The gameplay remains largely unchanged from the first game, but new features have been added. The "Crew Challenge" mode introduces a story line where players take on the role of an up-and-coming street dancer trying to impress local dance crews. Two-player modes now feature simultaneous dancing, and Free-4-All sections award points for successful moves. The practice mode allows for individual move practice, slowing down or speeding up specific sections, and a fitness mode displays calories burned.
The game features 44 songs on-disc, with the option to import all 32 on-disc tracks from the first game for an additional fee. It also supports all 32 DLC tracks released for the original game, plus a further 32 non-backwards compatible DLC songs released shortly after its release on October 21st, 2011 .