As some of you may or may not know, I was unbelievably lucky enough to be invited to the launch of the Kinect at E3 last year. In the whirlwind of the trip I was smitten by the Kinect, the games and the whole experience. However, the dust has now settled, the trip seems a million miles away and the Kinect sits in my living room. So this leaves a question – is it any good ?
The short answer is yes… and no!
Let me explain. The Xbox has long been a serious gamer’s machine. If you have ever played Call Of Duty: Black Ops online you’ll know what I mean - it’s serious stuff. If you wanted safer, more family orientated gaming then you played the Wii.
If you look at the Kinect as an add-on for serious gamers then you may well be disappointed. The games currently for sale are often lightweight, with a focus on entertainment rather than heavyweight gaming (though I did hear a rumour that the new Gears of War will be Kinect compatible!).
However, if you look at the Kinect as a replacement for the Wii (a family experience), then you will be pleasantly surprised. The Kinect is a way to bring the Xbox into a family environment. The ease of use, the interactive and fun nature of the games, makes it a perfect party toy.
If you don’t believe me, then just take a look at this…
So if you are thinking of a Kinect here are my two favourite games so far:
- Dance Central – This game is perfect for the Kinect. If you have ever played the original dance games, you know the ones, crappy songs and dodgy plastic mats, then you’ll be blown away by Dance Central. The Kinect can pick up your exact movements and the mixture of street dance moves and popular music makes it a must. This video (above) of my husband Funky G and Snake-Hips Marco shows you just how fun the game can be. I absolutely love this game.
- Kinect Sports - This is the family favourite in our house. My boys love the football, the girl loves the running, I love the table tennis and volleyball. Though it is great to play on your own, Kinect Sports really comes to life when you play party mode with small groups taking turns to try and beat each other at different sports. If you have enjoyed Wii bowling and would like to see a much better family sports game, then this one is a must.
I started by saying I was smitten by the Kinect in LA, so is this still the case? Well… yes but in a different way.
The Kinect is very good at being able to bring the whole family into one place for more than a few minutes (this being even more important to us now that the children’s ages seem to be so spread out). Finding something that a 7 year old girl and a 13 year old boy will both enjoy is difficult, but the Kinect has managed it! We have had such a laugh playing it together. Also, it is worth adding that the Kinect takes a series of photos during the gaming and I have been reliably informed that naked Kinect (with partner, not children, clearly) playing is rather good fun…
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great review Caroline. The Kinect has certainly given us alot of enjoyment since we’ve had it. I love Dance Central and we all love ‘party play’ mode on Kinect Sports. We’ve even got Grandma on Dance Central, she certainly gave Lady Gaga a run for her money. I’m really addicted to it.
I agree that it is great for encouraging family time and we’ve had such a laugh with it. I tried my hardest to explain to friends just how good it was when we got back from LA but they all just thought it was going to be similar to the Wii. Now they know different, we’re all having loads of fun. It’s great when you connect with friends as well and play against them. The best bit is not having to fiddle about with controllers and you get to use more parts of your body than just your arms. Saying that, we’ve also woken up with aching shoulders after playing discus and javelin and have often needed oxygen on standby when faced with the track and field events.
Just love, love, love it though and I think it will be played far more than our Wii ever was. I am slightly concerned that there may be people playing it NAKED! OMG! I hate it when it takes your picture fully clothed but then that’s just me.
I love it too! The photos that are taken are amusing and can you imagine naked drunken Kinect and then updating your photos to Facebook by mistake.? Ha! Oh my!
The track and field kills me. Seriously, I am so unfit and the jumping aspect is impossible, but clearly not for the children. God knows what anyone passing by our house must think! We haven’t managed to play anyone else online yet and I am itching to. Just need to figure out how! Also, love the though of grandma as Lady Gaga.
G got me Active 2 for my birthday and I swear, it is evil. If you don’t get your legs high enough it refuses to let you go on to the next part of the workout… sob… it is NOT fun! I usually collapse on the floor mid-workout and refuse to ‘play’. x
I love the Wii for the same reason - if we didn’t have it already I’d be tempted to go for Kinect just to prevent smacking small people in the head with the controller ( as I’ve been known to do….) not played it naked though..
Oh, it is soooooo much better than the Wii. Not throwing the controller at the TV is a plus too. The Kinect takes photos of you throughout the game and you can upload them directly to facebook… so if you see any naked photos of my on ther, just pretend you haven’t. Yes?
x
We also love the Kinect, and our favourites so far are Dance Central - although we haven’t reached the same standard as Marco and Gary - and we also like playing the River Rafting game, which I am pretty damn good at it has to be said
Not sure about the naked stuff though, but it sounds interesting….
I fear that no person in this world could reach the standard of Gary and Marco!