The first six titles for Kinect demonstrate clearly that the new "controlerless" interface can work very well. While some are better than others, as an opening salvo across the bow of the Wii and Move, these show that family gaming can still pack a lot of punch. Here are our picks for the ones to get and the ones to skip. You know how to skip on the Kinect, don't you? Just jump, one leg in front of the next.
Kinect Adventures
This is the title that comes bundled with the Kinect. There are five types of games here, and all will leave you out-of-breath! There's a handball type game that uses your whole body in the best game of "breakout" ever. You'll be jumping in every direction to keep the balls in play as you bounce them off the walls and at the targets at the far end of the "room". River Rush is a rafting game that requires you to lean and jump to find your way down river. Reflex Ridge is one of the best games currently available for the Kinect. You're standing on a roller coaster like car and have to dodge left and right, ducking and jumping over and around obsticals as you go. Best of all, the game takes pictures of you acting like a loon and shows you how silly you looked after each "ride".
Kinectimals
The "awwww gee, isn't that cute" award of 2010 certainly goes to Kinectimals. You play with tigers, panthers and other wild cats as if they were household pets. The animals respond to both your voice and action! There's lots of petting, grooming and teaching of tricks. Ultimately, much of the game play devolves into standard fare, merely "fair", mini-games. But, the animals are so cute, so responsive, that our testers young and old gave it high marks.
Dance Central
Harmonix, best known for Rock Band, sends a blast at Konami's "Dance, Dance" franchise with "Dance Central". This game shows just how subtle the Kinect platform is at discerning motion in three dimensions. It doesn't need a dance mat on the floor to see if you're moving to the beat. And, it isn't just interested in how well you can tap. Dance Central watches you dance. Are you moving your arms correctly? It wants to see that you're really dancing. Although most of us dance challenged testers were a bit afraid of Dance Central making us look foolish, instead, it drew us in with easy moves to get started. Rest assured, it does get more difficult as you make your way through the thirty-plus songs featuring Lady Gaga, Rihanna and more. This is the only T rated game in the opening salvo of Kinect Games. It's sophisticated interface, remarkable ability to track the action, and excellent pacing also make it one of the strongest, and proof that gaming beyond the "E" is coming down the track on Kinect.
Kinect Joy Ride
This is the weakest of the group. Racing standing up with a virtual steering wheel is possible, but not nearly enough fun to make it worth the investment. Joy Ride was initially conceived pre-Kinect as a casual, everyone can jump in and play, type game. Its cartoony graphics might have been fast fun on Xbox Arcade, but as a full blown game it runs out of gas. The controls don't feel precise enough to satisfy. In fact, Joy Ride represents our worst pre-release fear about Kinect, that we'd miss the direct connection to the console that a joystick or steering wheel provides.
Kinect Sports
This collection of games takes square aim at Wii Sports. In fact, it does an excellent job of demonstrating that you don't need a controller in your hands to play a fun "casual" game of bowling, table tennis, boxing or the other three sports. By casual, I mean that control is very "general" and forgiving, closer to the original Wii Sports than the Wii Plus version. The games do get you up and moving, though, and require more exertion than their Wii counterparts. It is a lot of fun, particularly since you can play on-line over Xbox Live. There is even a party mode which allows up to 12 people to play tourney style.
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved from Ubisoft is the best fitness title we've seen on any platform. To be clear, most of the Kinect titles will give you some form of exercise workout, even if they don't call it that. Your heart is going to be beating from all the action. What sets Ubisoft's program apart is the "environment" they create: a welcoming, yet challenging spa where you'll do yoga, exercise, and games to help tone you up. Unlike Wii Fit, which sometimes uses harsh words to let you know how out of shape you might be, Your Shape: Finess Evolved takes a very positive approach. It is constantly encouraging you, yet pushing you to go further, hard, lower, deeper. The program is visually stunning. You'll appear on screen next to your instructor, so you'll see exactly if you're matching his or her actions. Although the program sometimes had trouble recognizing when an activity was being done correctly, it didn't really matter. The calm, positive approach, good visual lessons and guides, kept us working even when there seemed to be some hiccups. Although rated "E" , this is really a game aimed at adults looking to use their game system for more than mere gaming.
