Kinect: The day-one verdict

As you might have seen if you were around on GamesRadar this morning, we got a Kinect today. We've un-boxed it, set it up, and now, several hours later, we've played rather a lot of it. So time for a first verdict then. Over the course of the day myself, Justin, Matt and Meiks have punched, kicked, tickled and jumped our way through a variety of digital-mime-based activities, and now we're ready to tell you what we think via videos of us doing those very things and then having a considered roundtable discussion.

Ready to see more flailing than you'd get at an alcoholics' voguing competition? Then here we go, with a snapshot of how a day with Kinect went down.

And now our impressions:

So Kinect then. Tricky beast. Between us we definitely had intermittent fun today. Whether it's the sort of fun we want to spend £129.99 on is debatable, but remember that this feature is based only on our first day messing around with the controller and its first batch of games. This thing does have potential, and it can be satisfying when it works, but whether it can bring enough to the table to improve more than it hinders is a matter that will only be decided through subsequent generations of software, as devs become more adept and adventurous in regards to designing for it. As for the potential for proper, hardcore games? We're in the same boat.

But now that you've witnessed it in full flow, and seen and heard our immediate feelings, what do you think? Has your opinion changed either way? Are you paying more attention than you were before, or has it just dropped straight off your radar? Opinions. We crave them.

Kinect is out now in the US and releases in the UK November 10.

November 04, 2010

TOPICS
CATEGORIES
Latest in Racing
Mario racing on a desert track during the Switch 2 reveal trailer.
Porting Mario Kart 8 Deluxe to the Nintendo Switch was "kind of an afterthought," and now it's so popular that getting fans to switch could be a challenge
Wreckfest 2
Devs behind beloved destruction-focused racing game Wreckfest launch the sequel in early access with a trailer full of physics glitches and fatal error messages
A decorated purple car speeding head-on down a road in Toyko Xtreme Racer
Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a novel throwback to classic PS2 racing games like Midnight Club, and I can't get enough of it
Rivals Hover League appearing in the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
The spirit of Burnout heads to the future as Rivals Hover League brings destruction derby to the skies
Japanese Drift Master appearing in FGS Live From GDC
After a years-long way, this Initial D-inspired open-world racing game is now just around the corner
Bionic Bay appearing at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase 2025
Check out Bionic Bay's frantic physics fueled racing in this new Future Games Show trailer
Latest in Features
Patrick Stewart as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The classic Fox X-Men are returning in Avengers: Doomsday, and I've got a really bad feeling about this
Thor and Loki in Thor: Ragnarok
After 15 years in the making, Thor and Loki's reunion in Avengers: Doomsday could be the perfect MCU conclusion for the characters
Soft Rains logo with frog drawing
"There is an expectation we're gonna make a little Skyrim": Ubisoft and Bethesda veterans form new studio headed by Skyrim and Fallout designer, debuting with first-person sci-fi and "crunchy mechanics"
Witchbrook screenshot of a library in the magical college with witches flying on brooms
Witchbrook: Everything we know so far about Chucklefish's magical new life sim
The village green in Atomfall
My first 3 hours in Atomfall feel playing Fallout 3 for the first time, and if you don't check it out I'm legally obliged to bash you with a cricket bat
The Demon's Hand
League of Legends' take on Balatro is one of its best mini-games yet – and it's also exactly what's wrong with this era of League of Legends