Party

It's that time of year when you probably have a few friends over and want to make sure everyone has a good time. How can you make sure your holiday bash goes off with a bang? Stick on one of these party-starting games and you're sure to get people up and moving.

Dance Central 2

Everybody likes to dance — well, nearly everyone — and there's arguably no better way to do it than with Dance Central 2. Beefing up the original with a new simultaneous two-player mode and video playback letting you see just how well (or badly) you match-up to the digital dancers, it's as good a dancing game as Kinect's offered so far.

Just Dance 3

If you've got more than a couple of budding dancers, Just Dance 3 supports four players simultaneously to get everyone up and dancing along. It's garish, gaudy and stacks of fun if you just want to get up and dance straight away; no game keeps things flowing quite as smoothly as Just Dance.

Twister Mania

Once upon a time, before video games were deemed acceptable party entertainment, there these things called board games, and Twister was undisputed king of party games. This 360 version spices things up with a stack of spin-off minigames for four pairs, perfect if you've got a big crowd around.

Avid Gamers

Perhaps you're buying for someone who's a little more picky in their tastes. The games below are the pick of the bunch for serious gamers.

The Gunstringer

There's nothing like this anywhere: a skeleton puppet sheriff must defeat the evil Wavy Tube Man and restore order to the world. Vibrantly imaginative and full of family-friendly shooting — no blood here — it's undoubtedly one of our Kinect games of the year.

Child of Eden

One of the most visually stunning and creative games on Kinect, Child of Eden is another shooter that's safe for everyone: your task is to cleanse an infected organic archive. Another extremely well-reviewed game — currently sitting on an average 84% review score at Metacritic — it's an experience unlike anything else on Kinect.

Forza Motorsport 4

The most critically acclaimed racing game of this generation, Forza Motorsport 4 has several features for Kinect owners: head-tracking lets you look around corners in any race mode, while Autovista lets you walk around the game's stunningly modelled cars to take a closer look. You can race side-by-side with Kinect too; the game handles acceleration and braking to make you race around feeling like Michael Schumacher.

Kids

Of course Kinect is great for grown-ups, but it's got just as much to offer the younger ones too. Here we've picked three games for kids of all ages, great to play on their own or with a friend or family member.

PowerUp Heroes

Who doesn't want to be a superhero? PowerUp Heroes puts your Avatar in a hero's suit and lets you duke it out with bad guys in a series of one-on-one fights, with some spot-on gestures to activate over-the-top moves. It doesn't last very long unless you really want to unlock everything, but as wish fulfilment on Kinect goes it's pretty potent stuff.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures

A trip to the real Disneyland too expensive? Drop some money on this instead and explore the park at your leisure: grab signatures, go on mini-adventures and experience the rides without the wait. A two-player mode means it needn't be a lonely experience, too.

Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster

One of the first games for Kinect designed to be played co-operatively by parents and children, you can both enjoy a brand new story with the TV show's famous cast. Some great dialogue and genuinely enjoyable gameplay mean this is one you'll both get a kick out of.