Kinect: Your Body may be the controller but is it in shape for it?

Last year both Sony and Microsoft raced to have their new motion controllers in the stores for Christmas. Both came and went without a flicker of enthusiasm from myself, the Wii had been there, done that and had laid dormant on my AV stand for the better part of a year.

Microsoft dared to be different and ditched a physical input device all together and used the tag “You are the controller”

On a Christmas day visit to a relative’s home and a session on Kinect I was convinced! This was more than just a gimmick and actually worked like advertised. What was truly remarkable was that for the sum of £150 you had a device that could track the limbs of two fully grown adults, something that has cost Hollywood millions of dollars over the years.

Within days I had my own and armed with a copy of Kinect Sports and Dance Central my body was pushed to the limit of exhaustion and only the fact that I felt aches and pains in areas where none had existed before made me stop.

First thing first let’s get the biggest issue out of the way, Kinect needs a lot of space, a minimum of 6ft is required between you and the device, 8ft is optimal. For the average British home this will be extremely difficult to achieve. There are things that you can do if you are tight for space, I have had to mount mine about two feet above the TV which gives me just enough of a playing area without having to rearrange my living room.

There is a new hub on the Xbox 360 dashboard specially designed for the Kinect but other than fine tuning your settings and creating your profile there is little to make you go back. Controlling the menu with arms is fun for a few minutes but quickly tires.

Gaming is where the real fun lies and Kinect delivers by the bucket load. Kinect Sports has a number of games that test different skills with table tennis and bowling being my favourite. And just like any Xbox 360 game Kinect Sports is Live aware. Playing table tennis over live works extremely well, in fact I was surprised how well it worked considering there is an ever so slight input lag on some games.

There is a football game where you have limited control over the players but it is so satisfying to kick the ball and watch it sail into the goal. There are a number of other games and wealth of mini games included that will keep you busy for days and with Live leader boards you will be left continually trying to beat your friends scores.

Next I tried Dance Central, unlike Kinect Sports which used the same input System as the Kinect hub on the 360, DC has created its own input method. In my opinion I find that this one works far better at controlling the screen. You stretch your right arm horizontally parallel to your body and wave it up and down to highlight menu items and then swipe your arm across your body to make a selection.

We have all played dance games on the Wii or via a dancemat on the various other consoles. On the Wii you basically just moved your arms anything else was just you getting into the spirit of things. The amazing thing with Dance Central is that this will simply not cut it.

You have to accurately copy the movement of the on screen dancer and can be marked down for not bending your limbs in the correct manor. The precision with which Kinect can track you is really an amazing feat although this does come at a price, there is no simultaneous two player on this game.

This is the only game which my wife can beat me at, that comes as no surprise as I look as though I am suffering a stroke rather than dancing to the sounds of Lady Gaga. What is surprising is that the more I play the worse I get and my wife makes it look effortless.

There is a variety of music across a number of genres and there should be something for everyone.

Both DC and Sports employ a recording feature that plays back highlights of your session and speeds up the video with some amusing results. Both games are a riot with multiple players and Live adds longevity to Kinect Sports.

It must be noted that there is a slight input delay to your actions. Some games like Kinect Adventures, which ships with the system, can suffer quite badly. Luckily both DC and Sports suffer far less and this in no way ruins the enjoyment.

I must also point out that this is no Wii, your body really is the controller, you will sweat, you will push your body and you will feel pain. Those used to the sedate nature of relaxing in a recliner and letting your fingers do all the work may not like the idea of prancing around their living room.

Kinect was recently recognised by the Guinness World Book of Records as the quickest selling consumer electronic device of all time, shifting an impressive 133,333 units a day during its first 60 days on sale. So far in 2011 there have been no Kinect games of note, let’s hope Microsoft is saving all the good stuff for E3.