For years, 
video games have been pointed to as a contributing cause of childhood obesity. Now, a group of Canadian researchers are saying today’s crop of titles could actually help solve the growing problem.
The Bloorview Research Institute, in combing through 18 different research reports conducted between 1998 and 2010, found that while the amount of exercise varied from game to game, most children who play video games got the same amount of exercise as they would from a brisk walk.
Even if you have the 
grace of a spastic camel, you can’t help but have fun with Dance Central 2. The game is forgiving for beginners, challenging for experts, and features a terrific lineup of songs (ranging from Lady Gaga to Justin Bieber to Usher to Sir Mix-a-lot). This year’s inclusion of co-op and multiplayer challenge modes adds more depth to the game and is guaranteed to make it more of a party standard.
The game introduces plenty of new moves and is loaded with 44 new songs. Players of the original game can import that game’s original 32 songs in as well for 400 Microsoft points (about $5). The original Dance Central was a must-have game last year. This sequel is miles ahead of its predecessor — and could well be the best Kinect game on the market.
Dance games are quickly becoming the best titles 
of the Kinect crop, but Dance Paradise seems to forget that a lot of the players might have two left feet. It’s a fun game that gets a lot right, but many of the dance moves are complicated and confusing, especially for newcomers. The tutorial sets up the initial premise of the game, but doesn’t help you learn any of the advanced moves. If you’ve got rhythm, though, this might be a good game for you. It comes with a variety of game play modes and local multiplayer lets you play with a friend in the same room. (Multiplayer matches through Xbox Live are not supported.) The visuals, meanwhile, are good and the song collection is robust, ranging from Lady Gaga and Rihanna to Gloria Gaynor and Kool & the Gang. Onlookers will appreciate the music videos that play in the background, but players probably will be too focused on their next dance move to pay much attention.
DanceMasters is an incredibly fun game that puts 
no pressure on players to learn complicated moves. The point is less about nailing routines as it is about scoring points and moving. There’s plenty of flailing about, but that’s half the fun. The song selection likely won’t be familiar to people who don’t go to dance clubs, though, so you won’t be able to dance to songs you’re familiar with — and only 20 of the game’s 31 songs are initially available. (You have to unlock the others and DanceMasters isn’t real clear about how to go about doing that.) Downloadable digital content will seemingly broaden the catalog, but we would have liked to have seen one or two familiar songs.
Chris Morris: Journalist 