Written by: Chris

 

 

 

There’s been as much positive press as there has been negative about Microsoft’s Kinect, but the fact of the matter is that the device actually works.

 

True, it may not operate in the manner that Microsoft originally envisioned, but it certainly serves the casual market admirably and games like "Kinect Adventures" shows just how much fun using Kinect can be.

 

 

Kinect Adventures is a pack-in game sold with every single Kinect and, like Wii Sports before it; it shows off just what the new tech is capable of, leaving many to dream of the body tracking devices future potential.

 

 

Kinect Adventures is comprised of five mini games, including 20,000 Leaks, River Rush, Rally Ball, Reflex Ridge and Space Pop. There are obviously some games that play better than others, but I’m glad to say that none of them are anything truly terrible.

 

20,000 Leaks has you moving around your living room to plug leaks from a virtual aquarium, using your real life body, which means everything from your head, hands, knees and feet, to stop the water flowing. Space Pop has you flapping your arms as if you’ve grown a pair of wings and popping bubbles, while Rally Ball has you getting your body in the way to hit balls in order to break objects. The latter three are fun enough, but my favourites are definitely Reflex Ridge and River Rush, both of which have you in larger levels as opposed to being confined to smaller virtual spaces and, because of this, they feel less limited. Reflex Ridge has you giving your body a work out through an obstacle course – ducking and jumping over obstacles and most likely causing yourself to sweat. River Rush, on the other hand, has you in a dingy and allows you to move to the side (even in mid air) and jump, which is just as much fun as it sounds.

 

Indeed, Kinect Adventures is generally fun but, as with the majority of Kinect games, you do look rather silly whilst playing it. If you don’t take yourself too seriously, though, this shouldn’t bother you one iota, nor will you mind about the silly photos that the game captures when playing. For those that do mind about such things, said photos can be turned off.

 

At heart it is a multiplayer game, but you can unlock quite a bit if you’re just playing alone. But it’s certainly a game that should be played in a group, even if you’re taking it in turns to play. Kinect is all about laughing at other people as well as yourself.

 

 

As for negative points, for starters there just aren’t enough games in the package. Five is a fair number for a pack-in game, but a couple more would have been most welcome. It’s also a shame that the quality of the rest of the games don’t match up to that of Reflex Ridge and River Rush. These things hurt the package somewhat, as does the lack of depth after repeated play, but it’s only people like me, and perhaps you, that will complain about this. There’s lag as well, but it’s only really noticeable from time to time.