Is this the path to holo-deck technology? We powered up Kinect to find out if it truly is the future of motion gaming
Format: Xbox 360 Dev: Good Science Studio Pub: Microsoft Out: 10/11/10 Players: 1-2
Kinect is said to be changing the face of gaming forever, and Kinect Adventures is the first title to be bundled for use with Microsoft’s new motion sensor. But how is Kinect Adventures as an introduction to this new way of playing games? Is it all we expected and more?
Amongst all the excitement of finally getting chance to play with Kinect, there was a real sense of disappointment at first glance with this game. You let the game load, get to the menu screens and the over-riding thought there’s something lacking – the software compensating for any rough holes in the motion tech with arcade-like graphics that reduce the realism.
There is a saving grace, however. Like all Kinect titles, it seems Adventures is made to work with the profiles that are stored on the user’s Xbox. Once signed in, the first thing you see screen is your Avatar, which responds exactly to your movements thanks to the motion sensor. This is a really nice touch that finally makes use of the Avatar idea Xbox came up with a few years ago. It just makes the game a bit more fun and more personal.
In terms of gameplay, the game modes are inventive and encourage you to get active and engage in some multiplayer activities, where rivalry and teamwork is key. It’s a lot of fun and is certainly good for fitness and exercise, as you jump around your room, waving your arms and legs about at an extreme rate. But it does become boring after a while, as the games seem too basic.
For example, Rally Ball, a 3D Breaker-inspired crossover, gets tiresome after about 10 minutes as the appeal of just hitting balls and blocking them again and again wears off pretty quickly. And the other games types within Adventures are in the same vein – they leave a much to be desired, despite their inventiveness.
The games are very energetic and are great for families and groups of friends, in the same way most Nintendo Wii games are. There is no doubting that the game modes are a lot of fun, but only for a limited time. There’s only so much running and flinging yourself around a room you can do before you get tired and bored.
However, I would like to add that Adventures is great as a tool for learning how Kinect works overall. It really highlights how advanced the tech is and, most importantly, it shows what Kinect could be capable of.
Overall, this is a good start for Kinect. It can be a lot of fun and it really does show off the device as a new idea and new way of gaming. Hopefully the games will develop and breakaway from the party game genre that Kinect Adventures slots into, as I fear it may become too much like the Wii, and the technology deserves a lot more. Saying that, Adventures is a great way to learn how Kinect works and get used to the format. A must for keen Kinecters.
Ian Davies
Tags: casual, family, kinect, kinect adventures, microsoft
