Recently I got the chance to try out Microsoft’s Kinect at an event in my area. Microsoft had two booths set up, one with Kinect Sports and the other with Dance Central. These are my first impressions of the camera.
The first game I tried was Sports where I did a hurdle race against a couple friends. In this game the player runs in place and jumps when presented with an on-screen hurdle. The camera worked surprisingly well for me, picking up my leg movements and jumps exactly like what I was doing in the real world. The game was also simple to play, with only a little instruction needed for the timing of the hurdle jumps. My only problem with this game is that is seemed a little too gimicky to justify the price of the Kinetic. Personally, if I am going to invest that much money in a peripheral, I would like a little more meat to my games.
After that I played Dance, where I was a backup dancer to one of my friends (and it WAS a Lady Gaga song, before any of you ask). I actually had more fun with this game than I did with the Sports one. In this game the player mimics the movements of the on-screen dancers to a variety of songs. Again, the camera did an excellent job of picking up on even the slightest movements during the dances. There are even times where the player can “freestyle” his or her dance moves to make it different each time. However, I did feel that this game would lack a bit if one were to play alone versus with a few friends.
Overall, I felt like the Kinect has the potential to be a great addition to the XBox 360. The booths even had cameras that recorded us playing, so expect to see those sometime within the next few days. Now, my questions to you, my dearest of doves, is what you think of the Kinect? Does it interest you at all, or do you feel that it is a mistake on Microsoft’s part? Are there any games coming out for it you are interested in? Have any of you gone to one of these events to try it out? Tell me in the comments below!
