2014 video game
Dance Central Spotlight
is a 2014
rhythm game
developed by
Harmonix
and published by
Microsoft Studios
for the
Xbox One
Kinect
. It is the sequel to
Dance Central 3
(2012) and the fourth installment in the
Dance Central
series. The game provides a stripped-down experience in comparison to previous
Dance Central
titles, maintaining the core gameplay of the series, but with a focus on providing more routines per-song, the regular release of recent songs as
downloadable content
, and leverage of improvements to the motion detection capabilities of the Kinect for Xbox One. It was released on September 2, 2014.
Gameplay
[
edit
]
Similarly to previous installments in the franchise, players must mirror the dance routine of an on-screen dancer,
[1]
as instructed by "flash cards" indicating specific moves in the routine. Players are judged and scored on the accuracy of their performance.
[2]
Each song includes up to eight routines, including four difficulty levels of the standard routine, along with two fitness-oriented routines and two "alternate" routines.
[3]
Additional routines and difficulty levels are unlocked for songs by collecting flash cards by getting "Flawless" ratings on individual moves.
[4]
Spotlight
includes songs from artists like
Rihanna
,
Lorde
and
Pharrell Williams
.
[5]
It focuses primarily on the core gameplay of the franchise, with a simplified offering of standard and fitness modes, and no story mode or other
minigames
like past versions. The practice mode was overhauled to use a dynamic, "on-demand" approach, rather than the "regimented" approach used by previous
Dance Central
games: players can now jump to training mode in-game by using a voice or controller command. Once activated, the player can practice the relevant portion, slow down the routine, and go to different parts of the song. When the player exits practice, the song continues from where it was left off.
[2]
[6]
The following ten songs are bundled with the game:
[7]
Development and release
[
edit
]
Dance Central Spotlight
was unveiled at
E3 2014
.
[8]
The overall gameplay of the
Dance Central
franchise was enhanced by the increased capabilities of the Xbox One
Kinect
sensor, which has a higher resolution camera and better gesture recognition than the Xbox 360 iteration. In total, the game can recognize 7,000 different dance moves.
[8]
[9]
Harmonix director Matthew Nordhaus also teased the presence of tougher alternate routines for individual songs, aimed particularly at expert players.
[9]
Harmonix co-founder
Alex Rigopulos
felt that Microsoft's introduction of lower-cost Xbox One bundles excluding Kinect wasn't a "shock" and the bundling of Kinect with Xbox One on launch did not influence the development of
Spotlight
in any way.
[8]
Unlike previous installments in the franchise,
Spotlight
places a heavy emphasis on
downloadable content
and the ability for players to purchase songs on an
A la carte
basis; Nordhaus noted that due to improvements in
motion capture
technology and the need to perform fewer
QA
tests because of the improved Kinect accuracy (specifically noting the need to do large levels of tuning for hand detection on the Xbox 360 version), Harmonix staff could produce new routines for the game in just "days" rather than months. Emphasizing that players wanted to have quicker in-game access to
current hit music
, Nordhaus stated that Harmonix would now be able to release new songs as DLC while they are still
charting
.
[8]
[9]
Dance Central Spotlight
was officially released on September 2, 2014; unlike other installments in the series, the game is only available via
digital
means. The base game includes 10 songs; new songs for the game were released on a near-weekly basis for a "substantial" period of time.
[8]
[9]
[7]
A pre-paid code to download
Spotlight
is also included with standalone Kinect for Xbox One units, which were released on October 7, 2014.
[10]
On March 8, 2015, Nisha and
Claptrap
(despite his lack of legs and using a wheel) from the
Borderlands
franchise were added as bonus characters via
cheat codes
; Harmonix had assisted in animating portions of a trailer for
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!
(which was being re-released for Xbox One later that month alongside a port of
Borderlands 2
, as part of
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection
).
[11]
[12]
Legacy downloadable content
[
edit
]
All DLC from previous
Dance Central
games were ported to
Spotlight
?they were re-released progressively in batches following the game's release. The ported DLC include their standard routines from the original version (with additional moves not seen in the original version for
Dance Central 1
songs), along with four alternate routines, as with
Spotlight
-specific songs. Songs that were previously purchased on the Xbox 360 versions of
Dance Central
can be re-downloaded on
Spotlight
at no extra charge.
[8]
[9]
[7]
[13]
[14]
Song
|
Artist
|
Year
|
Release date on
Spotlight
|
Still available for purchase
|
"
Airplanes
"
|
B.o.B
ft.
Hayley Williams
|
2010
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Alejandro
"
|
Lady Gaga
|
2010
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Because of You
"
|
Ne-Yo
|
2007
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Closer
"
|
Ne-Yo
|
2008
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Commander
"
|
Kelly Rowland
ft.
David Guetta
|
2011
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
D.A.N.C.E.
"
|
Justice
|
2007
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Don't Touch Me (Throw da Water on 'Em)
"
|
Busta Rhymes
|
2008
|
September 2, 2014
|
No
|
"
Get Busy
"
|
Sean Paul
|
2003
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Get It Shawty
"
|
Lloyd
|
2007
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, Pt. 1
"
|
James Brown
|
1970
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Girls and Boys
"
|
Blur
|
1994
|
September 2, 2014
|
No
|
"
Heard 'Em All
"
|
Amerie
|
2009
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Hello Good Morning
"
|
Diddy-Dirty Money
ft.
T.I.
|
2010
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"I Got You Dancing"
|
Lady Sovereign
|
2009
|
September 2, 2014
|
No
|
"
La La Land
"
|
Demi Lovato
|
2008
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Lapdance
"
|
N.E.R.D.
|
2001
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Marry the Night
"
|
Lady Gaga
|
2011
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Paparazzi
"
|
Lady Gaga
|
2009
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Round & Round
"
|
Selena Gomez & the Scene
|
2010
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Say Hey (I Love You)
"
|
Michael Franti
&
Spearhead
feat.
Cherine Anderson
|
2008
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Temperature
"
|
Sean Paul
|
2006
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
The Edge Of Glory
"
|
Lady Gaga
|
2011
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Turnin Me On
"
|
Keri Hilson
|
2008
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Weapon of Choice
"
|
Fatboy Slim
|
2001
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Whip It
"
|
Nicki Minaj
|
2012
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Don't Cha
"
|
The Pussycat Dolls
ft.
Busta Rhymes
|
2005
|
September 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Le Freak
"
|
Chic
|
1978
|
September 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Planet Rock
"
|
Afrika Bambaataa
and
the Soul Sonic Force
|
1982
|
September 16, 2014
|
No
|
"
Say Aah
"
|
Trey Songz
|
2010
|
September 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Fergalicious
"
|
Fergie
ft.
will.i.am
|
2006
|
September 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Hollaback Girl
"
|
Gwen Stefani
|
2005
|
September 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
London Bridge
"
|
Fergie
|
2006
|
September 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
We Run This
"
|
Missy Elliott
|
2006
|
September 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Control
"
|
Janet Jackson
|
1986
|
September 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Escapade
"
|
Janet Jackson
|
1989
|
September 30, 2014
|
No
|
"
Nasty
"
|
Janet Jackson
|
1986
|
September 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Party Rock Anthem
"
|
LMFAO
ft.
Lauren Bennett
&
GoonRock
|
2011
|
September 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Sorry for Party Rocking
"
|
LMFAO
|
2012
|
September 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
All Around the World
"
|
Justin Bieber
ft.
Ludacris
|
2012
|
October 7, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Beauty and a Beat
"
|
Justin Bieber
ft.
Nicki Minaj
|
2012
|
October 7, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Never Say Never
"
|
Justin Bieber
ft.
Jaden Smith
|
2010
|
October 7, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Lights
"
|
Ellie Goulding
|
2011
|
October 14, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Let It Roll
"
|
Flo Rida
|
2012
|
October 21, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Low
"
|
Flo Rida
ft.
T-Pain
|
2007
|
October 21, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Give Me Everything
"
|
Pitbull
ft.
Ne-Yo
,
Afrojack
&
Nayer
|
2011
|
October 28, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)
"
|
Pitbull
ft.
T-Pain
|
2010
|
October 28, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
International Love
"
|
Pitbull
ft.
Chris Brown
|
2011
|
October 28, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Disturbia
"
|
Rihanna
|
2008
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Only Girl (In the World)
"
|
Rihanna
|
2010
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
S&M
"
|
Rihanna
|
2011
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
SOS
"
|
Rihanna
|
2006
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Umbrella
"
|
Rihanna
ft.
Jay-Z
|
2007
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
What's My Name
"
|
Rihanna
ft.
Drake
|
2010
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Gangnam Style
"
|
PSY
|
2012
|
December 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Yeah 3x
"
|
Chris Brown
|
2010
|
December 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Euphoria
"
|
Usher
|
2012
|
December 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"Twisted"
|
Usher
ft.
Pharrell
|
2012
|
December 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
I Gotta Feeling
"
|
The Black Eyed Peas
|
2009
|
December 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Call Me Maybe
"
|
Carly Rae Jepsen
|
2011
|
January 6, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Forget You
"
|
Cee Lo Green
|
2010
|
January 6, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Glad You Came
"
|
The Wanted
|
2011
|
January 6, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Take Care
"
|
Drake
ft.
Rihanna
|
2012
|
January 6, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Hot In Herre
"
|
Nelly
|
2002
|
January 13, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Promiscuous
"
|
Nelly Furtado
ft.
Timbaland
|
2006
|
January 20, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
The Way I Are
"
|
Timbaland
ft.
Keri Hilson
& D.O.E. & Sebastian
|
2007
|
January 27, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
We No Speak Americano
"
|
Yolanda Be Cool
&
DCUP
|
2010
|
February 3, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Scenario
"
|
A Tribe Called Quest
And
Leaders of the New School
|
1992
|
February 10, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Down On Me
"
|
Jeremih
ft.
50 Cent
|
2010
|
February 17, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)
"
|
C+C Music Factory
|
1990
|
February 24, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Word Up
"
|
Cameo
|
1986
|
March 3, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Milkshake
"
|
Kelis
|
2003
|
March 10, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Let It Rock
"
|
Kevin Rudolf
ft.
Lil Wayne
|
2008
|
March 17, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Lean wit It, Rock wit It
"
|
Dem Franchize Boyz
|
2006
|
March 24, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
O.P.P.
"
|
Naughty by Nature
|
1991
|
March 31, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Straight Up
"
|
Paula Abdul
|
1988
|
April 7, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Super Freak
"
|
Rick James
|
1981
|
April 14, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Whoomp! (There It Is)
"
|
Tag Team
|
1993
|
April 28, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Spice Up Your Life (Stent Radio Mix)
"
|
Spice Girls
|
1997
|
May 5, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Informer
"
|
Snow
|
1993
|
May 12, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Whine Up
"
|
Kat DeLuna
ft.
Elephant Man
|
2007
|
May 19, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Tempted to Touch
"
|
Rupee
|
2004
|
May 26, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Break Your Heart
"
|
Taio Cruz
Ft.
Ludacris
|
2010
|
June 2, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Replay
"
|
Iyaz
|
2009
|
June 2, 2015
|
Yes
|
Spotlight
downloadable content
[
edit
]
Song
|
Artist
|
Year
|
Release date
|
Still available for purchase
|
"
A Little Respect
"
|
Erasure
|
1988
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
I Love It
"
|
Icona Pop
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)
"
|
Ne-Yo
|
2012
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Little Talks
"
|
Of Monsters and Men
|
2011
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Love Shack
"
|
The B-52s
|
1989
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Maps
"
|
Maroon 5
|
2014
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Next to Me
"
|
Emeli Sande
|
2012
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
One More Night
"
|
Maroon 5
|
2012
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Pompeii
"
|
Bastille
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Problem
"
|
Ariana Grande
ft.
Iggy Azalea
|
2014
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Safe and Sound
"
|
Capital Cities
|
2011
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Scream & Shout
"
|
will.i.am
ft.
Britney Spears
|
2012
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Summer
"
|
Calvin Harris
|
2014
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Summertime Sadness (Cedric Gervais Remix)
"
|
Lana Del Rey
vs.
Cedric Gervais
|
2012
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Take On Me
"
|
a-ha
|
1984
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Turn Down for What
"
|
DJ Snake
&
Lil Jon
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Here Comes the Hotstepper
"
|
Ini Kamoze
|
1994
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Heart Attack
"
|
Demi Lovato
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
I Need Your Love
"
|
Calvin Harris
ft.
Ellie Goulding
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Ain't It Fun
"
|
Paramore
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
All of Me (Tiesto's Birthday Treatment Remix [Radio Edit])
"
|
John Legend
|
2014
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Creep
"
|
TLC
|
1994
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Am I Wrong
"
|
Nico & Vinz
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Come & Get It
"
|
Selena Gomez
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Applause
"
|
Lady Gaga
|
2013
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Bailando
"
|
Enrique Iglesias
ft.
Sean Paul
,
Descemer Bueno
&
Gente de Zona
|
2014
|
September 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
The Way
"
|
Ariana Grande
ft.
Mac Miller
|
2013
|
September 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Latch
"
|
Disclosure
ft.
Sam Smith
|
2012
|
September 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Fancy
"
|
Iggy Azalea
ft.
Charli XCX
|
2014
|
September 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Black Widow
"
|
Iggy Azalea
ft.
Rita Ora
|
2014
|
September 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
As Long as You Love Me
"
|
Justin Bieber
ft.
Big Sean
|
2012
|
October 7, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Burn
"
|
Ellie Goulding
|
2013
|
October 14, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Bang Bang
"
|
Jessie J
,
Ariana Grande
&
Nicki Minaj
|
2014
|
October 14, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
I Cry
"
|
Flo Rida
|
2012
|
October 21, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Chandelier
"
|
Sia
|
2014
|
November 4, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Love Runs Out
"
|
OneRepublic
|
2014
|
November 11, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Anaconda
"
|
Nicki Minaj
|
2014
|
November 18, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Can't Hold Us
"
|
Macklemore
&
Ryan Lewis
ft.
Ray Dalton
|
2011
|
November 25, 2014
|
No
|
"
Blurred Lines
"
|
Robin Thicke
ft.
T.I.
&
Pharrell
|
2013
|
November 25, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Animals
"
|
Maroon 5
|
2014
|
November 25, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Don't Tell 'Em
"
|
Jeremih
ft.
YG
|
2014
|
December 2, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Somebody That I Used to Know
"
|
Gotye
ft.
Kimbra
|
2011
|
December 9, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Turn Me On
"
|
David Guetta
ft.
Nicki Minaj
|
2011
|
December 9, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Locked Out of Heaven
"
|
Bruno Mars
|
2012
|
December 16, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Ready To Run
"
|
One Direction
|
2013
|
December 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Story Of My Life
"
|
One Direction
|
2013
|
December 23, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
Raise Your Glass
"
|
P!nk
|
2010
|
December 30, 2014
|
Yes
|
"
GDFR
"
|
Flo Rida
ft.
Sage The Gemini
and
Lookas
|
2014
|
April 28, 2015
|
Yes
|
"
Uptown Funk
"
|
Mark Ronson
ft
Bruno Mars
|
2014
|
April 28, 2015
|
Yes
|
Reception
[
edit
]
GameSpot
gave
Spotlight
an 8 out of 10, praising its cleaner interface and dropping of extraneous features for "[removing] the obstacles between you and just getting out there and dancing", and its new business model as a "tremendous value" for players. However, its minimalistic feedback for player performance was considered a double-edged sword due to the new unlock system's emphasis on rewarding the learning of individual moves.
[2]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Aston, Ryan (September 10, 2014).
"Review: Dance Central Spotlight"
.
Slant Magazine
. Retrieved
September 23,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Dance Central Spotlight review: Twerking hard or hardly twerking?"
.
GameSpot
. Retrieved
26 November
2014
.
- ^
"Dance Central Spotlight and Just Dance Now"
.
Good Game (TV program)
. October 28, 2014
. Retrieved
September 23,
2019
.
- ^
Splechta, Mike (September 2, 2014).
"Dance Central Spotlight Review: It's your stage"
.
GameZone
. Retrieved
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External links
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edit
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