Review: Grease (Kinect)

Since the Kinect was launched, developers started crawling out of the wood work and have started making “games” for this new tech. Dancing seems to be the most obvious and prevalent of these, but unless you are into kids songs or club thumping there was not a place for the dancer inside of you to escape. Then comes Grease: The Game. Besides the obvious tie in to the movies, this game was designed for the worst dancers around.

It would seem Grease does little of actual full body tracking and instead opts to base your points off of your placement. Each dance is very similar with a great deal of walking and dancing around the play area. This is a good thing. I can’t do most of the moves with the same flair as Danny or Sandy, but I can walk around to the same positions and get my hands moving somewhat similar to theirs. Needless to say, this is not a game that will push you to become a better dancer, just one that will allow you to have fun while you try.

While it may not follow your hand and leg movements to the same extent of the more “serious” dancing games, it does bring something that the others don’t, at least for me; a great deal of music that I want to hear over and over again. Many of the songs are the famous ones that the characters sing in the movie and play, but background music like “Jailhouse Rock” is just as danceable and singable as the songs made famous by the musical.

Outside of the usual dancing, Grease includes mini games, karaoke and movie clips. The mini games and movie clips are all rewards as you play through, and score higher, on the dancing portion of the game. The karaoke allows players to sing through microphones or the Kinect microphone in either single or duet style. My wife hates singing in front of others, but I got her up for a round of “You’re the One that I Want”. We both sang through the Kinect microphone and it did well at transitioning between our attempts to stay on pitch. Singing and dancing are also an option, even if you don’t choose it. These songs are so enjoyable, you will be hard pressed not to sing along. A quick note for fans of the music: All of the songs are unedited. This means you will hear all the dirty talk that comes with many of the songs.

For the most part, Grease: The Game is a wholly enjoyable experience. What it lacks in skill requirements and teaching, it makes up for in charm. Learning the actual words to the songs and getting to dance around with friends or family through some of your favorite movie moments more than makes up for the things this game lacks. If you are even the slightest fan of the music of Grease, you owe it to yourself to pick this title up.