Country Dance for Wii is a dancing game for Wii which asks players to hold the Wii-mote in their right hand while the mimic the actions of an on-screen dancer.  It’s very much like Just Dance – with country music.

The songs in Country Dance span the range from contemporary artists such as Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Sugarland or Zac Brown Band to Randy Travis, Trace Adkins and Brooks & Dunn.  Even Johnny Cash and Billy Ray Cyrus make an appearance.

Up to four players can play Country Dance at once, and they’ll all mimic the same onscreen dancer that is performing a choreographed routine to accompany one of more than 25 country music songs.  Depending on how well they match the moves (“Great,” “Good,” or “OK), players will earn points that are added to their total.  For an added challenge, players can choose to play “Perfection” mode, where only “Great” scores count, or there is also a Stop-N-Go mode in which dancers are asked to stop performing and hold still from time to time.

The thing that feels a little weird about Country Dance is that the performers themselves which players need to mimic aren’t images or silhouettes of real-life people dancing.  Rather, they are computer generated models doing dance moves based on using motion-captured dance moves.  The results is that most routines have elements that feel very robotic, and contain moves that don’t really seem to flow together.  If you can get past this, there’s great fun to be had, but it’s definitely noticeable and hard not to compare it to the fluid video images in games like Just Dance.

Country Dance’s E10+ rating is based solely on some of the song’s potentially questionable lyrics.  It’s absolutely accessible for players younger than that, and we’d have no problem recommending it for kids as young as 5 who are with an adult.  And as with other Wii dancing games, we think the fun factor for a game like Country Dance isn’t necessarily in scoring the most points, since the Wii sensors can often by inexact and imprecise.  Rather, the real enjoyment in Country Dance is having your family and friends up and dancing to fun songs, whether they’re holding Wii-motes or not.  So if you and your family can look past the robotic dance moves, and not worry too much about the scores, Country Dance can be a great catalyst for a family who likes country music to let loose and have a good time.

Full set list includes:

·         Carrie Underwood, “Cowboy Casanova”

·         Brad Paisley, “Water”

·         Sugarland, “Stuck Like Glue”

·         Trace Adkins, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”

·         Tim McGraw, “Just to See You Smile”

·         Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried”

·         Rascal Flatts, “Life is A Highway”

·         Blake Shelton, “All About Tonight”

·         Miranda Lambert, “White Liar”

·         Johnny Cash, “Ring of Fire”

·         Alan Jackson, “Chattahoochee”

·         Miley Cyrus, “Hoedown Throwdown”

·         Brooks & Dunn, “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”

·         Billy Ray Cyrus, “Achy Breaky”

·         Toby Keith, “A Little Less Talk”

·         Dierks Bentley, “What Was I Thinking”

·         Darius Rucker, “Alright”

·         Gretchen Wilson, “Redneck Woman”

·         Laura Bell Bundy, “Giddy On Up”

·         Randy Travis, “Forever and Ever Amen”

·         Tracy Byrd, “Watermelon Crawl”

·         Josh Turner, “Why Don’t We Just Dance”

·         Luke Brian, “Ran is A Good Thing”

·         Mary Chapin  Carpenter, “I Feel Lucky”

·         Jerrod Niemann, “Lover Lover”

·         Josh Thompson, “Beer on the Table”

·         Easton Corbin, “A Little More Country Than That”

Country Dance is the first game of its kind for country music fans featuring more than 25 smash hits from some of country music’s biggest stars.  Players utilize the Wii Remote as they mimic on-screen dance moves to their favorite country tunes and earn points depending on how well the moves are replicated.

Country Dance supports up to four players, so players can challenge or get in step with their family and friends in the competitive or cooperation modes.  Song lyrics are displayed on screen as well so players can belt the high notes to their favorite tunes.   Users can customize their character and unlock new songs and rewards as they progress through the game.

Country Dance, developed by High Voltage Software, is rated E 10+ by the ESRB. For more information about Country Dance, please visit www.game-mill.com.