Kinectimals Xbox 360 Kinect

Kinectimals Product Details

Released on 10/11/2010

• Cake Tweet reveals that The Outsider is on the way

  The Outsider is just about the most mysterious game project currently in development - and one of the most exciting. It's been a long time since we've heard any updates on the forthcoming action adventure, but now David Braben, the brains behind the game, has given us a teaser in the most English way imaginable: he's used the medium of cake.

  "Excellent scene from one of the games we are making, expressed in cake!" Braben said on Twitter earlier this week, before showing a picture of a cake built to represent a crashed Air Force One jumbo jet.

  It's good to know that The Outsider is still being worked on. Frontier Developments, which is making the game, had a hit recently with the Kinect game Kinectimals, but we've been longing to hear more about their mysterious political conspiracy theory game. The Outsider is set in Washington DC, and casts players as a CIA operative forced to go on the run after being framed for bringing down the President's plane. You can expect a branching narrative with lots of player choice, frantic gunplay and hand-to-hand combat, and punchy dialogue apparently.

  No release date or formats announced so far, but if Braben reveals anything else by way of cake, we'll be sure to tell you.

• GAME HQ Kinect Preview!

  Formerly known as Project Natal, Kinect has been a bit of a mystery to us here at Game. But Microsoft put a stop to that today by allowing us to get hands-on (so to speak).

  The basics of Kinect are that it will let you play and navigate with out the need of a controller. Instead of slouching in a cheer you'll need to get up and active in order to play.

  We got to go head on with Kinect Joyride, Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports. These were our impressions...

  
  

   

  Tom

  My Kinect playfest began with Joyride, a fun little driving game using your Xbox Avatar as the driver. To steer your car you hold your hands in the 10-2 position and steer like you would in a car (a bit like Mario Kart Wii, without the wheel!). You won't need to worry about accelerating as this is automatic, but you can boost by simply thrusting your hands forward and to send your car shooting into the screen.

  Drifting is also in Joyride, and just like steering it's easy. Just lean into the turn with your body whilst steering with your hands and your car will start to slide around the corner. There are also jumps to hit and whilst in the air by you'll be able to pull of some pretty awesome tricks with simple hand gestures.

  Next up was Kinect Adventures, which boasts several minigames that let youyou're your body to control the on-screen action.

  First up was the river rapids game, which saw me and my colleague, Chris, stood side-by-side as we navigated a perilous rapid river in a little rubber dingy. It's crucial to point out at this point that if you are playing cooperatively on Kinect Adventures, communication is key.

  To begin with we stepped independently and jumped at different times, which got us around some of the obstacles in our way but by the smallest of margins. It wasn't until we started yelling "LEFT" "RIGHT" and "JUMP" that we started to make good progress in missing obstacles and gaining greater height by jumping at the same time.

  We then tried a game in Kinect Adventures where we needed to duck, jump and sidestep obstacles whilst riding on a cart on tracks, which was pretty fun. Next we tried a game where we hit red balls at blocks, which broke revealing targets beneath them.

   

  Chris

  My time with Kinect proved to me that it's much better than I thought it would be.

  Kinect Joyride and the Bowling game in Kinect Sports were fun and the responsiveness was impressive. Navigating the menus by swishing your arms around is awesome as well, straight out of a sci-fi spaceship!

  My only concern is that the games I tried weren't quite enough to carry the device by themselves - but I'm sure more titles will arrive once developers get to grips with this incredibly clever piece of kit.

  All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised!

   

  Glenn

  There's no doubting Kinect is cool. I loved being able to move my hands and navigate a menu, or runnin and jumping about to watch my little avatar do the same!(that's right your Xbox avatar is you in the game, so seeing my little gear of war running around would be wicked!)

  Having one of your friends jump into the game just in time to push your raft round that rock in the rapids is a really nice feature, too; anyone who walks within the scope of the Kinect camera can jump in to the game and help you out!

  Kinect is a serious bit of kit, and I truly believe that in a couple of years when developers have had some time, to go all out, we will see some incredible titles and have some awesome fun!

   

   

  Mark

  The 2009 Xbox E3 conference had me whooping and hollering at my PC monitor, with Microsoft's sci-fi Kinect video and demonstrations hinting at an entirely new way to play games. As you can imagine, I was more than excited to finally get a go with what's being touted as the future of Xbox gaming!

  I started with the bowling game in Kinect Sports, which was even easier to play than the famous Wii Sports interation of Fred Flintstone's favourite pastime. With the camera swooped in behind my on-screen Avatar, I reached down to my right to make him pick up a ball, then held it in front of my head to aim, and, to my delight, got a strike on my first throw, with the Kinect camera managing to pick up the spin I naturally impart on a bowling ball in real life, and translate it to the screen in much the same way.

  Next up was a swift go on the athletics mode of Kinect Sports, which had my same Avatar running a hurdles race. For me, that meant running on the spot - the faster I did so, the faster my Avatar sprinted - and hopping up in the air when the upcoming on-screen hurdle turned green as I closed in on it. Luckily no actual hurdling skills were required!

  Obviously there's a big question mark about how Kinect will handle titles for 'core gamers', and the selection of games on show when Microsoft headed to GAME HQ was never going to answer that. What it did show us though was how responsive Kinect is to movement, which can only be a good thing; the crowds of people cheering and laughing as people jumped, bounced and yelped as Tom and Chris played on Kinect Adventures (and as I crashed through my fourth hurdle in a row... *sadface*) would attest to that.

  Put that together with some of the videos Microsoft have already shown and you start to build up a picture of the kind of experiences Kinect will offer. Can you imagine playing a first-person adventure game where you can walk in the spot to move, grab in-game items with your arms to solve puzzles, thrust your arms to slice a sword, and talk to characters using your actual voice?

  The possibilities are practically limitless.I am excited!

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• GAME Midnight launch for Kinect

  Kinect for Xbox launched in the UK on 10th November, 2010.

  
  

  Microsoft invited us to experience the countdown to the launch of Kinect at the celebrity party on the evening of the 9th. Billed as 'the most anticipated and exciting launch in entertainment history' and hosted at London's Natural History Museum, the party featured presenter Kate Thornton with music from The Wanted and Leona Lewis, and skating for all those who were brave enough!

  The party was followed by a midnight launch at GAME stores across the UK.

  Find out what happened here.

   

• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood heads BAFTA list

  It's more good news for Assassin's Creed fans after yesterday's revelation of a May announcement of the next game in the popular franchise. BAFTA has released its list of nominations for this year's videogame awards, and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood has received the most nods of any game, featuring in a total of seven categories.

  
  It seems the members of the BAFTA panel were big fans of Ezio's latest adventure, as it scooped nominations for Action, Artistic Achievement, Gameplay, Multiplayer, Technical Innovation, Use of Audio, and the biggie: Best Game.

  
  In the latter category, Ubisoft's game faces some stiff competition from FIFA 11, Heavy Rain, LIMBO, Mass Effect 2 and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Call of Duty: Black Ops missed out in that category, but was nominated in six others. Mass Effect 2 also had six nods in total, with Sony's gritty thriller Heavy Rain picking up five, while Super Mario Galaxy 2 and indie darling LIMBO both got four. Surprisingly, Halo: Reach only featured in two categories: Multiplayer and Technical Innovation.

  
  Meanwhile, the mass-market success of Microsoft's Kinect ensured a strong showing in the the Family category, with nods for Dance Central, Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports and Kinectimals. Flying the flag for more traditional control are LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and the terrific Toy Story 3.

  
  The winners will be announced at a ceremony on March 16, which will be streamed live on the BAFTA website.

• Kinect storms past the 10 million mark

  Wow. Everybody suspected that Microsoft's Kinect add-on, a camera peripheral that allows players to interact with their Xbox 360 without a controller, was going to be big, but who knew how big? The platform holder's just announced that 10 million Kinects have been sold around the world.

  That's not bad going at all, and according to Eurogamer, it gets better, as Guinness has just awarded Microsoft the title of astest selling consumer electronics device ever

  Apparently, Kinect sold an average of 133,333 units each day for the first 60 days it was available. "The sales figures here speak for themselves," said Gaz Deaves, who is the gaming editor for Guinness World Records. "According to independent research, no other consumer electronics device sold faster within a 60-day time span, which is an incredible achievement considering the strength of the sector."

  What about the games? With Kinect Adventures as a pack-in, and the likes of Kinect Sports and Dance Central providing all your goal-scoring and dancing needs, you're pretty well catered for. Things get really exciting later this year, though, when the beautiful Kinect shooter Child of Eden arrives.

• Kinect hack helps the blind

  You're probably aware that Microsoft's Kinect motion-sensing peripheral is a record-breaking triumph - according to Guinness, it's the fastest-selling peripheral ever - but did you know it might be able to help the blind?

  That's according to a Eurogamer report that suggests smart coders have created a software mod for the camera which helps partially-sighted and blind people navigate better.

  Originally uncovered by SlashGear, the mod's called NAVI (Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired), and it was created by two university grad students named Michael Zollner and Stephan Huber. The gadget works by connecting a Kinect to a helmet, and plugging in into a laptop. The laptop in turn is connected to a Bluetooth headset and a ibratactilebelt.

  This means that the Kinect camera will be able to offer verbal and tactile warnings when the user comes up against an obstacle. A bit more clever coding sees the unit reading signs and offering directions. Not bad.

  It's a project in a university lab at the moment, but it's still nice to know that videogame technology can be useful as well as brilliant fun. Nice job!

• Kinect for the Core

  When Kinect was launched with titles such as Kinect Adventures and Kinect Joyride, some thought Microsoft's new motion control technology had abandoned the hardcore gamer, but all along the developers were thinking about you.
  
  There are two types of Kinect games. Some can only use Kinect to work, they are controlled purely by it's motion control and voice recognition interface, and can't use a controller. There are other Xbox 360 games that can use Kinect to enhance the game-play with the additional features that Kinect offers.
  
  Below we have a selection of games that are compatible with Kinect and are excellent examples of how Kinect can improve the world for the Core gamer.

  

  Child of Eden

  
  Offering a magical experience, Child of Eden is a game for the senses . Using elegant game-play mechanics to create a hugely immersive, first-person shooter. When you shoot, the music and the world around you shifts, the whole game ripples with gameplay. More than a game ,Child of Eden is an experience and can be done justice with words, an incredible title that needs to be played to be believed.

  

  Ghost Recon Future Soldier

  
  You are a ghost. The first, first-person shooter that allows you to operate solely with Kinect. Reload, zoom and fire with simple gestures. Bring down your enemies in a hail of bullets with a flick of your hand. Navigate the menu customise your weapons with voice control and hand gestures. Is it perfect? Well, wel let you be the judge of that!

  

  Mass Effect 3

  
  No messing around here this is a definitive hardcore Game. Mass Effect 3 is great example of how Kinect can enhance the gameplay of real games in a way that other consoles can currently compete with. Taking advantage of Kinect advanced voice software you can control your squad in combat with commands, giving yourself that extra edge. When out of combat, the same software allows you to take control in conversations so you need never click for your response again. If you have to save the universe, do it in style,and do it with Kinect.

  

  Forza Motorsport 4

  
  Forza 4 has Kinect integration in almost every area of the game. If you love cars, then the auto vista is for you, exploring every feature of the car with your hands, with Jeremy Clarkson providing a detailed voiceover. When racing, Kinect tracks your movement, enabling you to check your mirrors with a gentle turn of your head. It even allows you to steer the car using Kinect, putting you more firmly in the drivers seat than ever before.

  

  Rise of Nightmares

  
  Created by the guy behind, the classic, House of the Dead, this is clearly not a title for your mum! It gritty, it bloody, it full of zombies and you will die all the time. . . Either by being ripped apart by the hordes of undead or sliced in half by deadly traps, Rise of Nightmares is not a game for the faint hearted. You are the controller, so hold onto your limbs.

  

  UFC Trainer

  UFC Trainer takes fitness games to the next level, there is nothing family friendly about this. Certified by UFC, you know the experience is going to be intense. Build a routine that is right for you, get the benefits and see the results. Using the same techniques as some of the most tough, disciplined men in the world. So if you want to build up your strength, get fit or lose weight, UFC Trainer is the hardcore game for you.

  Final Word

  
  The games on this page are a but a few of the incredible range of games that Kinect can improve. With more coming out all the time, Kinect is soon to become an essential accessory for every gamer.

  Published: 23/11/2011

As a valued customer we now offer you the facility to sign up to email price alerts. Please enter the price you want to be, or below, and if drops to that level we will let you know...