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March 28, 2024, 06:41:06 PM

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Kinect? 'kin right!

Started by HappyTree, October 13, 2011, 10:16:47 PM

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HappyTree

Ok so my thought process was thus:

1. I'm not sold on Kinect. Looks like a gimmick, lag is the elephant in the room people are convincing themselves is not there, games seem a bit rudimentary so far and I prefer a controller anyway.

2. Oh, I have gained weight and need to exercise.

3. Winter is coming and soon it will be too cold and snowy to remain outside for very long. This will last about 4 months at least.

4. My Elite Xbox 360's disc drive is beginning to slow and "act up". Imminent failure suspected. I need a new 360 slim.

5. Might as well try Kinect out and see if it's any good. An excuse to move around and exercise and I can sell it off if it's really too bad to endure.

And so bought I from Amazon.co.uk - for they are by far the cheapest solution round these parts - a Kinect bundle with console and what seem to me to be the essential games for giving it a fair go.

Kinect Adventures (free)
Sports (seems to be the must-have)
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (might actually get me moving again)
Dance Central (variation on the moving thing)

The rest seem to get pretty poor reviews. Maybe I'll try Child of Eden if the system impresses me as a whole. I might get Kinectimals as I love all that really childish stuff and there are cute cats in it. Crossboard 7 looks alright maybe. I do hope some more serious games come out for it though, like SSX Kinect would be amazing if the controls are done well.

So, anyone else enjoying the "future of gaming" ? Any good or bad experiences? Will I end up selling this on Ebay and sticking to Youtube yoga?

I've heard good things about The Gunstringer, not least the fact that it comes with an entirely separate game mode which parodies mid-90s FMV games, specifically Mad Dog McCree:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQbv9Rw8aJI

Jemble Fred

The Gunstringer's great fun, a must-play if you're a fan of Troma movies at least. If Halo or Gears is a Michael Bay movie, The Gunstringer's's the gaming equivalent of a film which has Bill Murray looking suicidal on the poster. We need more games like that.

I started playing Rise of Nightmares, but can't get back into it. Very impressive though it is, in terms of free movement and whatnot. It feels like a genuine inkling of the future of gaming (more than all the cheap party-type Kinect crap, be it sports or fitness) as you move around and interact...

But the problem with both of these games, of course, is that they're fucking exhausting. Any narrative Kinect game, take my word for it, play with friends so you can take turns, because otherwise you can only go a couple of levels without getting terrible strain. Battering zombies and going on lengthy shooting sprees is not so easy when you're not just pressing A a lot. So you either hurt a lot, or your gaming experience has to be broken up into fits and starts, with 5 minute breaks all the time. That's a real problem, which you can only get past by taking turns with friends.

I accept the terms of the

Every time I've used a motion controller I've thought it was a bit of fun briefly, but realised that it's all a bit rubbish when I go back to a game with regular controls and have a lot more fun. Also, as a techy I focus on the correlation between my movements and the game's reaction too much. I bet these things are a lot more fun for people who have no idea how it all works so the movement seems like magic rather than an engineering problem.

I don't even like the motion controls in phones and the 3DS. Having to wave your viewing device around is the worst thing ever. Does Pilotwings on the 3DS have proper controls, btw? I might have bought it today if I knew the answer.

madhair60

Gunstringer is great for the couple of hours it lasts, everything else is a horrible waste of time and money.

Jemble Fred

Quote from: madhair60 on October 14, 2011, 10:56:06 AM
Gunstringer is great for the couple of hours it lasts

Er... what are your arms made of? It took me several evenings to get through, because it was physically impossible for a human being to get through more than about six mini-levels without suffering permanent damage. I think it took about about five 30-40 minute shifts. And I had to review it like that!

It is a short game for sure, but it would still take about 3-3.5 hours to complete if it was on controller, set on Easy.

EDIT: I can't resist adding that I do 50 press-ups every morning, and warmed up before playing every time. Still got twinges the next day. Holding your arms at a 45 degree angles for ten-minute bursts just hurts. Unless you have lots and lots of breaks and massages. You can sit down to play, but that just felt odd to me and didn't solve the arm problem anyway.

madhair60

Didn't feel much longer than a couple of hours but if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.  Was great fun either way.

Jemble Fred

Well I wasn't just gainsaying, it was a genuine question – did you honestly manage to hold your arms like that for the whole run of the game in one sitting? If so, I back you for World's Strongest Man 2012.


madhair60

Actually my hands are ridiculously huge, to compensate for my freakishly small penis.

But no I didn't beat it in one sitting.  I don't play games for extended periods, usually an hour is the maximum I play at a time, with rare exceptions.

Jemble Fred

Ah, then I'm not a total milksop, thank heavens. I love the mechanic of holding a marionette and shooting with the right arm, but there really is only so long you can keep that position without agony. As I say, with narrative Kinect games, you either have to swap duties with friends or eke the game out over a series of shifts.

HappyTree

I can see I will have to ease myself into this! Short bursts only. (Bishop ---> actress)

But that's good, the main reason I wanted this for was being encouraged to move from my prone position on the couch. I remember playing Wii tennis and bowling one evening with friends and for the next 2 days we could hardly move. I look forward to more of that, proves it's doing something.

Jemble Fred

Argh, fuck this fucking Rise of Nightmares, that's 40 minutes of heated flailing around I'll never get back. I must have slaughtered a bloody multitude of identical zombies, only to get chopped in half by a totally invisible guillotine minutes from the fucking exit! This is only level sodding THREE or something! Shitty shit.

Yes, I am *terrible* at it.

HappyTree

Have now received new console with Kinect. Transferred easily from old hard disk (but 14 euros for a cable I will only use once? geddouddahere!). Set up was fine. I can get enough space by turning the TV stand 45 degrees. Kinect seems responsive enough, well, about as responsive as I imagined it would be.

Bowling was a bit disappointing. I got 4 strikes in a row on my second game. Football was very dumbed down, but I suppose is as good as you could get. This will be more fun with friends when they come round.

Dance central had a good menu system. Not sure I like the photos of myself moving, I hardly want to know how much of a tit I look. But it had me warmed up and moving which was the entire point of getting this so I don't seize up in the winter when it's too cold to do anything outside.

Verdict: s'alright. Will try it out in a couple of weeks with wine and friends added.

I accept the terms of the

Quote from: HappyTree on October 22, 2011, 05:50:37 PMVerdict: s'alright. Will try it out in a couple of weeks with wine and friends added play it once more and then never pay attention to it again except for when it catches my eye when I'm watching TV causing me to sigh