The Hip Hop Dance Experience for XBox Kinect Review

I have a confession. Ok… really I have 2 confessions: #1 I hate working out (I know I have confessed that before). #2 I have a guilty pleasure. I love listening to some hip hop songs. Now… I do not enjoy the crud that they pass off as hip hop on the radio these days. But, certain songs with a good beat get me moving. These are usually the songs of the past. Or the ones that sound like a good disco tune disguised as hip hop.

My *work out* usually consists of dancing. I LOVE to dance. I have mentioned before that I am into the dancing games. I can dance in the privacy of my own family room, and not look crazy in front of others. LOL! I can take breaks. And I can repeat my favorite songs over and over until I get the dance down!

The Hip Hop Dance Experience by Ubisoft makes me happy! I felt like a teenager with a new driver’s license when I started scrolling through the songs. They have some of my all-time favorites plus several new songs with awesome dance beats. The game includes 40-chart topping hits. Here is the complete track list (The Xbox Kinect version features a few more songs than the Wii version):

Amerie – “1 Thing”
B.o.B – “So Good”
B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore – “Airplanes”
Cassie – “Me & U”
Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana – “Run It!”
Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – “Look At Me Now”
Ciara – “One, Two Step (featuring Missy Elliott)”
Da Brat – “Funkdafied”
Drake – “Over”
Flo Rida featuring Sia – “Wild Ones”
Iyaz – “Replay”
Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne – “Down”
J-Kwon – “Tipsy”
Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Night”
Lil Wayne featuring Static Major – “Lollipop”
LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”
M.I.A. – “Bad Girls”
Mark Morrison – “Return of the Mack”
Mystikal featuring Nivea – “Danger (Been So Long)”
N.E.R.D. – “She Wants to Move”
Naughty by Nature – “Hip Hop Hooray”
Nelly – “Hot In Herre”
New Boyz – “You’re A Jerk”
New Edition – “If It Isn’t Love”
Nicki Minaj featuring Drake – “Moment 4 Life”
Ol’ Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis – “Got Your Money”
Outkast – “B.O.B.”
Pitbull featuring Chris Brown – “International Love”
Q-Tip – “Vivrant Thing”
R. Kelly – “Ignition (Remix)”
Rihanna featuring Jeezy – “Hard”
Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – “It Takes Two”
Run-DMC – “It’s Tricky”
Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams – “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe, Remy – “Lean Back”
The Sugarhill Gang – “Rapper’s Delight”
TLC – “Creep”
Too $hort – “Blow the Whistle”
Trey Songz featuring Fabolous – “Say Aah”
Wiz Khalifa – “Work Hard, Play Hard”

Whether you are an old school hip-hop fan, or a newbie there is definitely something to make you move. My favorites on the list are 1 Thing – Amerie, Drop It Like It’s Hot – Snoop Dog, Sexy and I Know It – LMFAO, If It Isn’t Love – New Edition, Ignition – R. Kelly, Creep – TLC, Vivrant Thing – Q-Tip, Hot in Herre – Nelly, and Git Ya Money – ODB (This one is the best of all!). I tried out all of those songs as soon as I opened the game (on Newbie of course). Even though it was on newbie I did work up a tiny sweat. Of course as I play more I will increase the difficulty so I really get a good workout. 🙂

Now that you know my secret, don’t judge me. 🙂 The mix of songs + the ability to choose difficulty and other modes make this game perfect for working out, just having fun, partying, or perfecting your dance moves (when alone – LOL!)

Of course you don’t have to dance alone. You can dance with a friend, or battle a friend to see who is the best. Besides dancing solo other modes include:

• Dance Party: Choose a party, set your own difficulty and bust a move together.
• Dance Battle: Go up against your friends to prove who has the best dance skills.
• Power Skooling: Practice your moves until you get them perfect.
• Dance Marathon: Want a good workout? Dance to an endless stream of tracks to keep the game going. Guaranteed to work up a sweat!

Check out the trailer below to see some of the moves.

The Hip Hop Dance Experience is rated T for teens. Some songs and dance moves may be considered inappropriate for kids. But, there are still some songs that are safe for my nine year olds to enjoy.

You can purchase the Hip Hop Dance experience for both Wii and Kinect for $35 – $40 dollars.

Happy Dancing!