1 + 1 to understand how Michael Jackson: The Experience is basically a version of the aforementioned casual blockbuster adapted around Jacko's character and songs. In terms of content, the numbers are more than fair: the songs present are 27, and they cover practically twenty years of career starting from the end of the 70s. The biggest hits are (almost) all, as listed in the tracklist in the box opposite, and each of them is set graphically within the setting of the original video, recreated in an almost always satisfying and faithful way, albeit with high and bass. The choreographies, on the other hand, are also inspired by the original ones, but inevitably they have been re-studied and performed by other talented dancers; this is due both to the need to create a game that is still accessible even by those who are not professional dancers, and to the fact that Michael Jackson: The Experience how Just Dance is played standing still in place, at most with a few side steps or pirouettes. And again like the latter, there are dance options both purely alone, but also in pairs and in this case even in a group to involve up to 4 players at the same time, space in the living room permitting.
However, although the Ubisoft production is a casual product, the general difficulty level is certainly more challenging than that of the multiple Just Dance. Certainly the songs are divided in this sense between simpler or more complex, but in any case we are always talking about a title based on the steps of one of the best dancers that the world of pop has ever known; to follow the Jacko-like on screen sufficiently it takes a bit of fluency in the movements and in any case having in front of his majesty MJ, even in a virtual way, puts a bit of awe especially to those who are his old fan date. Certainly anyone in their life has tried to moonwalk or lean forward like in Smooth Criminal, but things are a little different here. In this sense, the approximate ability to detect movements does not mind that much: if you really had to exactly replicate the actions on the screen, complete with coordination between arms and legs, we would probably be talking about one of the most frustrating games of recent years. On the contrary, with only Wiimote held in the right hand, the system limits itself to determining some movements, assuming that the rest of the body moves accordingly. Furthermore, as already said in the case of Just Dance 2, complaining about this inaccuracy makes no sense; the gameplay studied by Ubisoft for this kind of products is not based on the evaluation and judgment of the user (and in fact this element is marginal and practically irrelevant), but rather the desire to offer casual and carefree fun. Michael Jackson: The Experience finally, it is a much, much more sectoral and focused product than Just Dance, less varied and devoid of important extras such as the online store. In this sense, the dance school, in which a group of instructors in the flesh explains how to perform Jacko's steps through a series of educational videos, represents nothing more than what could still be found on the internet for free.
Move e Kinect
Move: Very similar to the Nintendo Wii version, Michael Jackson The Experience on PlayStation 3 it uses the Move and PlayStation Eye combination to follow the player's movements, albeit in a very approximate way. You can also decide whether to dance based on Jacko's complex choreographies or the more affordable ones of his crew, while pressing the Select button gives you the opportunity to play a reduced version of each song. In addition, by connecting a microphone it is possible to alternate between dancing and singing performances, or let a friend lend his voice while we wriggle in unlikely choreography, and like in the Wii version it is possible to perform with three other players at the same time. The result is very interesting, and thanks to the possibility of unlocking photos, information and even dance lessons, it is stimulated to play and replay on the notes of the songs that have made the history of pop music. MJ The Experience for PS3 does not pretend that you perform Jackson's steps perfectly, and in any case it would not be able to detect them, but for aesthetic care, contents and technical realization it is without a doubt the most successful version.
Kinect: If the versions for PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii are similar to each other, both in terms of setting and as a control system, the Xbox 360 edition is extremely different, heavily inspired by some dance games released at the launch of the Microsoft peripheral. Similar to Dance Central and Dance Evolution, the player's goal is to try to follow the choreography of the dancers on screen as much as possible, assuming a particular position or performing a specific movement when indicated by the game. Obviously, precisely because this time it is necessary to move correctly with the whole body, the Xbox 360 version is characterized by more affordable and affordable choreographies, which most often consist of repeating simple sequences or memorizing particular poses. The Corona King Power (a multiplier that works exactly like Guitar Hero's Star Power) adds a bit of liveliness to the songs, but unfortunately there are more or less obvious flaws. Since Kinect detects the player's body and puts him center stage, the Microsoft console edition is the only one of the three to (almost) never show Jackson, risking to displease a large number of fans. Also, unlike the PS3 version, Michael Jackson The Experience for Xbox 360 features all the content unlocked from the start, completely eliminating any kind of progression or stimulus for the player, aiming more decisively at the more casual players who simply want to be able to dance immediately any song on the tracklist.
Comment
Resources4Gaming.com7.0
Readers (50)7.1
Your voteMichael Jackson: The Experience is a product that is based on the excellent foundations laid by the Just Dance series, and consequently on a fun, effective and perfect gameplay in the casual field. By its very nature, however, it is aimed at a much more focused audience, that of Jackson's fans, and is obviously less varied at a musical level. Furthermore, the lack of an online store or particularly interesting extras limits its long-term appeal. A purchase therefore ultimately recommended by analysts, yes, but only to those who grew up on bread and moonwalking. For everyone else, Just Dance 2 is a preferable choice.
PRO
- Valid and varied tracklist
- Good choreography
- Great for fans
- The online store is missing
- More difficult than Just Dance 2
- Naturally dedicated to a more sectorial audience
The Tracklist
Another Part of Me
Bath
Beat it
Billie Jean
Black or White
Dirty Diana
Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough
Earth song
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 Do not Care About Us
Thriller
Wanna Be Startin' Something
Who Is It
Will You Be There
Workin' Day and Night
