News - November, 2011
Wednesday30th Nov 2011
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 Motion Explosion (Xbox 360)
More of a "pop" than an explosion
Motion Explosion is a tough nut to crack. At first glance it seems like nothing more than another simple minigame compilation, and a sloppy one at that. It’s only after really looking at how the game presents itself and what it asks of you that you truly realise what game Majesco actually made. Motion Explosion...
Tuesday29th Nov 2011
Review Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (Xbox 360)
We got the 'munk
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Harmonix’s ego has to be gargantuan at this point. With Kinect recently celebrating its first year in retail, best-selling smash hit Dance Central has seen more than its fair share of imitators in a relatively short time span. Luckily, Majesco and Behavior Studios’ Alvin and the...
Monday28th Nov 2011
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...
Rumour Kinect 2 Capable of Reading Lips and Emotions
Project Skynet commences
After last week's next Xbox rumours comes another set from Eurogamer, this time focusing on the upgraded Kinect said to come with every machine. Anonymous sources have apparently told Eurogamer Kinect 2 is capable of lip reading, and can detect emotion in the user's voice. Eurogamer also claims the next Kinect can...
Sunday27th Nov 2011
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...
Saturday26th Nov 2011
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...
Thursday24th Nov 2011
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...
Rumour Next Xbox Split in Two Models for Kinect and Core
Which would you choose?
Xbox 360 has been around for six years now, and although regular Dashboard updates and the introduction of Kinect have kept things fresh, eyes are starting to turn towards the next machine in the Xbox line. The latest rumours, from technical wizards Digital Foundry (via Eurogamer), claim that the new machine will come in two...
Monday21st Nov 2011
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...
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...
Sunday20th Nov 2011
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...
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...
Friday18th Nov 2011
Review Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Xbox 360)
Taking the Mickey?
Parents, take your child or children aside and ask them what the happiest place on Earth is. If the answer isn’t a resounding and enthusiastic “Disneyland” then you’re not doing your job properly. Those Disney DVDs are chocked full with adverts for their vast wonderland getaways aimed directly at an audience that’s...
Wednesday16th Nov 2011
Review Family Game Night 4: The Game Show (Xbox 360)
Wrong answer
After four instalments of EA's Family Game Night series you'd expect the company to have the format pretty down-pat by now, but regrettably Family Game Night 4: The Game Show is totally off the mark. Based on the Family Game Night TV show, the game is split into five activities, each based on a Hasbro board game: Connect 4 Basketball,...
Tuesday15th Nov 2011
Review Cabela's Big Game Hunter: Hunting Party (Xbox 360)
Aim for something else
The appeal with Kinect was always supposed to be that you didn't need a controller to play. With the "You Are the Controller" mantra so engrained in Kinect's marketing, it's a bit of a surprise to see a Kinect game ship in a large box with a hefty peripheral. Cabela's Big Game Hunter: Hunting Party certainly does...
Friday11th Nov 2011
Review Grease Dance (Xbox 360)
It’s got groove, it’s got meaning
If you’re a die-hard Grease fan who’s daydreamed about roaming the halls of Rydell high with the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies, then Grease Dance is an absolute must-purchase for you. For everyone else it’s not as sure a bet as Greased Lightning, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had. At first glance,...
Thursday10th Nov 2011
Review Kinect Fun Labs: Musical Feet (Xbox 360)
Can you stamp the high note?
Keeping in mind that Kinect is supposed to be a piece of equipment which the entire family can enjoy, Kinect Fun Labs: Musical Feet initially appears to be a lot of fun; recording and playing a virtual keyboard in your own living room while also messing around to other sounds such as a dog barking or cow mooing. Upon...
Tuesday8th Nov 2011
News Be Soothed by Deepak Chopra's Leela's Soundtrack
It's Sumthing Else
A good soundtrack is crucial to any relaxation experience, so it's probably good news that the tunes accompanying Deepak Chopra's Leela will be released separately on 15th November. The soundtrack, put together by Sumthing Else Music Works, draws from "traditional string instruments and dubstep" and features artists...
Monday7th Nov 2011
Review Twister Mania (Xbox 360)
Twist and shout
Twister, as a traditional video game, would be destined to fail. Pressing a button to put right leg on red would just be nowhere near as fun as wiggling your limbs to screw over some poor sap struggling to make their body obey the almighty colour spinner. But Kinect’s Twister Mania is no traditional video game, eschewing buttons...
News Free Kinect Sports Season Two DLC Out Now
Up your game
We're big fans of Kinect Sports: Season Two here at KINECTaku, especially now Rare's released some new downloadable content for free. Available on Xbox Live Marketplace today, the Kinect Sports: Season Two Challenge Pack #1 adds new modes to each sport: Crazy Kicker (American Football), Frantic Fielder (Baseball), Cool Ringings...
Friday4th Nov 2011
Review MotionSports Adrenaline (Xbox 360)
Adrenaline junk
Last year's MotionSports was deeply average, but then it was never going to compare favourably to Rare's Kinect Sports. Ubisoft hasn't surrendered the sporting crown easily though, returning with MotionSports Adrenaline's all-new range of extreme sports. Far from the familiar motion-gaming sports that made up most of last year's...
Thursday3rd Nov 2011
Review The Sims 3 Pets (Xbox 360)
Ruff?
Traditionally, The Sims hasn't transitioned to consoles particularly well: the move from mouse-clicks and keyboards to analogue sticks does nothing to streamline the controls, and seeing as The Sims is all about control that's a major problem. The Sims 3 Pets still doesn't fully conquer the issue, but it does a good job of hiding any cracks...
Wednesday2nd Nov 2011
News The Worst Kinect Photoshop We've Ever Seen
You won't believe your eyes
You'd think paying some actors to stand in front of a TV and Kinect and pretend they're having a great time would be among the easiest parts of releasing a game. You'd probably be right, which makes this back of box art for MotionSports Adrenaline even more brilliant. We're no Photoshop experts, but even we can tell that...
