Okay, so this isn’t exactly
an adventure game. In fact, it isn’t really a game at all, at least
in the traditional sense. It’s more
like an activity. But hey — this site isn’t called Just Adventure+
for nothing. I’d say that Dance Praise definitely qualifies as part
of the “+” aspect of what we do here.

To keep things simple, however, I’ll be referring to it as a game
in what follows. But no matter how one chooses to categorize it,
I can tell you one thing for sure: Dance Praise is pure, unadulterated
fun.

What we have here is another outstanding offering from Digital
Praise,
the same folks who are responsible for the wonderful Adventures
in Odyssey series. As its name would suggest, Dance Praise involves,
well, dancing — plus a lot more. What a great way for us computer
junkies to pick up our Pillsbury Doughboy bodies and work off those
holiday cupcakes we shouldn’t have eaten, eh?

So here’s how it works. The software operates in conjunction with
a dance pad that connects to one’s system via a USB port (a PS2 to
USB adapter is available from Digital Praise, if needed). Appearing
on the pad are the directional arrows used in dancing, and symbols
used to navigate through the game’s screens. Dance Praise can accommodate
either one or two dance pads.

I run WinXP Home, and
setting up the pad couldn’t have been easier. After installing
the software, all I had to do was plug the pad into
my computer’s handy USB 2.0 port, and violà! Otto Execbat
IV (that’s my computer) immediately told me he’d found a computer-human
interface device — sort of sounds like a Borg thing, doesn’t it?
— and asked me if I’d care to dance. No driver installation was
necessary. (Yes, I give my computers names, and yes, that’s a weird
thing to do.)

The software and pad are also compatible with Windows 98, 98SE,
ME, 2000 and XP Pro, along with Mac OS X. A User’s Guide provides
dance pad hook-up instructions for each operating system. If you
already have a dance pad, the Dance Praise software — which includes
a program for configuring non-Dance Praise pads to work with the
game — can be purchased ala carte.

Once everything is set up, you simply choose a mode, style, difficulty
level and musical accompaniment, and you’re off. Your primary objective
is to follow the dance steps that are displayed on your monitor without
breaking your neck. (I’m kidding!! Just a bit of senior humor, there…)

Okay, your real objective
is to follow the steps as closely as possible using the pad’s directional
arrows until (a) the song you’ve chosen
has finished playing, or (b) your score sinks to zero (don’t cry
— you’ll have infinite chances to improve!). Points are awarded
for accuracy depending on whether your steps are Perfect, Great,
Good, Almost, or Miss. Scores are recorded on a “Hi Scores” screen
that enables you to track your progress.

Did I say this isn’t an adventure game? Hmmm…I may have spoken
too soon. Dancing with my computer to rock, rap, and hip-hop tunes
actually proved to be quite an adventure for me (not to mention a
great floor show for my cat). And making screenshots for this review
while dancing not only added to the exercise I was getting, I’m sure
it was a sight to behold.

Not having engaged in this particular type of activity before, it
took me a little while to get the hang of it, and my downstairs neighbor
must have wondered what in the world was going on up here. Once I
did, though, look out. I was transformed into an honest-to-goodness
dancin’ fool!

Dance Praise can be customized in many different ways, and offers
plenty of options. For starters, activities come in four different
modes: Dance, Arcade, Exercise, and Shadow Dance.

Dance mode is self-explanatory — music plays and steps appear for
you to follow. This is the game’s most straightforward activity.

Arcade mode ratchets up the stakes a bit by offering steps that
will double and triple your score, as well as hazards such as smoke
bombs, rapidly flickering strobe lights, and steps that will result
in your actually losing points. Needless to say, this kind of selective
stepping requires more attention to the display than just plain dancing
does.

In Exercise mode, you can choose between two goals: the amount of
time you want to exercise, or the number of calories you want to
burn. This is the only mode in which points aren’t awarded; instead,
the total number of minutes danced or calories burned are recorded.

Calorie-burning offers a food animation option that I think is a
real hoot. Let’s say that you’ve worked off 65 calories, which also
happens to be the number of calories contained in your average orange.
When that number is reached, an orange with wings on it appears on
the screen and flies away!

Shadow Dance requires
two participants, each with his or her own dance pad. In this activity,
Dancer #1 creates steps that Dancer
#2 must follow after a set number of beats have passed. The User’s
Manual has this to say to the dancer who is leading: “Be kind,
because next time you might be the follower.” A great piece
of wisdom, that.

Dance Praise also offers a choice of three dance styles: Solo (again,
self-explanatory); Duel, in which two dancers compete and scores
are compiled separately; and Duet, in which two dancers cooperate
and share a mutual score.

Obviously, a second dance pad and participant are required for Duel
and Duet. Not having anyone except Otto to dance with (sniff), I
was only able to take advantage of the Solo option. I suppose that’s
just as well, though. In my exuberance, I might have accidentally
smacked a second dancer in the face or something. (Just kidding!)

Difficulty levels consist of Easy, Medium, and Hard. I got real
brave and tried all of ’em.

Once I got used to the moves, I was relatively successful at keeping
up with things at the Easy level. Medium was a little trickier, particularly
when I discovered that I’d have to leap into the air and try to land
on two arrows at once (oh, man…). I found Hard to be flat-out difficult
— I’m talking remove-all-life-forms-and-breakable-objects-from-the-dance-area
difficult (I guess that’s why they call it Hard). So much goes on
at this level that I could have used several extra pairs of legs.
To say that it presents a challenge is an understatement!

As with the Odyssey series, Dance
Praise has its basis in Christianity.
Here, all of the game’s music is by Christian artists. And what incredible
music it is, folks!

Fifty-two songs are included, and they sure don’t sound like anything
you’d hear in church. Featured are such performers as ZOEgirl, Audio
Adrenaline, PAX217, The Benjamin Gate, Out of Eden, and Steven Curtis
Chapman. To be honest, I’d never heard of any of these artists before,
but their music just blew me away. An enormous amount of talent is
represented in the tunes you’ll be hearing in this game!

To enable folks to sing along, Dance
Praise also includes an option
to display on-screen lyrics while songs are playing. Unfortunately,
I found it somewhat difficult to watch pointers, lyrics, and my feet
all at the same time, and it’s a little hard to sing when you’re
so out of breath that you can barely talk. (Kidding again! Well,
sort of, anyway…puff, pant.)

Among the game’s other
options is something I think is pretty cool. Called “Tune Into You,” it
enables the program to select the most appropriate music for you
based on your current skill level.
This option worked just splendidly for me, particularly as I was
getting used to the game.

The songs in Dance
Praise can also be set to play at random or in
sequential order as they appear in the playlist. Or, if you prefer,
you can select all of the music yourself on a song-by-song basis.

In addition, the game offers a choice of over 20 screen backgrounds.
If desired, a different one can be selected for each difficulty level.
And the on-screen pointers that indicate the direction of dance steps
come in four varieties: Arrows, Compasses, Triangles, and Feet.

Don’t feel much like dancing? Not a problem! The folks at Digital
Praise have included an option that enables players to use the arrow
keys on their keyboards instead of jumping around on dance pads.
For me, though, the keyboard option offered only a fraction of the
fun I had while dancing.

Okay, it’s time for a little confession, here. When I was first
given the opportunity to review this game, I wondered how much fun
it could possibly be. Man, do I ever feel silly now.

I ended up having the time of my life with Dance
Praise. It was
nothing like I imagined it would be (a lot of things aren’t — funny
how that works), and I found every part of it to be thoroughly enjoyable.
So much variety is offered that I doubt it could ever become routine
or boring. And if the tunes don’t get your feet tapping, you might
want to check to see if you still have a pulse.

The screens in Dance
Praise are filled with wonderful, vivid colors
and flawless animation; the music is simply fantastic, and the sound
quality is exceptional. For me, everything worked without a hitch.
And while I was unable to try the options requiring two dancers,
I can’t help but think they’re also of the highest quality.

The Solo mode in Dance
Praise provides enough variety to engage
a single dancer indefinitely. The addition of a second dance pad
and participant coupled with the wide choice of settings also makes
this an ideal activity for children and other children, adults and
children, and even adults and other adults. Aside from people who
have physical conditions that preclude this kind of exercise, I’m
unable to think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from this game

The folks at Digital Praise have hit an unequivocal home run with
Dance Praise — in fact, they’ve knocked the ball clean out of the
park! Not only is the game tons of fun, it offers a great aerobic
workout. Just think: it’s actually good for you. Whoa!

To sum things up, Dance
Praise is first-rate in every respect, and I give it an unqualified “A,” across
the board. This puppy is so much fun that I have a feeling I’ll
be getting a lot of use
out it. Along with all of its other benefits, Dance Praise lifts
your spirits and leaves you feeling just plain good. A big amen to
that!

So c’mon y’all — what are you waiting for? Get off those butts
and start dancing!

Final Grade: A
(find out more about our
grading system)

System Requirements: