Xbox Kinect games without controller
If you are one of the more cynical gamers when it comes to controlling video game titles, there is no getting around the fact that Xbox Kinect Games from a technical standpoint is extremely impressive. Most gamers, including myself, will have a very hard time convincing them that anything but a real controller can be used to properly play a game, however, Kinect is trying to change gamers’ minds.
When the Kinect works great the thing is amazing some Kinects including Zumba Fitness use the device amazingly and the game is fun a great showcase of the way a Kinect game works. Obviously, Zumba Fitness is not going to win over the most demanding gamer audience and this is Microsoft’s main struggle.
If you’re taking the upcoming Star Wars Kinect release as an example, I recently had the opportunity to play it at the trade show. Now I admit it wasn’t over yet, however the first time I pushed my own hand into the console using “the force” I became like a kid having fun with my Star Wars toys again, I was completely blown away, it just got better. Still, once the guy at the booth told me to use my arm like a lightsaber, it made me think that this would be one of the best Xbox Kinect games of all time.
During these 3 minutes I was thinking to myself “this is it, the future of gaming” and then just when my excitement started, it quickly disappeared. The simple truth is that I had to progress my character and this turned into a nightmare. I had to jump forward a bit and yes, it took the Kinect five less than excellent tries. At that very moment I wished I had a controller in my hand leaving a slight handicap for any new Xbox Kinect Games.
That’s the main problem with playing Xbox Kinect: as fun as the new technology is, it just can’t compete with the feel of a controller comfortably in your hands. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy using a Kinect, it just means we need both options for now, with the primary option being the Xbox controller.
One of the first games that showed me a negative flaw was the Star Wars demo, which was a wonderful illustration of exactly what’s right with the Kinect and exactly what’s wrong. Maybe if they gave us a controller like the Wii’s nun chuck, we might have a better chance of moving characters on screen.