pellissier

Only North America, again?

Question, when do sites likes yours, and others like 123kinect.com and kinectronic.com's reviews make it onto Metacritic? It seems the regular gaming sites are not reviewing Kinect games, so the scores on Metacritic are either meager or totally out of tune with general consensus. I just checked Winter Stars and there's only one review which is not positive at all. From Kinect dedicated websites though the score is far more positive.

I guess, doesn't it mention what people bought with the sensors? If you pick one up you'll be picking up at least 1~2 games, eh?

Great game. We have played it a few times through. The Kinect features are not a must have, but just like Sony promotes the PS Move, it "enhances" the experience for those (not everyone) that wants to try something different. Though not all the commands are tactical, some like GAME PAUSE, LIBRARY, etc, are pretty nifty.

There are but a few countries that can deliver internet speeds and services allowing for an Xbox with no optical drive. In South Africa it'll be light years before we get internet speeds like that, and many European countries and all South American countries included. Unless Xbox is contend with only targeting the US and UK?

Totally agree. This title has taken over Dance Central 2 in our house at the moment. Make no mistake, I love DC2, but having a new way of dancing is kinda refreshing.

Strangely...Deepak Chopra's Leela is on ours as we own all of the above! BTW...where'd you get all the gorgeous babes to pose for the Dance Central 2 pic???

yeah, fact is a fact. You'll need the gun peripheral...

When Kinect (Project Natal) was first announced I couldn't see the functionality in it at all. So I dismissed it outright. It was only when doing Wii Fitness that I realised how annoying the Wii controller is when you have to navigate and push buttons between the exercises. At that point I realised that a controller like Kinect would be excellent for exercise programmes. Being a martial arts fan myself, I started considering the application for Kinect in that arena as well. It was at this juncture that I got positive about Kinect.

The fact that we will see terrible titles is a way of life. There are people who think they can cash in on a new trend and will push their idea to suit the controller, not that it makes practical sense. Forcing a certain kind of gameplay, like a first person shooter, to go handsfree is just straight out dumb.

What I do think Kinect is doing wrong, is more to blame on Microsoft. By now, there should be a wealth of data and software on how tracking can be done effectively, like code from games like Dance Central, The Gunstringer, Kinect Sports, et al, but why is that games being newly released still suffers from bad tracking?! Why does Microsoft not help these developers a little more to get the basics right? And other annoyances like small navigation buttons/menus? MS should provide developers with a checklist of what's on and what's not. I think the quality control somewhere has gone for a balls up.

the game is a real gem - it's a must if you've got young ones at home

Oh yes~ Here I agree, the perfect thing for Kinect would be an additional peripheral, like a controller. the absence of having a "shoot" button or trigger really limits the gameplay. I think MS is aware of this as there are prototypes going around of a "move-like" controller. Going cheap on the hardware is for sure, as we can all agree that come Xbox 720 the new Kinect controller will be upgraded as well.

@mastodona Honestly, I can agree and disagree with you. Kinect has solely been responsible for more than 10 Xbox purchases of friends/family I know, people who never before would have own a gaming console. There are not "gamers" as we think of ourselves, but people like my mum and dad who throw in Kinect Sports to play bowling, or my cousin's wife that puts on Your Shape Fitness Evolved to lose weight after my niece's birth. Thing is, they don't care about the things we as gamers got to care about games. All of them are still awestruck at the fact that they can just stand there and the sensor recognizes them. Whether it works perfectly all the time, they do not seem to care.

Secondly, and be honest, have you played The Gunstringer, Child of Eden or even PowerUp Heroes? Forget about the big name titles like Dance Central and the like, but just do yourself a favour and play The Gunstringer - it is an awesome example of how the correct gameplay for a handsfree controller can work; and no hardware issues!

Then...to admit the fact. Kinect in my opinion is NOT a hardcore peripheral. This is where Microsoft erred at pitching the concept first at E3 and the core fans making them/us think this is going to be the next big thing in traditional gaming. What we didn't realise was that MS was clearly thinking of a new market...the families, the mums and dads with young kids, the exercise crazies and the dance fanatics. But based on the amount of people that fall into these categories, I would say their numbers could/do overwhelm those of the traditional gamer, which means that you will see more and more Kinect titles, and less exclusive Xbox titles like Halo, Fable and GOW. Whether it's dead for the likes of the traditional gamer, rest assured it's taken over the casual market from Wii. It's here to stay.

@teamdoa - I don't want to start a debate back and forth over this, but Kinect is definitely not dead, definitely not based on Cabela's title. If that is the premise, then gaming as a whole should be dead considering all the dismal titles we've seen in years. There will always be duds, and the reason why so many for Kinect now is because developers all want a share of the pie before the IPs become fixed. And once you play games like Child of Eden, Kinect Sports 2, The Gunstringer, Powerup Heroes, Fruit Ninja...you will know that it's not a hardware issue, but a developer's issue.

Pre-ordered and ready, and playing through 3, ODST and Reach beforehand.

Kudos and keep it going!

Also not surprise, but would have loved for them to have done something interesting and weird with this, either as a party game or an exercise title. It misses the mark on all of those genres though.

Good one on the Swagger Jagger. Wish they would file it next to Whip my Hair, but it seems the latter actually got chosen, Just Dance 2 Kids...

The kid in me says "yes"~!

Yes, awesome gadget, unfortunately, a plethora of dismal games. Games like Dance Central, Fruit Ninja, The Gunstringer and Child of Eden has shown that there is nothing wrong with the technical aspects of the Kinect controller. But it's a shame that the standard and tracking abilities of now the majority of releases make this look like a gimmick.

Is this coming to the UK/Europe/SA region?

@dirtyvu thanks~ after posting I found the user reviews on Amazon.com with similar views to yours, so I may just get it for the "being silly" with friends and family!

I was pretty excited about this as the family loves dancing, but more and more reviews coming out said there is no tutorials in this game like Dance Central. As I've never played Just Dance before I won't judge it on this basis, but I'll wait to see how well it does. And...at this time in the life of gaming, this kind of game should at least have a career-like mode inspiring you to go forward.

I thought at the beginning it was going to be an exercise title meshing swim focused exercises with the likes of Your Shape Fitness Evolved. After having seen these trailers I would have included it rather on Kinect Sports Season 2 - not as a standalone game.

Having said that. This is a good indication of Kinect going through its baby phases. We'll see these kind of games - remember Hulk Hogan is also on the way... - for the following 2~3 years and then when developers can finally get their head around what works and what does not and get comfortable with the gadget, things will start to quiet down and we'll get the set genres (like sports, mini games, dance) for Kinect, and the additional add-ons for other core games like they are doing now with Hal0 4, Mass Effect 3, and TC's Ghost (we still have to see how all of this will play out, though).

Seriously, I'm baffled. I thought this would be some kind of exercise title, but now I'm wondering if it's Champion Jockey a la Michael Phelps? I don't get it...where do we file this title?
And once you've swum a lap, then what? I can see this wearing thin soon, but I won't judge yet until the release...not yet...

Anyone...how does a fishing game work? I've never played one...

I'll wait for a few reviews, but from what I've seen this (again) should be a nice party/family game. As long as they can release co-op games for Kinect in the fashion of Fruit Ninja, I'd say that Xbox + Kinect will slowly carve out this niche for them.

My only gripe at this time is that all these "mini" games are being released separately which means if you are two people having some fun you'd need to load each game separately...which of course is a waste of time. It would be really nice if these games can be brought under one umbrella so that one can easily switch from within the menu to another game.

Agree, either like the Nunchuck or the PS Move Navigator. And yes, unfortunately, any FPS cannot be total handsfree, even real soldiers do not do it that way. Like upcoming Cabela's hunting trip, you'll either need a gun or, again, something like a Wii Remote or PS Move Controller. The ultimate hybrid is the entire PS Move controllers (both) with Kinect. Yes, yes, that'll be awesome. Please Microsoft...

Question 1:
From what I gather this Season 2 is separate from the debut release, or will it include those sports? If not, is there any way I can play both without having to change discs and reload?

Question 2:
When we play 4 people we end up with one problem: the game always adds the person who is actually signed in and whose saved data is being used. For example, if I am the currently signed in person and the game is using my saved data, it doesn't matter which activity we choose when you can play two people (like boxing or bowling), but one of the two is always me. Is it possible that 4 people can play and they can match easily?

So Fruit NInja is still bundled with it? Then I know not to spend 800MS points on it at XBOX Live Arcade.
Yeah...I'm interested in getting it at the start.

If this can operate like Child of Eden then we've got finally a true core-Kinect title on our hands. Let's keep our fingers crossed...

Yeah...despite that I cannot see who on earth will play this twice, let alone buy this, I did have a few giggles watching them play.
But honestly, what is this exactly? Sports, party play, exercise, or...? I'll sit this one out first to see what happens at the beginning, as I'm not sold by a long mile.

The video posted by Dirtyvu is an eye-opener: it shows how dedication and commitment can make a rated 6 game look like a 10. I like it. However, having said that, I still think that not everyone buying these titles are that committed to trying and trying again. It's work

OH, btw, does anyone know whether this game will be released in the UK/Europe region?

Agree with James. I think Kinect is bringing "older generation" developers out of the closet to experiment again with something they've been dreaming of since the 80's.As long as these games are kept at a reasonable price they'll find their niche.

With Kinect games I really don't rely on trailers, I need to see some form of gameplay video. I am really puzzled how this one will execute. Is it worth a standalone game or should it rather come as a Kinect Arcade game, or even maybe bundled with others? Even the screenshots do not let on to how you actually play this game.
Anyone knows?

I enjoy the dancing titles as my family uses it as a means to exercise. What bothered me about Michael Jackson: The Experience is that eventually it became way too difficult to play. Even on easy the instructions were very basic and most of the dance moves were guess work.
So from your first impressions, is there better instruction in this game, like they have in Dance Central?

Agree. Bought the game but quickly realised this is won't be everyone's cup of tea. Having played it, I must admit that I enjoyed it nonetheless, and really enjoyed the fact how the Kinect was incorporated.

Yes, the cover is looking mighty fine.
On the topic of games being released in box at retail, speaking from a South African point of view - there is still a huge market out here that plays games, but do not have unlimited and fast internet access like a big group of people in the world are used to.
As long as the price can be reasonably kept down in comparison to the game's length (and quality), I would like to see more of the direct to Xbox Live games being released at retail.

Agree with UberGames_Co_Za and only realising we are both from the honourable RSA
We are accustomed to a country that gets slashed in movies all the time for all kinds of things ranging from racism to soldiers of fortune. We can take it, it's just how things are. What I can't take is people sitting on the side line like this Dr Benjamin Isakhan who's probably never been in battle or played a game for that matter.

Problem is in my opinion that Microsoft is getting in wrong by pushing Kinect on the "core" gamers - and with that I mean people who have been playing Xbox up to the release of Kinect last year. Since then, a total new group (and has-beens from Wii) has also emerged to join the Xbox rank taking away that "core" essential element of Xbox. This is a fact, and one everyone has to accept.
Problem is that E3 is still core gaming. MS has done some fine work with TC and Mass Effect 3 showing how it can be incorporated into core games, but I think they are trying too hard to convince the core gamers to adapt to Kinect.

From a casual point of view, Kinect (aka Xbox) totally ruled the show. So many new games announced and improved tracking abilities. From a core point of view, we didn't find out anything we weren't expecting. Where are the E3 days that we were actually left awestruck by some revelation no one could see coming? I'd urge all console parties (Nintendo, Sony & Microsoft) to come up with at least 1 awesome revelation to make it worth next year. (And seriously thinking about future console names before they produce unfriendly names like PS Vita and Wii U...~

So did Kinect deliver at E3? Yes - if you are casual gamer (which did not attend E3) and maybe if you have always dreamt of voice controlling your orders and switching weapons without your controller. And no if you are not interested at all in ever getting out of your seat, or waving your hand around.