Dance Praise vs. Disney Dance Revolution

They’re all over the video game stores. Those colored boxes that you have to stomp while giant arrows scroll up the screen. Big kids. Little kids. Fat kids. Skinny kids. All pounding and sweating to some upbeat rocking music.

They call it dancing, I call it great exercise and a lot of fun.

This year Joey (11) wanted Dance Dance Revolution. He got to play it over a friends house. It was the first time I tried and I have to say for someone that took dance while I was younger and who’s pretty coordinated, I felt like a klutz. But the music was great! If you didn’t mind singing to “Brick House.” It was definitely nostalgic. But I had to think twice when my son wanted it. Did I actually want him to be listening to all the secular songs I grew up on.

The answer was no. So we looked into the newer versions. But with artists like Brittney Spears and Justin Timberlake, I didn’t think that was a better choice. Then I saw Dance Praise in a Christian store. I almost bought it. But I wasn’t crazy about the fact it had to be played on your computer. I didn’t think screen would be big enough. So I went home and read some Amazon reviews. They all got 5 stars and were mostly used by ladies trying to lose weight. I decided to go back and buy it. But when we tried it on my son’s computer it didn’t work. The music was great, but the screen didn’t work.

Joey was disappointed, packed it up and he and dad headed off to Toys R Us. They came home with Disney Dance Revolution. I decent alternative. With songs from Hannah Montana and High School Musical how bad could it be?

I tried my hand…or foot…at the game and realized the kids had it on too hard a setting. I played the easier version and while it was fun I didn’t like the fact a giant BOO would come on the screen when I missed! It really made me feel depressed! Also, I didn’t like the fact that I had to change the song every time it was over. I would have liked it to keep playing. I’ll have to ask my son if there’s a setting that gives you continuous play.

Everyday Joey comes home from school and starts playing. He really sweats up a storm. (pardon the cliche) and I don’t mind him playing as long as he has home work done.

So what happened to the Dance Praise Revolution? I got it back out of the package and tried it out on my computer. It worked beautifully. The arrows were big enough for my aging eye sight and the music was awesome. All the latest in Christian artists! It has several different modes (like Disney Dance Revolution) you can play by recording how many calories you want to burn or the time you want to dance. It has regular dance mode and many other things I haven’t explored yet.

The second time I popped in the cd no music came on and the arrows didn’t scroll. I got frustrated and decided to try it another day. It happened a second time. I searched and switched and did everything I could think of . Then I got online for tech support. My problem was solved in the FAQs. It seemed there’s a glitch sometimes and to start the music/ dance segment you have to choose a song from the list. I did that and had no trouble. The songs and dances played continuously for my scheduled 30 minutes. I graduated to Medium and had fun doing it!

So if you’re looking for an alternative to the Dance Dance Revolution craze, here are two great options! No one is paying me for this review or gave me any products to sample. I just thought something this fun and great should be made more public!