Fails as a DDR game. Only average as a controller-based rhythm game.

Dancing With The Stars is a dancing game based on the popular ABC television show of the same name. It allows you to play as one of 9 different couples which have appeared on the show, get rated by the judges, and... that’s it. Similar to the Dance Dance Revolution games, you make use of a dance mat (any will do) to try and follow along with the on-screen left, right, up, and down dance steps. You may also use a standard PS2 controller, if you wish, and will likely end up doing so.

To try and fit the "dancing" theme, the developers implemented a system which supposedly simulates the movement of both feet as if you were dancing like the on-screen characters. At the bottom-center of the screen there is a pair of feet, and towards these from the right and left will come a stream of directional instructions for your right and left feet. This can be very confusing, even for a seasoned rhythm game player. As any rhythm player will tell you, when looking for note/direction instructions, you are not looking at the point on the screen where you must hit the notes/directions, but are looking at their source and committing the pattern to memory. With the system which is in place here, you are split between looking at both the extreme right and extreme left sides of the screen at the very same time. This will often result in your concentrating on one side for a second or two, and then missing several notes coming from the other side.

Dancing With The Stars also features a very... interesting... hold mechanic. To further simulate the feeling that you’re doing the actual dance steps, when asked to hold a step like you would in DDR, you must also lift your foot at the end of the hold. This doesn’t sound like much of an issue, but in practice it completely destroys any fun which could otherwise be found while using a dance mat. More often than not, as you are lifting your foot after a hold, the game simultaneously requires you to do something else with your other foot. This throws your balance off and leads to excessive stumbling, rather than graceful dancing.

With the above issues in mind, you are better off using a standard PS2 controller for the game, which causes it to become mildly enjoyable. On the controller, the d-pad represents your left foot movements, and the face buttons represent your right foot movements. This, in fact, provides a better sense of what the developers were intending than does attempting to play what is essentially DDR’s “Double” mode with only one dance mat.

Given that the target audience for this game is most likely the same as the show’s viewing audience--middle-aged soccer moms and other likely non-gamers--it is surprising how difficult the "amateur" mode proves to be. In addition to the obvious confusion and stumbling that the gameplay system provides, the steps themselves are rather complex for the mentioned groups. It’s certainly not something that a seasoned rhythm gamer would have difficulty with, or anyone who has spent time with DDR, but for a non-gamer it may be darn near impossible. On the flip-side of that, the "professional" mode has only a barely noticeable increase in difficulty, and any rhythm gamer should have no trouble diving straight into it and bypassing amateur completely. If you have decent skills at DDR, you’re likely to find the entire thing boring. It’s very odd that the easy mode is not easier, and the hard mode is not more difficult.

For song selection, there are a few good tracks in here such as, "I Like The Way You Move," "These Boots Were Made For Walking," and "The Final Countdown," but most of the soundtrack is rather forgettable, and all of the songs are weak cover versions. You are also unable to pick a specific song to go with a celebrity, with nothing resembling a single-play mode to be found. Each celebrity pair has 4 songs associated with them, which will go in the same order every time. With 9 celebrities, simple math tells you there are 36 songs.

After completing a dance, the big moment comes, and you get to hear the judges, voiced by their real life counterparts. They will rattle off some generic response for a bad, good, or great performance, and you will likely hear all of the dialogs in very short order. The couple then hugs and wiggles back and forth or looks disappointed, depending on your performance. After seeing this segment once or twice, you will skip it because of pointlessness. Then comes the scoring segment, with each judge having exactly 1 voiced comment that goes with each level of ranking. Again, a pointless segment.

The graphics in the game are all pre-rendered CGI movies, with the characters looking somewhat like their counterparts, but with some nice fabric effects and lighting. This is no Guitar Hero, and every time you play a level, everything will play out the same way every time, including all the nonstop cuts to the judges smiling and giving a thumbs up.

As a whole, this game is a mess. It is too difficult for its intended audience, not difficult enough for seasoned rhythm gamers, lacks even the most basic modes you would expect, has a weak song selection, and is a mess of gameplay flaws if you attempt to play it with a dance pad. Played with a standard controller, it can be somewhat enjoyable as a unique rhythm concept, and can provide some quick entertainment. Be aware, though, that if you are at all skilled with rhythm games, you can complete every song and mode in Dancing With The Stars within one sitting. Buy with caution and don’t spend much.