E3 '10: Grease Is The Word
Wanna be a T-Bird? Or maybe a Pink Lady? Well, you're in luck, because 505 is developing Grease for the Wii and DS for release this summer! The Wii version will contain 16 songs, and be compatible with USB microphones and the Wii balance Board. Each song as a different mini-game that goes along with it, such as dancing (in the case of "Hand Jive" or "Beauty School Dropout") or a sports montage of wrestling, baseball, etc. (for Danny's attempt to become a jock for Sandy) or driving (at Thunder Road to "Greased Lightning"). The Balance Board comes into play when you want to have four people dancing at a time. One person will control the legs with the Balance Board while the other will use the Wiimote to move the arms. And at the same time, other people can sing! Up to eight players can compete on two teams for party play.
In Story Mode, obviously you'll play through the storyline of the movie, but in Quick Play Mode, you can play whatever song you want while playing whatever mini-game you want. Although that would lead to some really incongruous combinations. While the game will include clips from the film, the characters have been animated in 3D with a very cartoony style. To appeal to the kids, I suppose. And to that end, they've also obviously censored the dirtier lyrics so no one gets scandalized playing with their children. Oh, and the songs aren't directly from the movie, either. As with the likenesses, to avoid licensing costs, they've re-recorded the songs. Though they still sounded pretty good to my ears. And even though this is an adaptation of the movie, if you think of it as an adaptation of the stage show, it's less upsetting.
Oddly, I'm almost more excited for the DS version of the game. It only has 10 songs from the movie and features only Danny, Sandy, Rizzo and Frenchy, but plays like an Elite Beat Agents-style rhythm action game. Instead of recreating the storyline, Grease on the DS is a series of dance-offs all around Rydell High. While motion-captured characters dance on screen to the songs, you tap and slide your stylus in time with the music. As you progress through the game, you unlock new costumes and options to customize your characters, and if you're playing on the DSi, you can even use the handheld's camera to take a photo of your face to paste onto the in-game character! The DS version also has multiplayer, so you can challenge your friends to a dance-off. There's also a feature where you can learn the actual choreography from the movie that they recreated and mo-capped. The top screen displays a pair of shoes demonstrating the foot movements, and the bottom screen is the top part of the character showing the upper-body moves. The song can also be slowed down or paused to make sure you're getting every step.
Grease is due out on the Wii and the DS in September, so break out that leather jacket and grease up that hair (or alternatively, your poodle skirt and pink jacket) and get ready to return to Rydell High!
