Author Profile
James started his career in video games as News Editor on Nintendo Life. Since leaving in 2012 to join Nintendo of Europe, James has risen through the ranks to become NoE's Senior Product PR & Corporate Communications Manager.
Latest Reviews
Review Deepak Chopra's Leela (Xbox 360)
Take a deep breath
Kinect's incessant insistence that you get up and thrash about isn't to everyone's liking, but is a fact of motion control all the same: many developers prefer to paint with broad brush strokes, getting the general idea right rather than attempt finer detail and end up going outside the lines. Deepak Chopra's Leela uses more...
Review Rapala for Kinect (Xbox 360)
Lacks a-lure
This'll surprise you: Rapala for Kinect isn't a fishing simulation in any way. Sure, you can select your lure in the hope of attracting a particular fish, but that's about as deep as it gets. This is fishing arcade-style: score as many points as you can in the time limit. Your fish is scored on size and rarity, with bonuses for grabbing...
Review Winter Stars (Xbox 360)
Stay frosty
Any prospective Kinect sports compilation has a rough road ahead of it: Kinect Sports set the bar pretty high, and so far no competitor has been able to get close. That's why it's so surprising that Winter Stars is actually quite good. For starters, it's not just a mini game compilation like Big League Sports or its associates: events...
Review Big League Sports (Xbox 360)
Little league
Sports compilations are what motion controllers were made for, if you believe the Wii and Kinect catalogues, both of which heave with representations of all manner of bats, balls and beyond. After two leading efforts from Rare and middling efforts from other developers, Activision's Big League Sports takes to the field in the hopes of...
Review Just Dance Kids 2 (Xbox 360)
You know, for kids
With enough dancing games on Kinect to last a lifetime, Ubisoft has spotted a gap in the market, aiming Just Dance Kids at the young ones. With the juggernaut Just Dance name attached, it's sure to get parents interested. There's a lot here to recommend, with a 40-strong tracklist that provides something for the very young up to...
Review Jillian Michaels' Fitness Adventure (Xbox 360)
Jungle gym
Until Wii Fit burst onto the scene in 2007, combining the words "fitness" and "game" would have got you laughed at. In this day and age we're considerably more enlightened, but most fitness titles are more like interactive videos than actual games, but not so Jillian Michaels' Fitness Adventure, Kinect's only...
Review Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary (Xbox 360)
"You had me at Halo"
The purple "Better with Kinect Sensor" stripe is a familiar sight on games now, but strangely it's nowhere to be seen on Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, a HD revamp of the game that arguably established Microsoft as a major player in the console business. To put it another way: no Halo, no Kinect. Halo CE brings the...
Review Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking (Xbox 360)
One for the committed
Ubisoft's crazy Rabbids hit the Wii five years ago, but what many don't realise is that the original Rayman Raving Rabbids was ported to Xbox 360 with support for the doomed Xbox Live Vision camera. Surely with that experience — and the vastly superior Kinect — to bring to bear on Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking, Ubisoft...
Review The Black Eyed Peas Experience (Xbox 360)
Rock that body
Some would say we've already had too many dancing games on Kinect, and certainly with Dance Central 2 and Just Dance 3 now on the sensor there's not much of a gap left for another title to make an impression unless it's of a competitively high quality, and that's where The Black Eyed Peas Experience comes in. Developed by iNiS — the...
Misfire
Kinect's had a few quirky shooters so far — step forward The Gunstringer and Child of Eden — but nothing so conventional as Blackwater. Dubbed a "first person experience" by its publisher, it's the first war game we've seen on Kinect, and carries with it all the pleasures and pitfalls you'd expect from that mantle. Blackwater isn't...
Latest Feature Articles
Guide Starting Out with Kinect
Get the most from your sensor right away
So you've unwrapped all your presents and found a shiny new Kinect and games. Congratulations, and welcome aboard! Unlike every other motion controller on the market, you don't need anything in your hands to play Kinect — with no controllers and no buttons you're free to use your body and voice to play the...
Feature Kinect Holiday Gift Guide 2011
What's worth your money?
There are over 80 games available for Kinect now, and knowing exactly which one to pick up as a present can be a tough proposition. That's why we've put together our Kinect holiday game guide 2011 to let you know exactly what you should be looking for when picking a game this season. We've split this article into five...
Talking Point What's Kinect Doing Right or Wrong?
One year on, how's it going?
Kinect has had a full 12 months to bed itself in, and arguably the standard of releases this Christmas is higher than what the sensor launched with last year, but the sensor still hasn't established itself as a home for quality games. In the past few days we've seen an encouragingly healthy discussion about the matter...
First Impressions Kinectimals with Windows Phone 7
Kitty in your pocket
Unlike Nintendo and Sony consoles, sadly you've never been able to take your Xbox games on the go with you, something even Dreamcast offered over 10 years ago. Now with Windows Phone 7 devices and Xbox 360 you're able to access select content wherever you are, something we recently got chance to try out with Kinectimals and...
Reader Blog Losing 80 Pounds with Kinect and Dance Central
It can be done
In the first of a new series of reader blogs, we're sharing stories from Kinect fans just like you. We want to hear bout any success stories you might have had — a great video you made in Yoostar 2, a world record score in Kinect Sports or something awesome made possible by Kinect. You can contact KINECTaku to share your story, and...
First Impressions The Black Eyed Peas Experience
Rock that body
Michael Jackson: The Experience was a pretty good attempt at bringing the King of Pop to the living room, but the Black Eyed Peas are a totally different undertaking: whereas the MJ game put you in Michael's shoes in his legendary live shows and music videos, in The Black Eyed Peas Experience you don't play as Will.i.am, Fergie or the...
First Impressions Just Dance 3
Get on the floor!
Until now Harmonix has undoubtedly had the Kinect dancing market all sewn up, but that dominance will meet its sternest challenge yet in October when Ubisoft brings the astonishingly successful Just Dance brand across to Xbox 360 in the luridly coloured form of Just Dance 3. At first glance, very little has changed from its Wii...
First Impressions Kinect Sports: Season Two
Another big score for Microsoft?
Last night we brought you our First Impressions of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier from Microsoft's Christmas showcase, and next on our travels was the sequel to Rare's Kinect Sports, without doubt one of Kinect's best launch games. We were quickly told that the motion tracking had been vastly improved from the first...
Talking Point What Should Microsoft Do With Kinect At E3?
Tell us your hopes
Microsoft's E3 2011 news conference is only a few weeks away, and our thoughts are turning towards what the company will show off on Monday 6th June. Here's a list of what we believe Microsoft should do with Kinect in order to capture the imagination like it did at E3 2010. Improved Tracking: In its current form, Kinect can...
Features A Guide to Kinect Fitness Games
Let's get sweaty
If you're looking to lose a few pounds as part of your New Year's Resolution, grabbing a fitness game for Kinect is a good way to go, but with so many out there how can you pick the one that's best for you? Here a brief rundown of all the fitness games currently available for Kinect, all of which we've exhaustively playtested and...
Latest News Articles
News This is How You Scan a QR Code in Dragon Ball Z Kinect
Quite simple really
Dragon Ball Z for Kinect lands in October with an interesting QR feature to add new characters and content to the game. Hold up a special card to the sensor and you'll unlock in-game content. Presumably you'll get some of these cards for free with the game but the rest, we expect, will set you back a few dollars. Will you take a...
News Ice Age Tie-In Coming to Kinect This Year
Arctic edge
Activision's just announced it's bringing Ice Age: Continental Draft — Arctic Games to Kinect in 2012. Guess what? It's a minigame compilation. Nobody could have guessed that. If you're saying you guessed that, you're lying. The story says something about the team splitting a secret treasure through a series of "off-the-wall...
News Disney Wants You to Be Brave on Kinect
Red hair optional
Not content with inspiring Kinect Rush: A Disney•Pixar Adventure with its past works, Disney•Pixar's next movie Brave will get its own Kinect-powered game too. Coming this summer, the third-person adventure game isn't Kinect exclusive: sounds to us like the sensor will only be used in an archery spin-off mode, but we've been...
News Fit Music is Kinect's Most Self-Explanatory Game
Can you tell what it is yet?
Fitness, dancing, Kinect: the holy trinity for game publishers. The next company to try its luck is Oxygene Media with the ingeniously titled Fit Music. Fronted by European fitness champion Patrizia Salviato — described as "one of the best body building superstars ever" by Oxygene — the game is coming to...
News BBFC Pegs Dragon Ball Z Kinect for June Launch
Just Saiyan
After Korea rated Dragon Ball Z for Kinect last week, now the British Board of Film Classification is on on the act, slapping a 12 rating — and release date — on the game. According to the BBFC, the game's release UK date is 15th June 2012, not too shabby considering Namco Bandai is yet to announce the game officially. We imagine...
News Country Dance All Stars Song List Confirmed
Yeehaw
Want to know which of your favourite country music stars will feature in the upcoming Country Dance All Stars, due out later next month? Well boy howdy, have we got a treat for you. Featuring no fewer than three artists called Josh — Kelley, Thompson and Turner, of course — as well as classic acts Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood and, er,...
Blog Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Kinect
Straight from the horse's mouth
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13's Kinect features were detailed in a video yesterday, and now we have a developer blog from EA Sports explaining more about Kinect integration in Tiger Woods this year. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Kinect Features: Hi, my name is Eric Busch, and I’m one of the designers on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13...
News Zumba Fitness Rush North American Release Date Announced
Out in February
Zumba Fitness Rush is coming to Kinect in North America just in time for Valentine's Day. Majesco's second Zumba game lands on 13th February. The game will receive extra content after launch in the shape of add-on songs and workouts. MAJESCO ENTERTAINMENT BRINGS THE DANCE-FITNESS PARTY HOME ON FEBRUARY 13TH WITH ZUMBA® FITNESS...
News SEGA's 2012 Olympics Game Gains Kinect Support
Back on track
SEGA' has today announced London 2012: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games will include Kinect features. By the sounds of it you won't be able to take on all 30 events with Kinect: the press release only mentions 110m hurdles and beach volleyball, already seen in the likes of Kinect Sports of course. Here's the first trailer,...
News Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure Scans You In
Get into the game
Kinect Rush: A Disney Pixar Adventure uses one of Kinect's most-vaunted original features: the ability to scan yourself in to create a virtual avatar. Of course we've seen this feature used in Kinect Fun Labs so it's not a first, but if it works as well as this trailer below promises — a wish that rarely comes true, admittedly...
