Kinect Sports Impressions

While testing out Kinect for review, I was given one launch game to truly see whether the sensor was worth it: Kinect Sports. Though it isn't exactly the same as the bundled title Kinect Adventures (no such luck on having a look at that, but expect a review soon!), this is a brilliant way to show off the capabilities of Kinect and uses much the same formula of Avatars facing off against each other. The sports on offer include Table Tennis; Track & Field; Football; Boxing and Baseball, each a wildly different experience from the last and all boasting superb control schemes. If you feel daunted at the lack of a controller here, there are tutorials shown before each game begins, though given that just about everyone has seen the sports played out in real life and these move much in the same way as reality hopefully few will make use of these guides- it really is that simple to control. Clearly the focus here is near-primarily on multi-player, and it's neat seeing videos the camera has filmed of your best moments in the sports to further show what is possible with Kinect. While Kinect Sports is very shallow, the Avatars don't look as natural on 360 as Miis do on Wii, and the novelty will wear off after a few hours (a trait which reportedly carries through to most of the launch games), there is no denying the controls are totally responsive, and nice touches such as Chariots of Fire playing as the replay of your 100m sprint shows in slow-motion or Monster being boomed out in the replay of your final crushing blow in the boxing ensure this will be a great distraction with mates on Christmas Day.