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Boogie for the Wii is one of my favorite titles of 2007. It's not perfect (what game is?), but damn, is it fun. When my kids and I aren't falling over laughing at how the aliens are jiggling on the screen, then they (my boys) are laughing at how *I* jiggle when I dance. Porting a get-up-and-MOVE title to mini-screen of the DS left me with no expectation of the same type of fun. But, the songs from the console are great — and rhythm comes in many flavors. How could I not give it a whirl (so to speak)?

If the Wii title has a failing that you could point at and say "that part really is awful" it is the tutorial. Not so for the DS. Whether by reading the instruction booklet - which is thankfully complete — or working your way through the game, all of the components of learning to play are here. Tutorials make me giddy; they immediately drop the "age" level of the game.

It's time to get started. Onwards towards stardom!

Pick a boog. Yes, a boog. You have five to choose from: Jet and Lea are from Earth — Lea's from the South and loves to look good, Jet's got the hip-hop moves down; Julius, Bubba and Kato are... not from Earth. Kato is a lion? of sorts on his way to Zen enlightenment (he's also by far, the shortest so many of his moves are rather acrobatic as he jumps into the air); Julius loves the surf, sand and is a cool dude, all the way; and Bubba? Let's just say his name fits. I love Bubba's moves.

Once you've picked a character you outfit them to your liking. There are a few different skin tones, shirts, hats, pants, etc. available at the beginning. The road to stardom will open up other options to customize your boog to your liking. And who doesn't want to look goood for the fans?

Each character has a unique story. While you will meet and "battle" the others in a dance-off of sorts along the way, the reasons for doing so are unique. Don't take this to mean that the core game is different for each character. You're given the chance to journey and perform in the ultimate dance battle. To get there you must practice and prove yourself. Along the way, you open various stages, songs and costumes. You will learn about your character as well as different dance moves and mini-games. The differences from one boog to the other are the order in which the stages unlock, the dialogue and the costumes. However, I love squooshy Bubba so that's the way I head; my son loves Zen-state Kato. You can do them all.

Dancing is both simple and difficult. I don't think I've missed any handheld dance simulators on the market to date so I can say with a fair bit of confidence that this is unique. And I like it.

Each character has his/her own set of unique moves. As I mentioned before, Kato is acrobatic; Lea loves to twirl and emulate Madonna; Bubba is well, blubbery…

Moving the boogs uses the same strokes with the stylus, the results are just different. Using the stylus, you will slide left, right, diagonally up-left, down-left, up-right, down-right and finally tap. This is your retinue of moves. Certain combinations result in unique moves, but the tutorial (or trial and error) will lead you to these along the way. TIP: Keep your DS straight; if it is not, you won't be moving your stylus in a straight/angled line and you'll want to tear your hair out wondering why this dumb thing can't figure out what you're doing!

The basics of movement are easy enough. Unlike the Wii title of the same name, the DS gives you three modes of dance to choose from: Choreography, Copycat and Freestyle. Choreography is a fancy name for the style many will find most familiar: a line will appear with directional arrows (and the occasional dot) and a hit spot. You simply have to complete the move on the hit spot as often as possible. Freestyle gives you no directions — go wild. When the song ends, you'll be given statistics that let you know how often you used the same moves (repeating the same move too often in a row results in no score), how original some of your combos were, etc.

Copycat is unique, and fun once you get the hang of it. Four moves are shown; the speed at which you complete them is up to you. Doing so in time with the music will result in bonuses. You can make a single move, wait a moment, and then complete the next three in succession. Four more will be given. However, if you make a mistake in the four, a new quartet of moves will be shown.

While dancing, you'll be earning beat points. This will bring on Boogie Power. Once active, the screen becomes flashy and you rack up score faster. Score in this game means little — it's just a way to measure against yourself or to buy new outfits.

Then there are the aforementioned mini-games. You'll be happily dancing along, twirling and doing handstands when the song will break out into a mini-game. In easy mode, these are ridiculously easy (but perfect for young players); they are a great way to rack up extra points. Later in the game they become a bit more difficult. Like any good mini-game, they don't tell you how to play them. But, you can read the instruction booklet if you don't understand after a few tries. If you earn five stars while playing a mini-game, you earn a perfect, which will get you a medal.

Mini-games range from matching colors on a disco floor, to strumming a guitar; from head banging to singing into the DS. There is a wide variety within the 10 games. I liked them because they broke up rather long songs. Something of note: the entire game can be played with the stylus except for one mini-game (I failed this every time until I read it). If you come upon "In the Spotlight", you must move your Boog into the spotlight using the D-pad. Except for this single mini-game, there is no need to ever touch a button.

Medals are the final reward/measurement in the game. You earn them for completing combos, mini-games, etc. and you can earn multiples. However, there are times when moving up a level in the game is just tough. But, you can move up a level in a song. While easy, medium and hard are difficulty settings for the game, they are also definitions for settings for songs. Stay with me for a second.

You're playing the game in Freeplay mode on Easy setting. Basically, everything is set at normal with no surprises. You've tried Medium but it defeats you so often it's just not fun. You've been practicing a song regularly — an Easy song — and you think you can do better. You play an Easy song on Medium difficulty. You'll earn a medal - and more points to unlock items — by doing so. It's a great way to reward the player for the player's unique skills rather than pseudo-punishing them for never attaining a certain level of proficiency.

If I have a complaint about this game it would be the songs. Not the ones on it (which include Lets Get It Started by the Black Eyed Peas, Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls, Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves and Canned Heat by Jamiroquai). They are FANTASTIC and I may just kill my kid if he continues to play "You're the One that I Want" behind me while we drive One... More... Time. My complaint would be that there are so few! Five more would have been nice; ten more would be fantastic!! Eh, the game is only $19.99, I guess I can't have everything.

Boogie is a good game. It's not sophisticated and it's not for everyone. If you like light, fun games this is for you. If you've got kids and you love to laugh go get this game. The music is great, the control system easy and it creates smiles all around. For twenty dollars, what more can you ask for?