I’m awesome at the hand jive.In fact, I’m pretty darned good at a lot of the so-called “special” moves in the “Dancing with the Stars” game for the Wii. I can Locomotion, I can Mashed Potato, and yes, I can do the Twist. I’m hitting the basic steps most of the time, and nailing the little “flair” steps that make the crowd go wild.
So, even though I have nearly zero ballroom-dancing experience — except a much-rehearsed fox-trot at my wedding — I’m cruising through as an amateur in the “Dancing with the Stars” game. OK, I had to dance the waltz a few times before I got my requisite 20 points from the three-judge panel. But I’ve unlocked several “celebrity” couples (more on that in a minute) and earned a couple of trophies.
Here’s the thing, though: “Dancing with the Stars” isn’t measuring my dancing ability. This is a rhythm game that owes more to “Guitar Hero” than “Dance Dance Revolution.” To play, you flick your Wii remote and Nunchuk in the directions indicated by the icons that scroll across the bottom of the screen. There is a PlayStation 2 version that comes with a dance pad, a la “Dance Dance Revolution,” but with the Wii version, “Dancing with the Stars” is more about quick reflexes than dancing chops.
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