Just Dance launched in North America late last year and completely took the sales chart by surprise. Despite a relatively weak opening, the game later exploded and quickly became one of the Wii’s best-selling third-party titles.

With the success of the original, Ubisoft has returned to the drawing board and started working on a sequel to the popular dancing title. Besides a wider selection of songs to choose from, Just Dance 2 brings even more modes to the mix in what is sure to be a much better game. Some of the songs in Ubisoft’s upcoming dance game include “When I Grow Up” by The Pussycat Dolls, “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend, and “S.O.S.” by Rihanna.

In the vein of Wii Fit Plus, Just Dance 2 has a new mode that allows you to work out at your own leisurely pace in order to burn off some calories. Another mode allows you to create your own dance team and compete in dance competitions against other friends. Up to 8 plays can dance to see which team has the best moves.

Like the original Just Dance, Just Dance 2 is a Wii exclusive and will not be found on any other console. Just Dance 2 will hits retailers later this year, and like the original, Just Dance 2 is bound to get many gamers up and moving -Matthew Blundon

A year ago, some artwork was leaked online, depicting the usually lighthearted world of Disney as a post-apocalyptic, steampunk inspired dystopia featuring robotic Disney characters with their parts missing. The artwork was linked to a new Wii project called “Epic Mickey”, one of Warren Spector’s projects for Disney Interactive. A few months later, Game Informer revealed Epic Mickey as a real game coming to Wii. While the game didn’t look as dark as the artwork suggested the game does indeed look very promising for both Disney and videogame fans.

Epic Mickey stars Mickey (looking like he did in his classic film days). The story goes that sorcerer Yen Sid (Fantasia), has created a world for Disney’s forgotten ideas, which includes movies and theme park attractions. One day, Mickey’s curiosity got the best of him and while playing with the paint he spills paint thinner all over the world, now called the Wasteland. It destroys the world and gives birth to the Ink Blot, one of Mickey’s oldest adversaries from the comics. Mickey must now save the world and redeem himself as a hero in the eyes of the wastelanders.

As the concept suggests, Epic Mickey will feature references to all kinds of Disney films and projects. The first of these is Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Disney’s first cartoon star, and the first to be forgotten and sent to the Wasteland. He acts as Mickey’s adversary as well as Wasteland’s hero. Mickey’s friends such as Donald Duck appear as robots that have lost their parts. At the recent E3 demo, Mickey explored a world which featured Mr. Smee and the Pirates from Peter Pan and the Enchanted Tiki Room. Other attractions include It’s a Small World and Cinderella’s castle (based on the concept artwork featured on Game Informer).

Epic Mickey is a platforming games with some light RPG elements. Taking a cue from games like Super Mario Galaxy, the Wii Remote is deeply integrated into the gameplay. Mickey’s weapons are paint and paint thinner. Using the Wii Remote players get to paint elements into the world or erase them, creating new passages and other places to explore. In some levels, movie screens are hidden. These screens take Mickey to levels based on his classic film shorts, like Steamboat Willie.

The biggest gameplay element of all is what Warren Spector calls “playstyle matters”. Mickey’s decisions affect the game’s world and ultimately the storyline.

Disney Epic Mickey is set to be released this fall. -Pedro Hernandez