Here’s a selection of Xbox 360 Kinect games I’ve been playing, for some reason. Yes, I know, a grown man flailing around in front of a motion sensor might seem daft, it is. It’s also a lot of fun.
The Gunstringer
A superbly presented on-rails shooter about a dead puppet? Oh yes. Set in a theatre, and introduced with a very sweet little pre-amble by the game’s developers, you take on the role of the puppeteer. Your job is to guide the mysterious Gunstringer, a skeletal cowboy, on his journey seeking out revenge on the posse that betrayed him.
It’s great fun, playing a little like Time Crisis or Sega’s House Of The Dead series, you can also play along with a friend. With one hand you guide the puppet, with the other you lock on to targets and shoot.
The narrative is carried along nicely by an old-west-style voiceover and all the while you can see the audience in the background enjoying the show. Twisted Pixel are game developers with massive gaming hearts and it shows. If you have a Kinect, get The Gunstringer.
Dance Central 2
So you pick a song and then you copy the dancer. The points you gain depend on how well you can copy computer-generated people, how much room you have and how ludicrously-limbed you’re not. I’m like a cross between John Cleese and Lee Evans with all the grace of your uncle.
The song list is confusing but that’s simply because I’m not 15. Or a girl. A few classics might have been nice, as well as a bulkier online catalogue for beefing up your song list. Still, it’s early days. I might get to dance along to Ghostbusters one day. Oh, what a day.
Kinect Sports Season 2
There’s something about sports titles on the Xbox’s Kinnect that jars with me slightly. On the PlayStation Move or the Wii, the controller acts as a register of force, regardless of how fast you swing it. On Kinnect, chucking a dart or swinging a baseball bat just isn’t as rewarding. The tactile interaction is actually quite crucial, for this sports-shy gamer, at least.
Still, as a friendly competitive distraction or for a post-Christmas (or Burns Night, considering when you’re reading this) meal activity, it’s an easy, approachable night of fun.
