Ah, January! The month to size up our Christmas gifts. For many, Xbox's $149.99 Kinect was the hot ticket of the season, but its small arsenal of games has many doubting its lasting appeal.
It has been called the next generation of gaming, but the motion-based system sounds more like HAL 9000 than entertainment. Kinect carries full motion control, a video camera, four microphones, no controllers and an infrared projector. While its specs are impressive, Kinect only has 20 games released, which are limited in their scopes.
Many of the games do show potential. There's near-perfect immersion with games such as Dance Central, which tracks your movements while you follow complex dance routines. Or through Kinect Adventures, which has a series of games that revolve around moving a raft or floating in space. But after 30 minutes, the gameplay teeters dangerously toward repetition. Unfortunately, Kinect suffers from slim game releases and a lineup of predominantly easy games.
And while it's a decent start prototype, the Kinect also bares flaws. The motion controls can be sluggish. Its voice-controlled menu is constantly misinterpreting simple commands, such as Forward or Pause. Furthermore, the current games are shallow, often showcasing superficial plots and a handful of playing options over more in-depth pursuits.
Still, it's undeniable that Kinect has a strange excitement surrounding it. Until you literally ask your Xbox to play a DVD or are identified through facial recognition, you've never experienced anything like this. I'm reminded of the scene in Back to the Future 2 when Marty McFly is harassed about an old arcade game. You mean you have to use your hands? the boy asks.
Not anymore.
So, while the Kinect's appeal as a 'revolutionary' system is enticing, its real appeal remains its potential for better games. Yes, its prospects look quite promising, but by no means do they warrant the fat price tag that comes with it. Yet.
- Ryan Carpe is a graduate student studying journalism. If you'd rather talk about video games than doing work, e-mail him at rc336801@ohiou.edu.
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Ryan Carpe
