Zumba Fitness Rush

Last year around this time the world was a'flutter with Zumba silliness, and we got in on the action giving Zoe Mode's Zumba Fitness game a spin. It was rather horrible. Still, people flocked in droves to buy it, and then presumably spent the next few months flopping around their living rooms in their spandex tights, pretending to be Shakira J. Lopez, or whatever her name is, which obviously prompted whoever makes money out of these things to make another one, and here it is: Zumba Fitness Rush, spinning menacingly in my disc tray.

Since the original shipped great big mountains of copies, developer Zoe Mode could probably have just added new songs and perhaps a co-op Horde Mode (those are all the rage these days, aren't they?), so colour me surprised to see that they've actually put in a bit of effort with this new one. It's still a bit of a stretch to call it a game though - the first title was a glorified workout video, and Zumba Rush doesn't do too much to dispel that perception.

The core issue, carried over from last year, is that Zumba Rush doesn't really seem to care about what you're doing on your side of the screen. As long as you're moving, shaking, wiggling and jiggling, you're doing okay. You are hardly ever given instruction beyond "do what the dancer on-screen does!". There is no way of knowing which moves are coming up next (short of memorizing the songs and their accompanying steps), and good old Kinect is very nonchalant about enforcing the steps properly. The result is a feeling of disconnection from the game - a feeling that you may as well just be watching a fitness DVD.

To overcome that, you really have to throw yourself into the Zumba vibe. First of all, forget that Kinect doesn't give a damn whether you hop or pop or flop at the right time. Pretend that it actually matters that you're busting those funky moves in time to the beat. Secondly, forget that you look like an idiot. Because, well, you do. And there's nothing you can do about that. I found that once I let myself go with it, overcame my inherent shyness and distrust of anything that wants me to "shake what my mama gave me", I actually had a good time.

The tracklist plays a big part in sucking you in to a Zumba-induced trance. With a wider variety of tunes, including well-known hits, and covering even more dance styles than last year, you honestly have to have a cement soul not to be moved by these rhythms. There's something fun and celebratory about this kind of music - like a soundtrack to a street carnival. Even the non-Latino styles, such as hip hop and dance, carry that same exuberance that makes grown men gyrate in dangerous ways.

This jubilant atmosphere is given a boost by huge improvements to both the presentation and visual style in comparison to last year's title. Zumba Fitness Rush brings a Dance Central style to the on-screen characters, quite authentically modelled on real-life Zumba veteran instructors, making them more relatable than the brightly coloured silouettes we had last time. The vibrant but one-dimensional dance stages from the previous title have been replaced with lively, well animated environments. From a presentation perspective, menus are bright, easier to navigate, clearly labelled and make passable use of Kinect to get the job done.

It's a pity that Kinect drops the ball when it counts, though. Most of the time feedback for your movements is either non-existent or incorrect. You may just think you're a natural dancer, pulling off move after move without error, until you test the system - I did a bit of 60s-era twisting when I should have been doing a nifty Cha Cha Cha, and scored about the same hit rate as I did when trying to do it properly. So much like last year then. The camera angles also cause problems when you do make the mistake of trying to follow the routines accurately - there are too many cut-aways mid-move, or close-ups of the lead dancers' feet, making it difficult to follow the full body movements you're meant to be mimicking.

A lot of the issues would be negated if there was more certainty over what kind of game this is meant to be. See, Zoe Mode has done quite a bit to move Zumba Fitness Rush into the realm of the dancing game instead of a straight fitness title, highlighting the game's weaknesses in the process. It's just not convincing, accurate or challenging enough to be a dance game to compete with Dance Central and the like. The lack of real depth to any of the modes also counts against it, with only a rudimentary statistics record to show for your troubles.

We are usually far more forgiving of a fitness title with no delusions of grandeur, and it's as a straightforward workout tool that Zumba Fitness Rush is strongest. Overlook the inconsistent motion tracking, silly scoring mechanism and other traditional game elements, and the underlying fitness package here is solid. Taking on a single song is tiring enough, but string together a proper Zumba Workout - or go head to head with a friend locally or in a group online - and the sweat will soon be flowing merrily. I'll admit that I discredited Zumba as a way to slim down in the past, even after playing the first game, but Zumba Fitness Rush has silenced me. A far more compelling prospect than before, with good tunes, improved graphics and well programmed routines, making this a worthy addition to your workout plan. But it will take more that that to get Zumba Fitness to overcome its reputation as a (barely) interactive workout video.