Michael Jackson: The Experience

Michael Jackson: The Experience is a music game played on Game Bang.

Game Information
Michael Jackson: The Experience is a 2010 music game licensed by Triumph International and developed by and published by Ubisoft. It is based on the music and songs of Michael Jackson, and features many of the King of Pop's hits, including "Bad", "Thriller", "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal", "Black or White", "The Way You Make Me Feel", etc. The game sold 2 million units in two months, not including Japanese sales, making it one of the best-selling Wii title games.

The Wii, PS3, and Kinect versions of the game feature gameplay similar to the Just Dance games. There are three modes of play in the Wii and PS3 versions: "Classic", where everyone follows the onscreen Michael Jackson avatar; "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"); and "Crew", which features Michael and two backup dancers (five during some songs), any of whom players can opt to dance as. After performing songs, players are 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. The DS version features gameplay similar to Elite Beat Agents, with a cartoon version of Michael Jackson on the top screen and the player following along by tapping the bottom screen with the stylus to the rhythm of the music.

The Kinect version features full-body tracking and 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", which features one player, and "Party", which features 2-4 players and two further options: "Co-Op", in which players take turns jumping in and out in order to complete the song, and "Battle", in which two teams face off to get the highest score. During each performance, a crown pops up above the player's head and the player must hit the crown to activate "King Power", multiplying the score by 8, before it fades away. The Kinect version also features a Master Performance mode, which requires the player to both sing and dance to a set of choreographed moves more difficult than normal, close to the source material.

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. Players can also record video clips or take pictures of their performance and save or upload them online. The PS Vita version allows the player to use their finger instead of a 3DS stylus and does not have any DLC.

Michael Jackson: The Experience was met with generally mixed reviews, with most reviewers citing the varied differences between the different versions of the game. Reviews for the DS and PSP versions were above average, with a slightly better score for the DS version.