Michael Jackson: The Experience

Michael Jackson: The Experience

European box art
Developer(s) Ubisoft Montpellier (PS3)
Ubisoft Montreal (Xbox 360)
Ubisoft Milan (Wii)
Ubisoft Paris (Wii)
Ubisoft São Paulo (DS/PSP)
Ubisoft Shanghai (3DS, Vita, iPad)
Publisher(s) Ubisoft, Triumph International
Platform(s) Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, iPad, PlayStation Vita, Mac OS X, iPad 2, iPhone
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Music, rhythm
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer

Michael Jackson: The Experience is a music video game based on Michael Jackson's music and songs. It was licensed by Triumph International, developed by and published by Ubisoft, and was released on November 23, 2010 in North America, November 25, 2010 in Australia and November 26, 2010 in Europe for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and Wii.[2][3] It was also released on April 12, 2011 in North America, April 14, 2011 in Australia, April 15, 2011 in Europe and December 8, 2011 in Japan for PlayStation 3's PlayStation Move and Xbox 360's Kinect. The game features many of Michael Jackson's hits, such as "Bad", "Thriller", "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal", "Black or White" and "The Way You Make Me Feel". Initial launches of the game included a limited edition replica of Jackson's famous sequined glove.[4] It was later released for the Nintendo 3DS, iOS and PlayStation Vita. It was announced that the game would be released on Mac OS X, Wii U and iPad 2. The game sold 2 million units in only two months (these sales figures don't include Japan, which has one of the largest and most passionate concentrations of Michael Jackson fans.)[5]

Gameplay

The Kinect version of the game includes full body motion technology and judges on how well you do the moves.

The Wii, PS3 and Kinect versions of the game feature Just Dance style gameplay. There are three modes of play in both the Wii and PS3 version of the game. The first is "Classic" where everybody follows the on-screen Michael Jackson avatar. The second is "Duo" which is used for duets (such as "The Girl Is Mine") or videos with two main characters (such as "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "In the Closet") The player(s) can choose to dance as either Michael or the other character. The third mode of gameplay is "Crew", which features Michael and two backup dancers (five during some songs.) Players can opt to dance as any of the three. After performing songs, players will be able to unlock training videos in the "Dance School" where they are taught some of the more difficult moves from several of Michael Jackson's music videos and stage performances.

Four player multiplayer is available on the Wii and Move enabled PlayStation 3 but the Kinect will be limited to one player at a time. The game will also feature singing on the Kinect version on Xbox 360, and optional on-screen lyrics on the PlayStation 3 with will also feature singing and Wii versions. The DS version features gameplay similar to Elite Beat Agents. In this version, there is a cartoon version of Michael on the top screen and the player follows along by tapping the bottom screen with the stylus to the rhythm of the music. Also on Nintendo DS version, there is an anti-piracy feature created by Ubisoft that will freeze the game and replace the audio with the sound of vuvuzelas (popularized by the South Africans in World Cup 2010) if the player is playing a pirated or ROM version of the game.[6] It was also revealed that on the Wii version players can play as Jackson or the Back-up Dancers. The game was displayed at New York Comic Con at Ubisoft's booth.

Kinect features

The Kinect version of the game features full body tracking, and entirely different choreography to the Wii version,[7] along with several other changes and additions. This version uses a technology called Player Projection, which puts the player's own image in the game allowing them to star in their own Michael Jackson video. The Kinect version includes two game modes: "Solo" and "Party". Solo mode features one player. Party mode features 2-4 players. There are two options in Party mode: "Co-Op" and "Battle". Co-Op mode is a "every player for themselves" mode as players take turns jumping in and jumping out in order to complete the song. Battle mode is a team mode where two teams face off to get the highest score. Battle mode is a little different from Co-Op mode as each team performs the song together and the song gets broken down into two parts in which one player dances and the other player sings. Party mode only features Dance Mode, Performance Mode and Master Performance Mode. There are four symbols to reperesent each player: Michael's glove, Michael's hat, Michael's shades and one of Michael's jackets. Several of the songs in the game will not feature any moves to perform, instead becoming "Singing Only" songs, with "Earth Song" being the first song confirmed as Singing Only. There are certain songs that have moves that can be taught in a practice mode called "MJ School". During each performance, a crown will pop up above the player's head and the player must hit the crown to activate "King Power" before it fades away. The crown will multiply the score by 8x (NOTE: The crown only appears once per song). Similar to the Wii version, you will be scored on how well you sing and dance. You can get five different grades. Perfect, Good and OK increases your score and Almost and Miss make you lose your current score. Your points add up at the end of each song along with the rating of stars you receive and a photo you take during your performance. You can either use the Kinect's built-in microphone or an atttached mic/headset to sing.[7] The game does include the option, however, to choose a "Dance Only" version of the song, which means the player will not be asked to sing.[7] The Kinect version will also feature a mode known as Master Performance, which will require the player to both sing and dance to a set of choreographed moves that are harder than the normal moves, and "as close as possible to the videos".[8]

PlayStation 3 and Vita features

In addition to the singing and dancing functionalities found in the Xbox 360 version, the PlayStation 3 version allows the player to sing or dance at the same time as other players.[9] There is also the option to record the video clips or take pictures of the player's performance, and allows the player to save or upload them to sites, such as Facebook. The PlayStation Vita version was ported with Improved graphics in HD, Multiplayer (AD-Hoc), Trophy Support, Motion Sensor support, Multi-touch support, and instead of taking off the On-screen notes, it was replaced with the ability to use the Rear touch pad for an even harder challenge and since its use the multi-touch, the difficulty has been given an upgrade to increase the challenge. The PS vita compared to the 3ds has been given an whole new look in graphics and on resolution, and you use your finger instead of a 3ds Pen. The Vita version doesn't have any DLC.

List of songs

See also:[10][11]

Song Album Year Wii DS PSP Vita, 3DS and iOS PS3 and 360 Mac OS X iPad 2 iPhone Difficulty
"Bad"* Bad 1987 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Medium / Medium
"Beat It"* Thriller 1982 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Medium / Hard
"Billie Jean"* Thriller 1982 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Medium
"Black or White"* Dangerous 1991 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Hard / Medium
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"* Off the Wall 1979 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Medium / Medium
"Leave Me Alone" Bad 1987 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Easy
"Smooth Criminal"** Bad 1987 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Medium / Easy
"Thriller"* Thriller 1982 Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Inhuman (Nightmare difficulty on PS3 version) / Hard
"The Way You Make Me Feel"* Bad 1987 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Medium / Medium
"Remember the Time"** Dangerous 1991 Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Hard / Hard
"Ghosts"** Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix 1997 Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Hard / Medium
"Another Part of Me" Bad 1987 Yes (only with Collectors Edition) Yes Yes No Yes No No No Medium
"Rock with You"* Off the Wall 1979 Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Easy
"Heal the World" Dangerous 1991 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Easy
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"* Thriller 1982 Yes (Also plays on the Main Menu) Yes Yes No Yes No No No Medium
"Speed Demon" Bad 1987 Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Hard / Hard
"Streetwalker" Bad: Special Edition 2001 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Easy
"Who Is It" Dangerous 1991 Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes No Easy
"Blood on the Dance Floor" Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix 1997 No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Hard
"Will You Be There" Dangerous 1991 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Medium / Easy
"The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney) Thriller 1982 Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Easy / Easy
"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (featuring Siedah Garrett) Bad 1987 Yes (not playable; plays over the credits) No No No Yes No Yes No Easy / Easy
"They Don't Care About Us"* HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I 1995 Yes No No No Yes No Yes No Hard / Medium
"Human Nature (This Is It version)"* Thriller 1982 No No No No No Yes Yes No Hard
"Hollywood Tonight" Michael 2010 No No No Yes No No Yes Yes Hard
"Workin' Day and Night" Off the Wall 1979 Yes No No No Yes No No No Medium
"Dirty Diana" Bad 1987 Yes No No No Yes No No No Easy / Medium
"Dangerous"* Dangerous 1991 No No No No No Yes No No Hard / Hard
"In the Closet" Dangerous 1991 Yes No No No Yes No No No Medium / Medium
"Money" HIStory; Past, Present and Future Book I 1995 Yes No No No Yes No No No Medium
"Scream" HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book I 1995 No No No Yes (only available as DLC) No Yes No No Hard / Medium
"Earth Song" HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I 1995 Yes No No No Yes No No No Medium
"Stranger in Moscow" HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I 1995 No No No No Yes Yes NoNo Easy
"Sunset Driver" The Ultimate Collection 2004 Yes No No No Yes No No No Hard
"This Is It" This Is It 2009 No No No Yes (only available as DLC) No No No No
"Hold My Hand" (featuring Akon) Michael 2010 No No No Yes (only available as DLC) No No No No
"Jam" Dangerous 1991 No No No Yes (only available as DLC) No No No No
"You Rock My World" Invincible 2001 No No No Yes (only available as DLC) No No No No Difficult

In the Wii console version of the game, "Money" is incorrectly credited as a song from the album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix which was released in 1997. This would be true if the song in the game was a remix but it is the original version of the song, released on HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995.

Aside from all music released prior to Jackson joining Sony Music including the Jackson 5, the international number one "You Are Not Alone", and several of his other singles were absent from the game, yet several non-singles did make the cut.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings(X360) 65.34%[12]
(NDS) 64.25%[13]
(PS3) 62.88%[14]
(3DS) 62.00%[15]
(Wii) 59.92%[16]
(Vita) 59.73%[17]
(PSP) 42.50%[18]
Metacritic(PS3) 66/100[19]
(NDS) 64/100[20]
(X360) 63/100[21]
(3DS) 59/100[22]
(Vita) 57/100[23]
(Wii) 56/100[24]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer8/10[9]
The Guardian3/5[25]
Daily Mail3/5[26]
Daily Star75%[27]
The Sun4/5[28]

The reviews for the DS and PSP versions were above average, with a slightly better score for the DS version. IGN gave a 6.5/10 for DS[29] and 5.5/10 for the PSP.[30] Destructoid gave a 6/10 for the DS version.[31]

IGN gave the Wii version a 3.5 saying that it does not give clear instructions on how to dance and also criticized the controls.[30] Metro gave it 5/10, describing it as "perfectly good party fun if you don’t care that the controls don't work."[32] Videogamer.com gave the review a 7/10, stating that the music overplays the responsiveness difficulty.[33] CNET gave the game 5/5, writing that the game is "extremely easy to pick up and play" and "the choreography is amazing"[34] The Escapist gave the game 4/5, noting that the game "is not meant to be played by yourself."[35]

Eurogamer thought that the Xbox dance routines "feel a little slower and more simplistic than those in the PS3 game",[9] while the Daily Star said that "the Move seems a touch more sensitive".[27]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Brudvig, Erik (August 18, 2010). "Gamescom: Ubisoft's Michael Jackson Game Uses Kinect". IGN.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  2. ↑ Frum, Larry (June 16, 2010). "Game will let you sing, dance like Michael Jackson". CNN.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  3. ↑ Fritz, Ben; Martens, Todd (June 14, 2010). "Michael Jackson is coming to the video game world". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  4. ↑ Winslett, Ryan (November 2, 2010). "Michael Jackson: The Experience Launches With Limited truee Edition Glove". Joystickdivision.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  5. ↑ STAFF, IGN (January 6, 2010). "UBISOFT SELLS TWO MILLION UNITS OF MICHAEL JACKSON THE EXPERIENCE". Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ Davis, Justin (April 29, 2013). "Eight of the Most Hilarious Anti-Piracy Measures in Video Games". IGN. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 "Michael Jackson: The Experience (Kinect) Hands-On". Everybodyplays.co.uk. March 12, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience (Kinect) Interview". Everybodyplays.co.uk. March 12, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  9. 1 2 3 http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-25-michael-jackson-the-experience-review
  10. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience Song List / Soundtrack". IGN.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience song list revealed". Everybodyplays.co.uk. November 22, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Xbox 360". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  13. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Nintendo DS". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  14. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for PlaySation 3". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  15. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Nintendo 3DS". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  16. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Wii". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  17. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience HD for PlayStation Vita". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  18. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for PlayStation Portable". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  19. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  20. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Nintendo DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  21. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  22. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Nintendo 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  23. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience HD for PlayStation Vita Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  24. ↑ "Michael Jackson: The Experience for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
  25. ↑ Ditum, Sarah (December 9, 2010). "Michael Jackson: The Experience – review". The Guardian (London).
  26. ↑ "This game lets you step into the King of Pop's dancing shoes". Daily Mail (London). April 14, 2011.
  27. 1 2 http://www.dailystar.co.uk/posts/view/186517/Michael-Jackson-The-Experience-360-PS3-49-99-/Michael-Jackson-The-Experience-360-PS3-49-99-Michael-Jackson-The-Experience-360-PS3-49-99-Michael-Jackson-The-Experience-360-PS3-49-99-
  28. ↑ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/fun/gaming/3515249/The-Sun-reviews-Michael-Jackson-Experience-on-Xbox-and-PS3.html, 15 Apr 2011
  29. ↑ Clements, Ryan (December 7, 2010). "Michael Jackson: The Experience Nintendo DS". IGN.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  30. 1 2 Clements, Ryan (December 6, 2010). "Michael Jackson: The Experience Review". IGN.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  31. ↑ Holmes, Jonathan (December 10, 2010). "Review: Michael Jackson: The Experience (DS)". Destructoid.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  32. ↑ Hargreaves, Roger (November 25, 2010). "Games review – Michael Jackson: The Experience is bad". Metro.co.uk. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  33. ↑ Smith, Jamin (November 24, 2010). "Michael Jackson The Game Review". Videogamer.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  34. ↑ Walton, Mark (December 10, 2010). "Michael Jackson The Experience (Wii)". Gamespot. CNET.com. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  35. ↑ Tito, Greg (December 1, 2010). "Review: Michael Jackson The Experience". Escapistmagazine.com. p. 2. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
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