I already had a few preconceived notions about what to expect out of Kinect that I wrote about in my previous blog. Most of what I wrote still stands true even after getting the Kinect. However, there is something different about the Kinect as it stands beside the Wii, and Move. Its got that wow factor that the other just don't have. The voice commands ( although not as robust as I would like them), the facial recognition (works pretty good if you have enough light) and the swipe gestures all make the Kinect a pretty cool
peripheral. Its drawbacks are the room it takes and the initial set up which I am not going to go into detail about. I will say watch out for low hanging ceiling fans in your play area. OUCH!I would rather get into a few games that I have played so far. I have picked up Dance Central, Kinect Sports, and of course the add in game Kinect Adventures. Of the three my top to bottom list would go in that order as well.
Dance central is awesome. Listen I am not a professional, nor have I been on Dancing with the Stars, but after a few days of playing Dance Central I am sure ABC will be calling any day now. Whats amazing is the game actually teaches you current new dance moves. Its nothing like the old fashioned step on a pad Dance Revolution game that looked nothing like dancing. This is the real deal. It's really cool how the Kinect picks up on slight imperfections in your dance moves to grade you very accurately. Some of the moves I don't think I will ever get but its still a blast to try. this by far has been my favorite game so far. Heck, where else are you going to learn to do a Side Jerk, UFO, Hotwire, or Robocop? Huh tell me!
Kinect sports is pretty much a take off of Wii sports, and PS3 Move's Sports Champions combined. I have them all and it gives me a reference to grade them against each other. Wii was the first and and it was new and exciting at the time but really had its pitfalls with the lack of one to one motion (that came later with an add on) Move is true one to one and feels natural but after playing Kinect with no controller I tend to favor it on may of these sports games. There are a few sports that each system game better than the others but overall I feel the Kinect does well in most of the games. I would give the edge to Wii in bowling, because the spin and control is a bit wacky on Kinect. I would give the edge to the Move on the volleyball game, it works really well on the Kinect but I think I can do a few more things in the Move game. Table tennis I give the edge to Kinect. I had a much better experience hitting the ping pong ball with the Kinect non-controls than I did with the move controller. My Son loves the soccer and track and field events and they are not in the other 2 systems to compare.
Kinect adventures I have spent the least time with but I feel it caters to a younger audience. Lots of mini games and perhaps I will get to that title soon. But from what I have played the games were either a bit boring or uninspiring.
One thing I will say is that where or not you are intending to you will get a workout with the Kinect. Way more movement using your whole body that you ever will playing the Wii, or PS3 Move. I know I could lose a few so I guess every extra bit of exercise helps right?
In closing I am enjoying the system. For how long I dunno. The games will have to keep pace and learn to play to the Kinect's abilities. Dance Central is one that is a new concept and did a very good job of playing to the Kinect's strengths. So excuse me while I go learn to learn to "Lean and Rock" to some Soulja Boy!
Update: pastapadre's blog just posted a review as well that seems to be inline with mine. Check it out for more info on 2 other games. XBOX Kinect Impressions by Pastapadre
No comments:
Post a Comment