Just Dance

Which brings us to the most important thing about the dances - they're hilarious. Highlights for anyone who remembers the nineties include Reel 2 Real's I Like to Move It, Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic and MC Hammer's U Can't Touch This. Turns out the running man is still funny. Then there's Cotton Eye Joe (complete with lassoo move), Blur's Girls and Boys and Wannabe by the Spice Girls.

There are plenty of songs from other decades too, going right back to Dee Dee Sharp's Mashed Potato Time. Other oldies include I Get Around by The Beach Boys, Le Freak by Chic and Anita Ward's Ring My Bell. From the eighties there's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Eye of the Tiger, amongst others. And there are more recent chart-toppers - Katy Perry's Hot N Cold, Dare by Gorillaz and Kylie's superb Can't Get You Out of My Head, to name a few.

In fact there are more than 30 songs in total, all by the original artists apart from two - Fame, which is "in the style of" Irene Cara, and Womanizer, sung by "The Gym All-Stars" instead of Britney. Both covers are decent enough. There are no fillers here and no tracks you won't have heard of. You don't get the videos but that would miss the point of the game, and the dances you have to copy are often more entertaining anyway.

All the songs are unlocked right from the start. Hardcore types might complain this means it isn't a proper game but again that's missing the point - Just Dance is meant to be a fun, accessible multiplayer experience, one which encourages and amuses players rather than challenges them. In that regard it succeeds; games don't come much more pick-up-and-play than this. Watching other people have a go is at least as entertaining as taking part yourself, and I haven't had so much fun with a party title since SingStar.

That's not to say the technology in Just Dance is anywhere near as sophisticated as that behind SingStar, or that the two games are comparable in terms of depth and long-term value. This one doesn't have any online options and there's no library of downloadable songs. There are only two modes other than the main one and neither is very exciting. (Strike a Pose is basically musical statues, and disappointingly has nothing to do with Madonna; Last One Standing involves losing a life for every incorrect move, which shows up the inconsistent registering.)

It's a bit like We Sing, the four-player Wii karaoke game released at the end of the year which couldn't match up to SingStar: Just Dance is a similar cut-down, more simplistic version of the real thing, but fun all the same. There are two key differences, however. First, it's cheaper than We Sing; the game carries an RRP of £24.99, you can already find it for under 20 quid and there's no shell out for extra peripherals. Second, there's no PS3 or Xbox 360 equivalent to Just Dance.

For now, anyway. Perhaps Project Natal and Sony's magic wand will herald a new era of full-body dancing games. Perhaps those cameras will properly read and evaluate your moves in a way the Wii simply can't. In the meantime, Just Dance is the only option for those who want to wave their arms in the air like they just don't care.