You know, for kids

With enough dancing games on Kinect to last a lifetime, Ubisoft has spotted a gap in the market, aiming Just Dance Kids at the young ones. With the juggernaut Just Dance name attached, it's sure to get parents interested.

There's a lot here to recommend, with a 40-strong tracklist that provides something for the very young up to pre-teens: nursery rhymes and Blur have never rubbed shoulders before, but you can narrow the list down by age or difficulty. Each song only has one distinct choreography set on offer, but you can choose between regular, team co-operative or pose and shake mode, which gives you extra points for posing or pretending to play instruments when prompted.

You can create your own playlist or choose from one of the pre-packed setlists, or use the non-stop shuffle mode to play to your heart's content. A second player can jump in at any time by stepping in and waving to start play, though sadly there's no four-player support as in Just Dance 3.

Elsewhere you've got the ability to create your own dance to any of the songs on offer, with space for up to 48 dances, though regrettably you can't record for the song's full duration: most only last a verse and a chorus which might disappoint those who want full control, but does keep things quick and snappy.

There's also a parents screen that lets you see how long your little tykes have been playing, which game types they play most and — most bizarrely — how many calories they've burnt off so far. Our favourite bit though is the six-page "brand philosophy" that explains how good it is for kids to dance. Very good, apparently.

Detection is on the generous side — often you'll get an "OK" rating rather than a miss even if you're performing a totally different move — but that's understandable considering that the context is having fun, not anything more serious.

Conclusion

Just Dance Kids is commendable for offering a kid-friendly version of the mega-selling franchise: the songs provide a little something for all ages, and youngsters will surely enjoy being able to create their own dances. At a lower price it could be worth picking up if you have little ones who want a game of their own: otherwise, for something you can play together, pick up one of Kinect's other dancing games.