
	Platform Wii Genre Music & Rhythm Publisher Ubisoft Developer Ubisoft ESRB E +10 (Everyone) Released November 23, 2010

- Great music - Backdrops and dance routines match the songs - Nice presentation

- Nothing more than Just Dance 2: The Michael Jackson Experience - Unlockables are not very exciting - Gameplay depth is shallow

Review: Just Dance 2 (Wii) Review: Time Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (XB) Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
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Michael Jackson: The Experience

Score: 6.5 / 10

I’m a Michael Jackson fan and have no problem admitting it. Getting this game had me excited for a great experience. Sadly, I was left a little on the disappointed side.

Having just reviewed “Just Dance 2” I was feeling a little Déjà vu when I slipped the disc into my Wii. I was all geared up to wear the white glove too, but sadly my review copy was missing that extra.

The MJE as we are now going to call it for short comes with 26 songs from various albums. The hits you probably expect to be here, are indeed present (Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean come to mind) and the choreography is pretty amazing. I’m not really a Michael Jackson expert per se but the routines really looked like his

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- Music & Rhythm Game Reviews
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dancing. From that perspective I was impressed.

Like the Just Dance series, you will move the Wiimote to match the moves of the dancer. Up to 4 people can play at the same time. In total there are three modes of play. Classic is just the standard mode you might be used to with Just Dance, “Duo” is for duets where you can choose to be one dancer

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over the other and finally the “Crew” mode features Michael and two backup dancers. You get your choice.

As you perform songs you will be able to unlock training videos from “Dance School” which help you perform some of the tougher moves. Personally, I would have preferred some unseen footage of Michael or an additional song or something like that, but no such luck.

Unlike Just Dance you cannot download new tracks and there is no “career” mode so it feels like there is little motivation to boot the game up and keep trying different songs unless you are really in the mood for some MJE music. I also found the controls to be fairly inaccurate at times.

The bottom line is that if you are a fan of the music, you will probably love this game for a short time. It’s a lot more fun with friends but on your own you will probably tire quickly of it and have just as much fun hopping in and out of your iTunes library.

The game is competent but not compelling, adequate but not outstanding. Unless you are a big Michael Jackson fan it’s a rental at best. Unless you can find that version with the glove. Now that will provide hours of fun and amusement.

- Syd Bolton
(February 22, 2011)

Syd Bolton is Canada’s top videogame collector who surrounds himself in thousands of classic video games at the Personal Computer Museum (http://www.pcmuseum.ca) in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.