If you've ever found yourself drawing the curtains, turning off the lights and shedding your utmost inhibitions, chances are you're one of the 'crowd'. No, not a member of a secret suburban swingers' society, but a gamer who enjoys the joys of jigging around in front of the TV on a mat controller. Dancing games have been all the rage in arcades over the last few years, and partnering Konami's Dancing Stage Unleashed on Xbox comes BigBen's Dance:UK.

A patriotic title aside, Dance:UK features a wealth of British talent for grooving gamers to get their rocks off to. The Sugababes, Liberty X, Mis-Teeq and, erm, 5ive (apparently grateful for all the royalties they can get!) all line up against classics from the Sugarhill Gang and Chic. This dancing malarkey is a lot tougher than it looks so, after a Pop Idol-style intro, Training mode familiarises players with a few basic steps. The main game mode takes the form of a determined diva dancing her way through several auditions to fame. Achieve a high enough score in one round, and you'll receive recalls, second auditions, and so forth.

Snap once said rhythm is a dancer, and you'll need it in spades here if you're to hit each step in time. It's also vital to successfully nail the combo arrows whenever they appear to achieve the big points totals, and this is not an easy task. As far as the sounds go, there's a distinct pop/R&B flavour running through Dance:UK, though this is in no way a bad thing; we would much rather shake our thang to camp disco classics like Murder On The Dancefloor than obscure techno tracks that act as filler on other dance titles out there.

If the single-player game all seems a bit too much like hard work, then the ace Jukebox mode allows gamers to wiggle their way through any available track in the game, without the pressure of making the grade. However, everybody knows only losers take to the dancefloor alone, and lucky for us Dance:UK features a great head-to-head multiplayer mode. Square up with two mats, or take it in turns to out-dance a mate, and if you're feeling really egotistical, post your top scores on the multitude of Xbox Live Leaderboards to see who's top of the toe-tapping tree.

We really liked Dance:UK. Sure, the dance mat may have been a bit on the small side for adults and players will always yearn for tracks that are more suited to their particular tastes. That said, the selection of tunes on offer was more than adequate to get this snake-hipped Southender in the mood for dancing more than the Nolan Sisters ever could. Dig out your dad's old platforms and see what the fuss was all about...

1. Brilliant fun!
2. Loads of great up-to-date tracks
3. Aerobic mode is good for you

1. Later difficulty levels are taxing
2. Mat is a tad small

Power
Not a taxing game for the Xbox, and everything runs smoothly. Could do with more tracks though.

Style
The pop flavour makes this cheesier than a Stilton-maker's socks, though all the better for it.

Immersion
Make like Michael Flatley in minutes, then dip in and out of jukebox to your heart's content.

Lifespan
Ace multiplayer and Aerobic modes plus more tracks on Live should keep you moving.

Summary
A great party title - get over your inhibitions and lose a ton of weight too in the best dance-'em-up on Xbox.