Kinect Reviews

[maash]

ign scores:

kinect adventures 6.5

dance central 8.0

kinectimals 7.0

joy ride 6.0

kinect sports 8.0

Arstechnica Review

The Good

The hardware is easy to set up, with good instructions

The games are simple to jump in and play

Using your hand as a cursor can be fun

The games make you move, and tend to be a good workout

Voice commands are useful in some circumstances

The camera can adjust itself to put you in frame

Games still work in low light conditions

It knows who is playing, and uses that account

The effect is uncanny when everything works right

The Bad

The menu system takes much longer than just using buttons

The hardware sometimes has issues hearing you or seeing your movement

The games are very similar

Without buttons, you lose control in certain parts of certain games

It starts at $150, which feels expensive

There is lag. It's not terrible, but it's there

The Kinect Hub doesn't do everything, or even most things

The Ugly

Too many games used the "take pictures during gameplay" gimmick. We get it?playing games on the Kinect makes us look stupid. It almost feels like you're playing a game so the 360 can laugh at you

Verdict: Skip... for now

Eurogamer...

Dance Central 8

Kinect Sports 7

Kinect Adventures 6

Kinect Joy Ride 5

Kinectimals 7

kinect hardware 7.5

Game informer scores:

joy ride 7

kinect adventures 7.5

dance central 8.0

kinect sports 8.0

sonic 5.5

Game trailers scores:

Gametrailers:

Kinect Adventures 6.6

Kinect Sports 6.4

Kinectimals 8.5

Joystiq scores:

Kinect Sports 4/5

Joy Ride 2.5/5

Dance Central 4/5

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 3/5

Kinectimals 4/5

[Slane]

The Kinect Hub doesn't do everything, or even most things

Needs more. Couldn't even do Netflix with it. :(

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Engadget hardware review: http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/04/k...ox-360-review/

The Good:

Powerful technology

Voice commands really work

Yoga, dance games show real potential

The Bad:

Requires lots of room space

Launch lineup could be better

Hand gesture UI can be very slow

6/10

IGN:

Kinect Sports 8.0

Dance Central 8.0

Kinect 7.5

Sonic Free Riders 7.5

Kinectimals 7.0

Kinect Adventures 6.5

Joy Ride 6.0

GameInformer:

Dance Central 8.75

Kinect 8.0

Kinect Sports 8.0

Kinectimals 8.0

Kinect Adventures 7.5

Joy Ride 7.0

Sonic Free Riders 5.75

GameTrailers:

Kinectimals 8.5

Kinect Adventures 6.6

Kinect Sports 6.4

Joystiq:

Kinect Sports 4/5

Kinectimals 4/5

Dance Central 4/5

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 3/5

Joy Ride 2.5/5

1UP:

Dance Central A-

Eurogamer:

Dance Central 8

Kinectimals 7

Kinect Sports 7

Kinect Adventures 6

Joy Ride 5

CVG:

Kinect 8.8

Kinect Sports 7.9

Kinect Adventures 6.3

Joy Ride 5.3

[George P Global Moderator]

Those reviews seem fine to me, I see lots of 7's that's what most games tend to get, well 7's and 8's. The way some people made it sound you'd think we'd be getting 3's and 4's.

[HawkMan]

I do agree with MS on this though, the scoring on the reviews have little value as it is.

you have to consider who reviews these games, it's core gamers. And taking that into consideration, 7 and up is actually very good score. it shows that they actually liked it and enjoyed it. BUT, as they said int he first one, "skip for now". they didn't say it sucks or anything, they merely pointed out the games out now aren't for them.

But place my mother, or anyone else in front of it, and what do you think they'd give a 10 of Joyride or Forza ? Then again, I think Joyride is awesome too, but not for the same reasons as Forza of course.

and sure button are faster, as long as you don't include picking up the controller and possibly turning it on in the first place. Kinect as a controller when for example watching movies sure beats using a controller or remote.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

I do agree with MS on this though, the scoring on the reviews have little value as it is.

you have to consider who reviews these games, it's core gamers. And taking that into consideration, 7 and up is actually very good score. it shows that they actually liked it and enjoyed it. BUT, as they said int he first one, "skip for now". they didn't say it sucks or anything, they merely pointed out the games out now aren't for them.

But place my mother, or anyone else in front of it, and what do you think they'd give a 10 of Joyride or Forza ? Then again, I think Joyride is awesome too, but not for the same reasons as Forza of course.

and sure button are faster, as long as you don't include picking up the controller and possibly turning it on in the first place. Kinect as a controller when for example watching movies sure beats using a controller or remote.

Except if you have brothers/sisters/family members who want to **** with you and shout commands at your Xbox when you're watching something

[Hedon]

Those review scores are much higher than even I would have thought. So far so good then!

[George P Global Moderator]

Ya, everyone expected something like Kinectimals to be total shovelware yet they managed to actually sneak in a game in there and it's getting good scores IMO.

[Sethos]

Local gamestop have a trade-in offer for the kinect, 6 360 games and 20 pence - Tempting.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

Just avoid fighters uncaged

[Hedon]

Yikes, looks like both fighting games (kinect and move) are epic fails this time around.

[Bioran]

I thought Engadget summed it up quite well:

We can't help but quote our Google TV review here: "It's always hard to review version 1.0 of a platform -- it's tempting to give concept and potential nearly as much weight as execution." The Kinect as hardware is great, but there's plenty of room for software engineers and UI designers to improve.

The Kinect is quite revolutionary for household gaming and very likely the future of computing itself. It's not the best in its current form, but it is far from being "dead-on-arrival" and it will very likely turn out to be something great once it matures.

[Hedon]

Kinectimals - Gametrailers - 8.5/10

http://n4g.com/news/639667/gametrail...ctimals-review

IGN - Kinect - 7.5/10

http://uk.gear.ign.com/articles/113/1132213p2.html

Strategy Informer - Kinect - 9.5/10

http://www.strategyinformer.com/xbox...78/review.html

GameInformer: Dance Central Review - 8.75/10

http://n4g.com/news/639716/gameinfor...central-review

Electric Pig - Kinect -10/10

http://n4g.com/news/639693/electricp...-kinect-review

IGN - Kinect -7.5/10

http://n4g.com/news/639654/ign-microsoft-kinect-review

IGN: Dance Central Kinect Review - 8/10

http://n4g.com/news/639659/ign-dance...-kinect-review

Destructoid: Your Shape: Fitness Evolved Review - 8/10

http://n4g.com/news/639727/destructo...ved-review/pen

G4 - Kinect Sports - 8/10

http://n4g.com/news/639672/kinect-sports-review-g4/pen

Computer and Videogames - Kinect - 8.8/10

http://n4g.com/news/639706/cvg-kinect-review

GameInformer: Kinect Hardware Review - Wave Of The Future - 8/10

http://n4g.com/news/639669/gameinfor...-of-the-future

New York Times: Kinect leaves hand controls in the dust - 9/10

http://n4g.com/news/639744/new-york-...n-the-dust/com

He sums up the Kinect experience as: "Welcome to the future"

Globe And Mail 8.75/10

USA today 8.75/10

Love this quote from NY Times:

New York Times: Kinect leaves hand controls in the dust

Seth Schiesel reports in the New York Times (Nov 4):

"Nothing since the Wii, certainly not Sony?s imitative Move system for the PlayStation 3, approaches the ambition and technical achievement of Kinect in potentially reshaping the mass home media experience."

Looks like now that Kinect is a success in reviews and sales, it's here to stay.

[Hedon]

Kinect a Technical Marvel, a Gaming Delight

"Arguably the most fun of the launch titles is Harmonix's MTV Games' Dance Central ($49.99). From the creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band come their first dance game — and it's a blast. While listening to popular dance tracks over the past few decades, you're challenged to mimic the moves of the onscreen dancers to rack up a high score. In total, there are more than 600 moves and nearly 100 routines — and more to download over the coming months."

From a technical standpoint, Kinect for Xbox 360 is an amazing piece of hardware that lives up to its promise of controller-free gaming. The peripheral is eerily accurate as it monitors your movements in a 3D space.But gamers must be aware that Kinect is not for a "core" audience into intense military shooters, deep role-playing games or authentic racing simulations — at least not yet. Social "party games" are top priority at launch, perhaps not unlike the crowd the Nintendo Wii is going after.No doubt Microsoft has big plans for Kinect over the coming months and years, however, so for those who enjoy being physical with their interactive entertainment, and crave a more immersive and intimate experience with their games and other media, Kinect for Xbox 360 is a major step forward in the evolution of motion control.

OXM Online

Review scores from www.oxmonline.com

link http://www.oxmonline..../kinect-launch

Adrenalin Misfits 5/10

The Biggest Loser:Ultimate Workout 6/10

Dance Central 9/10

Kinect Adventures 7/10

Kinect Sports 7.5/10

Dance Masters 8.5/10

YourShape Fitness Evolved 8.5/10

Fighters Uncaged 6/10

Kinectimals 8/10

Kinect JoyRide 4/10

Motion Sports 3.5/10

Sonic Free Riders 7.5/10

[George P Global Moderator]

It's up to the 3rd parties to use the tech now, MS for the most part has done what it can to get the ball rolling.

[Hedon]

Yup. I am still amazed by how well this has been received though.

[Hellacool]

New York Times: Kinect leaves hand controls in the dust

Seth Schiesel reports in the New York Times (Nov 4):

"Nothing since the Wii, certainly not Sony?s imitative Move system for the PlayStation 3, approaches the ambition and technical achievement of Kinect in potentially reshaping the mass home media experience."

Looks like now that Kinect is a success in reviews and sales, it's here to stay.

Aint that the truth, sorry the Sony is just a big rip off, if I want hand controls I will go with the Wii. This has massive potential, this is only the beginning and can only get better with time. Sorry Sony, no matter how hard you try we are still waving around glowing dildos.

[George P Global Moderator]

Aint that the truth, sorry the Sony is just a big rip off, if I want hand controls I will go with the Wii. This has massive potential, this is only the beginning and can only get better with time. Sorry Sony, no matter how hard you try we are still waving around glowing dildos.

You know what the real kicker is now? No one brings this up but the 3D tracking cam tech company MS bought a few days ago seems to have it's tech used in Sony's EyeToy. So maybe this might not be the case today but it could be safe to say that now MS owns the tech and patents to all that, so if Sonys cam is still using it someones going to be writing MS licensing checks soon.

[HawkMan]

Except if you have brothers/sisters/family members who want to **** with you and shout commands at your Xbox when you're watching something

well, that's not quote how it works but...

[GenBlood]

Most likely MS will be releasing a update or two before Xmas to address any issues that

pop up. I'm just going to wait and see what happens.

[Massiveterra]

you have to consider who reviews these games, it's core gamers.

That's why Justin McElroy from Joystiq was doing the right thing by rating his game based on his 10 year-old sister-in-law's response from it. Which is why I guess he gave it a 4/5

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/kinectimals-review-meet-dave/

[Hellacool]

That's why Justin McElroy from Joystiq was doing the right thing by rating his game based on his 10 year-old sister-in-law's response from it. Which is why I guess he gave it a 4/5

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/kinectimals-review-meet-dave/

Exactly. No matter how much us hardcore gamers want to think MS/Sony cater to us, they don't. They cater to the majority not the minority and we are a minority. The majority of games I have for my 360 are the games the kids want. I race and play MW2. They sing, play plastic guitars and have fun. I would never have considered the Kinect but my kids really seem to have an interest in it, they are the ones this is intended for. Eventually this technology will mature and draw in the hardcore gamer but it may be awhile. If the 10%-15% 360 owners that are hardcore gamers refuse to buy it, they don't care, the other 80%+ will. Besides, at least it is original, like the Wii, ground breaking not a rip off.

[Rudy]

Pretty much what I was expecting, skip it for now and see if 3rd parties are going to make it worth while. I'll be ready to buy one eventually if there's a good game I really want to play with it but for now there's nothing for me

[HawkMan]

Have you tried it though ?

[George P Global Moderator]

well, that's not quote how it works but...

Can you give us more details about the voice controls in this case? I really wonder what stops someone else in the room from just yelling out a command in the middle of something like a movie and screwing things. It'd be cool if it did some fancy voice printing for the profile that's in use.