by The Zumba craze has spread to sports clubs, living rooms, and even video game consoles over the years, and its blend of dance and fitness moves makes exercising feel more like a party than a chore. Making its way to iPad for the first time, Zumba Dance gives you the same tried-and-true Zumba gaming experience, but lets you take it with you wherever you go. It may not offer a whole lot of songs to dance to without spending extra cash, but if you’re looking for a fun way to sweat away some calories, Zumba Dance is the way to go.
Using your iPad’s front-facing camera, Zumba Dance tracks your movements as you follow along and dance through various songs. You’ll need plenty of space to ensure that the game can see you and offer feedback on how well you have performed a move. Most routines involve repeating the same few moves over and over again, so they’re not particularly difficult to follow, though they’ll definitely get your blood pumping. While it does a pretty good job overall, the camera won’t always accurately capture your moves, so there will be times where you do the move correctly but aren’t given points for it. You’re also told to position your iPad so that it captures most of your body, but it feels like the game is only following your upper half most of the time.
In addition to implementing motion-tracking technology, Zumba Dance also provides various modes that the larger console games offer. You can practice moves, track your daily progress, or set up a fitness plan that will push you to burn a set number of calories each day. The game also offers longer class sessions so you can create your own personalized, rigorous workouts however you please.
As impressive as it is, however, Zumba Dance only comes with six songs in the initial package, which limits your experience. The more songs you have, the more varied class sessions you can play, for instance, so you’ll need to spend more than the game’s initial price if you want some variety in your workouts. Additional content is sold via a trio of $9.99 class packages, or $24.99 to unlock everything, so upgrading proves a pretty serious investment.
The bottom line. If you don’t already own a Zumba game or simply want the experience with you at all times, Zumba Dance will definitely make you sweat — and that’s a good thing.
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