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Dance Central 3

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Dance Central 3
Developer(s)Harmonix
Backbone Entertainment
Publisher(s)Microsoft Studios
Director(s)Matt Boch
Producer(s)Jon Carter
Designer(s)Jim Toepel
Marcus Montgomery
Programmer(s)Ryan Challinor
Isaac Bender
Artist(s)Matt Perlot
Lisette Titre
Writer(s)Helen McWilliams
SeriesDance Central
Platform(s)Xbox 360
Release
  • NA: October 16, 2012
  • AU: October 18, 2012
  • EU: October 19, 2012
Genre(s)Rhythm
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Dance Central 3 is a 2012 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and Backbone Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 Kinect. It is the sequel to Dance Central 2 (2011) and the third installment in the Dance Central series. It was released on October 16, 2012, in the Americas, and October 19 everywhere else.[1]

A sequel to the game, titled Dance Central Spotlight, was released for the Xbox One Kinect on September 2, 2014.

Gameplay

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Two teams of three people posing for crew photos in Crew Throwdown, a gameplay mode in Dance Central 3

The core gameplay for Dance Central 3 follows the same formula as the previous games in the series. One or two players must mimic what the dancer is doing on the screen with Flashcards for guidance, players earn points depending on how well they perform each move, and their score determines how many Stars they earn.

Dance Central 3 features a new mode called Crew Throwdown. In this mode, 2–8 players compete against each other. After each team poses for a crew photo, the game will choose a song and one of the four types of modes to play it in. Those modes are:

  • Perform: A standard mode where players dance to the routine. Occasionally, the game will stop counting points for one player and focus on the other. A minigame called "Free For All", in which players are given random moves and compete to perform them first, can appear in during a routine, and "Strike A Pose" can appear after routines.
  • Keep The Beat: A freestyle-esque mini-game where players stay in beat to the song for points. Consecutive positive ratings and more unique moves will give the players more points.
  • Strike A Pose: A minigame where players mimic the poses the characters are doing for points. Performing more moves in a row increases the number of points players can get. If a player misses a pose, they have to wait for a short period of time before they can start posing again.
  • Showdown: This mode functions the same way as Perform with the exception of who plays against who. In this final round, as opposed to the game choosing someone from each team, any player from each team can face off against each other.

The game also has a new Live Challenge feature. In this mode, players can compete to beat scores set by other players connected to Xbox Live.

Additionally, the game features a new level system. Points are given based on number of Stars earned in a song. Players can also earn bonus points by playing harder songs and routines, playing new songs, passing gold moves, passing 100% of the routine's moves, and completing story milestones. Leveling up rewards the player with unlockables, specifically new outfits and new characters.

Plot

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The player is recruited into Dance Central Intelligence (DCI) by Rasa and Lima to stop Dr. Tan's plans of world domination. Having received intel that he is using dance moves from the last five decades as a part of his plans, DCI has sent dance crews back in time to learn these moves to use them against him. As part of their mission, the player time travels to find these crews and return them back to the present by learning the dance craze of their decade. This is done by collecting Power Moves found in routines and putting them together to unlock a new routine based on the craze. Additionally, they must dance enough to power Boomy, a boombox enabling them to time travel, to travel back to the present. Dr. Tan's armies have spread to the point where the DCI headquarters are the only safe place left, so it is imperative that the crews are brought back as soon as possible.

The player travels to the seventies to meet Lu$h Crew and learn the Hustle, the eighties to meet Hi-Def and learn the Electric Slide, the nineties to meet Flash4wrd and learn the Macarena, and the 2000s to meet Riptide and learn the Cupid Shuffle. In the meantime, DCI investigated the head devices that members of Dr. Tan's army are wearing in search of countermeasures. Additionally, Dare and MacCoy, two DCI agents who had gone missing, were found, albeit as a part of Dr. Tan's army via mind control. While the player is in the 2000s, DCI is attacked by Dr. Tan's army, and when they come back, Emilia and Bodie are forcefully taken away. They, along with all the other crews brought to DCI HQ, were revealed to have been sent to the prehistoric era by Dr. Tan. After freeing Rasa and Lima from his mind control, the analysis on their head devices finishes and reveals their weakness: creative expression. After learning that the craze of the 2010s is the Scream, the player then time travels to the future, where Dr. Tan seeks to dominate the world by controlling everyone's dance moves. He, his new robots, and his mind-controlled son Oblio are defeated by the player in a dance battle using the crazes they previously learned. With the encouragement of a now liberated Oblio, they trap Dr. Tan in the time stream with freestyle dancing and return to DCI HQ.

While the player was battling Dr. Tan in the future, all the dance crews were rescued and brought back to the present, including Dare and MacCoy.

Master Quests

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Once the player completes the Story mode, Master Quests become available. These quests contain all the songs each crew is defaulted for in Dance Central 3, and once the player earns all the Stars within each quest, they unlock a QR code, which could be scanned to view art of the in-game characters. This feature is no longer available; scanning the code now redirects the player to the main Dance Central website.

Characters

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Dance Central 3 features returning characters from previous Dance Central games as well as new characters. Like in Dance Central 2, characters are divided into pairs as crews. Each crew featured in the story campaign also has a venue associated with them. There are 20 characters total, with 10 being available from the start and 10 being unlockables.

  • Dance Central Intelligence (DCI): Includes Rasa and Lima, two new characters. Their associated venue is DCI HQ.
  • Lu$h Crew: Includes Miss Aubrey and Angel. Their associated venue is Free Skate.
  • Hi-Def: Includes Mo and Glitch. Their associated venue is Toprock Ave.
  • Flash4wrd: Includes Taye and Li'l T. Their associated venue is Invite Only.
  • Riptide: Includes Emilia and Bodie. Their associated venue is Studio 675.
  • D-Coy: Includes Dare and MacCoy. Unlockable by completing story mode.
  • The Glitterati: Includes Kerith and Jaryn. Unlockable by leveling up.
  • Murder of Crows (M.O.C.): Includes Dr. Tan and Oblio. Their associated venue is Crow's Nest. Unlockable by leveling up.
  • Icon Crew: Includes Marcos and Frenchy. Unlockable by leveling up.
  • Ninja Crew: Includes Shinju and Kichi. Unlockable by leveling up.
  • D-Cypher: Includes CYPH-56 and CYPH-78. Unlockable by leveling up

Most characters have two alternative outfits that can be unlocked by leveling up, one being their Crew Look from their appearances in previous Dance Central games and the other being their DCI Agent outfit. Additionally, most characters who appeared in the first Dance Central game have an extra DC Classic outfit based on their appearances in said game.

Soundtrack

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Songs

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The following 46 songs appear on the Dance Central 3 disc.[2]

Song Artist Year Choreographer Difficulty (Out of 7) Crew Default Character & Outfit Default Venue
"1, 2 Step" Ciara ft. Missy Elliott 2004 Chanel Thompson 2 Riptide Emilia – Retro Fitted Studio 675
"Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg" TLC 1991 Frenchy Hernandez 4 Flash4wrd Taye – Retro Fitted Invite Only
"Around the World" Daft Punk 1997 Kunle Oladehin 6 Hi-Def Mo – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Bass Down Low" Dev ft. The Cataracs 2010 Nick DeMoura 5 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Better Off Alone" Alice DeeJay 1998 Marcos Aguirre 1 Lu$h Crew Angel – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Beware of the Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke)" Panjabi MC 1997 Ricardo Foster Jr. 5 Hi-Def Glitch – DCI Agent Toprock Ave.
"Boom Boom Pow" Black Eyed Peas 2009 Marcos Aguirre 3 Flash4wrd Li'l T. – DCI Agent Studio 675
"Boyfriend" Justin Bieber 2012 Torey Nelson 3 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Calabria (2008)" Enur ft. Natasja 2008 Chanel Thompson 5 Riptide Emilia – Retro Fitted Studio 675
"Ching-a-Ling" Missy Elliott 2008 Frenchy Hernandez 5 Lu$h Crew Miss Aubrey – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Cupid Shuffle" Cupid 2007 Devin Woolridge 3 Riptide Bodie – Retro Fitted Studio 675
"Da Butt" E.U. 1988 Ricardo Foster Jr. 3 Hi-Def Mo – Retro Fitted Toprock Ave.
"Disco Inferno" The Trammps 1976 Frenchy Hernandez 3 Lu$h Crew Miss Aubrey – Retro Fitted Free Skate
"Electric Boogie" Marcia Griffiths 1982 Kunle Oledehin 4 Hi-Def Mo – Retro Fitted Toprock Ave.
"Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" Backstreet Boys 1997 Spikey Soria 4 Flash4wrd Li'l T. – Retro Fitted Invite Only
"Firework" Katy Perry 2010 Chanel Thompson 3 Riptide Emilia – DCI Agent Studio 675
"Get Low" Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins 2003 Devin Woolridge 5 Riptide Bodie – Retro Fitted Studio 675
"Hello" Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette 2010 Marcos Aguirre 5 Lu$h Crew Miss Aubrey – DCI Agent Crow's Nest
"I Am the Best" 2NE1 2011 Frenchy Hernandez 5 Flash4wrd Taye – DCI Agent Crow's Nest
"I Will Survive" Gloria Gaynor 1978 Frenchy Hernandez 3 Lu$h Crew Miss Aubrey – Retro Fitted Free Skate
"Ice Ice Baby" Vanilla Ice 1990 Marcos Aguirre 3 Flash4wrd Li'l T. – Retro Fitted Toprock Ave.
"In Da Club" 50 Cent 2003 Devin Woolridge 2 Riptide Bodie – Retro Fitted Studio 675
"Let the Music Play" Shannon 1983 Ricardo Foster Jr. 4 Hi-Def Glitch – Retro Fitted Toprock Ave.
"Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)" Los Del Rio 1996 Frenchy Hernandez 2 Flash4wrd Taye – Retro Fitted Invite Only
"Moves Like Jagger" Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera 2011 Devin Woolridge 6 Riptide Bodie – DCI Agent Toprock Ave.
"Mr. Saxobeat" Alexandra Stan 2011 Marcos Aguirre 4 DCI Lima – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Now That We Found Love" Heavy D & The Boyz 1991 Chanel Thompson 6 Flash4wrd Taye – Retro Fitted Invite Only
"OMG" Usher ft. will.i.am 2010 Aakomon "AJ" Jones and Usher 7 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"On The Floor" Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull 2011 Chanel Thompson 5 Riptide Emilia – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Samba de Janeiro" Bellini 1999 Devin Woolridge 5 Riptide Bodie – Crew Look Toprock Ave.
"Scream" Usher 2012 Aakomon "AJ" Jones and Usher 5 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Sexy and I Know It" LMFAO 2011 Torey Nelson 6 DCI Lima – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Starships" Nicki Minaj 2012 Torey Nelson 2 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"Stereo Love" Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina 2009 Marcos Aguirre 4 Lu$h Crew Angel – DC Classic Studio 675
"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" Kelly Clarkson 2012 Spikey Soria 7 Flash4wrd Li'l T. – DCI Agent Invite Only
"Supersonic" J.J. Fad 1988 Ricardo Foster Jr. 6 Hi-Def Glitch – Retro Fitted Toprock Ave.
"Tan-Step" M-Cue 2012 Ricardo Foster Jr. 5 Murder of Crows Oblio – Crew Look Crow's Nest
"Take Over Control" Afrojack ft. Eva Simons 2010 Spikey Soria 5 Flash4wrd Taye – DCI Agent Crow's Nest
"Teach Me How to Dougie" Cali Swag District 2010 Torey Nelson 5 DCI Lima – DCI Agent DCI HQ
"The Hustle" Van McCoy 1975 Marcos Aguirre 1 Lu$h Crew Angel – Retro Fitted Free Skate
"Turn the Beat Around" Vicki Sue Robinson 1976 Marcos Aguirre 3 Lu$h Crew Angel – Retro Fitted Free Skate
"(When You Gonna) Give It Up to Me" Sean Paul ft. Keyshia Cole 2006 Marcos Aguirre 2 Hi-Def Glitch – DCI Agent Studio 675
"Wild Ones" Flo Rida 2011 Kunle Oladehin 5 Hi-Def Mo – DCI Agent Studio 675
"Y.M.C.A." Village People 1978 Marcos Aguirre 1 Lu$h Crew Angel – Retro Fitted Free Skate
"You Got It (The Right Stuff)" New Kids on the Block 1988 Kunle Oladehin 3 Hi-Def Mo – Retro Fitted Toprock Ave.
"You Make Me Feel..." Cobra Starship ft. Sabi 2011 Torey Nelson 7 DCI Lima – DCI Agent DCI HQ

Importable content

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Players can import songs from Dance Central 2 for a set price. If a physical disc is used to perform the import function, the user will also need the unique code from the game's manual; however, if a Games on Demand version of Dance Central 2 is used, then no export code is required.

The import of the original Dance Central songs was previously possible with the same method and for the same price as for Dance Central 2, but since October 25, 2016, new import purchases are no longer possible (old purchases remain intact). If the player has previously imported the original Dance Central into Dance Central 2, it is also available in Dance Central 3.[3]

Downloadable content

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All previous downloadable songs are forward compatible with Dance Central 3; however, any new content released on or after October 16, 2012, is only compatible with Dance Central 3.[4]

On March 8, 2013, Harmonix announced that new DLC releases for Dance Central 3 would end after March due to the company shifting its resources to next generation projects.[5]

Song Artists Decade Choreographer Difficulty (Out of 7) Crew Default Character & Outfit Default Venue Release Date Dance Pack
"Euphoria" Usher 2012 Aakomon "AJ" Jones and Usher 5 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ November 20, 2012 13
"Twisted" Usher ft. Pharrell 2012 Aakomon "AJ" Jones and Usher 6 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ November 20, 2012 13
"Gangnam Style"[a] PSY 2012 Devin Woolridge 5 Riptide Bodie – Retro Fitted DCI HQ November 27, 2012 12
"Call Me Maybe" Carly Rae Jepsen 2012 Spikey Soria 7 Flash4wrd Li'l T. – DCI Agent Studio 675 December 4, 2012 12
"Alejandro" Lady Gaga 2010 Marcos Aguirre 3 Lu$h Crew Angel – Street Style DCI HQ December 25, 2012 12
"Paparazzi" Lady Gaga 2009 Marcos Aguirre 4 Flash4wrd Taye – Crew Look Invite Only December 25, 2012 12
"Sorry for Party Rocking" LMFAO 2012 Kunle Oladehin 5 Hi-Def Mo – Street Style DCI HQ December 31, 2012 12
"Whip It" Nicki Minaj 2012 Marcos Aguirre 5 DCI Lima – DCI Agent Studio 675 January 8, 2013 12
"International Love" Pitbull ft. Chris Brown 2011 Kunle Oladehin 5 Hi-Def Mo – Street Style Studio 675 January 15, 2013 13
"Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor)" Pitbull ft. T-Pain 2010 Torey Nelson 7 Riptide Bodie – Retro Fitted DCI HQ January 15, 2013 13
"Glad You Came" The Wanted 2011 Marcos Aguirre 2 Lu$h Crew Angel – Street Style Studio 675 January 22, 2013 12
"Let It Roll" Flo Rida 2012 Ricardo Foster Jr. 5 D-Coy MacCoy – DC Classic DCI HQ January 29, 2013
"What Makes You Beautiful" One Direction 2011 Marcos Aguirre 2 Lu$h Crew Miss Aubrey – DC Classic Invite Only February 5, 2013[6] 13
"Beauty and a Beat" Justin Bieber ft. Nicki Minaj 2012 Marcos Aguirre 5 Lu$h Crew Angel – DC Classic Studio 675 February 12, 2013 12
"All Around the World" Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris 2012 Chanel Thompson 6 Riptide Emilia – DCI Agent DCI HQ February 12, 2013 12
"Lights" Ellie Goulding 2011 Ricardo Foster Jr. 6 Hi-Def Glitch – DCI Agent Toprock Ave. February 19, 2013 12
"Airplanes" B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams 2010 Torey Nelson 4 DCI Rasa – DCI Agent DCI HQ February 26, 2013
"Take Care" Drake ft. Rihanna 2012 Devin Woolridge 1 Riptide Bodie – DCI Agent Studio 675 March 5, 2013 12
"Umbrella" Rihanna ft. Jay-Z 2007 Chanel Thompson 4 Riptide Emilia – DCI Agent Toprock Ave. March 12, 2013 12
"SOS" Rihanna 2006 Spikey Soria 5 Flash4wrd Li'l T. – DCI Agent Crow's Nest March 12, 2013 12
"London Bridge" Fergie 2006 Marcos Aguirre 3 Lu$h Crew Miss Aubrey – Street Style Invite Only March 19, 2013 12
  1. ^ This song features the full version, unlike the other tracks in to the Dance Central series, which has the short version.

Awards and nominations

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During the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Dance Central 3 for "Family Game of the Year".[7]

References

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  1. ^ Conditt, Jessica. "Dance Central 3 announced with a Q3/Q4 launch date". joystiq. Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  2. ^ "Harmonix's Critically Acclaimed Dance Franchise Returns this Year with Dance Central 3". Archived from the original on January 10, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  3. ^ "How do I import my Dance Central songs into Dance Central™ 3?". Microsoft. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "Exciting New Tracks Headed To Dance Central 3 From Psy, Carly Rae Jepsen, And More!". Harmonix Music Systems. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  5. ^ "New Dance Central 3 DLC Releases Ending in March". Harmonix Music Systems. Retrieved March 8, 2013.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Dance Central 3 DLC Preview: "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction". YouTube. February 4, 2013. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "2013 Awards Category Details Family Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
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