This has been one of, if not the funnest games I have played so far for the Kinect. It also marks the first Kinect game that I have completed that offers downloadable content achievements. It was a great game but left me with two sprained ankles for over a week thanks to Track and Field. Here is the review:
GAME: Kinect Sports (with DLC)
REVIEW SCORE: 9/10
The most impressive aspect of this game was the accuracy in which the Kinect sensor was able to track my movements and motions. I have played other titles where my experience was quickly effected by poor sensor control. This is not to say that I had 0 problems throughout my playing, but it was a very fun and fulfilling ride.
The game has 5 different sports to choose from, as well as several mini-games that add new depth and challenge. The sports included in the title are Bowling, Track and Field, Boxing, Table Tennis, and Volley Ball. I found that bowling was probably my favorite of the sports.
Aside from the superb play mechanics, I was also wowed by solid graphics and crisp audio. To add a little something special, the game has incorporated clips from famous songs such as "Just Dance", "We are the Champions", and "Hollaback Girl", as well has many others.
The DLC adds several new achievements totaling 250GS. The best part, the DLC is free! It adds new mini-game variants to the existing pool of games.
Personal note: I almost bowled a perfect game! I was only 1 pin short :(
FITNESS SCORE: 7/10
With so many game types, there is no shortage of exercise. Bowling, Table Tennis, and Boxing do a good job keeping your arms moving, while Track and Field will have you running like a maniac. Remember not to overdo it though. As mentioned above, I did sprain my ankles during Track and Field and had ankle pains for over a week. Be sure to stretch before and after strenuous activities, and be sure to stay hydrated and take breaks when needed.
I was sweating buckets while playing this game.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
-Rare did a great job with creating guides and videos to help us gamers earn the achievements. Check out their guides here.
-The DLC for the game is free of charge. You can download it here.
-For the Track and Field events that require running on the track (Sprint and Hurdles), you can increase your performance by achieving a boost start and boost finish. To get the boost start, get into a crouching position with one leg back (like a real runner). At the third heartbeat, stand up and start running. If you are a little early, you will be penalized with a false start, but you will get a do-over. For the boost finish, put your arms straight out behind you as you near the finish line. This will speed you up and the very end.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
PROGRESS UPDATE
Well, things have slowed down a bit as I seem to have blown out my ankles playing Track and Field on Kinect Sports. No serious damage I imagine, but it has seriously slowed my progress. I am playing at about 50% of what I am used to.
Anyways, I purchased and started EA Sports Active. In retrospect, I kind of wish I purchased this game when it came out. There is a workout program achievement that takes 9 weeks (real time) to complete and some long distance running/biking achievements that are estimated to take about 70 hours. Definitely my biggest hurdle yet.
I am nearly done with Kinect Sports, but until my ankles heal, I am holding off on finishing it. In the mean time, it will be holding up my Gamefly queue.
I also started Deca Sports Freedom (via Gamefly) and have nearly finished it. I am just missing one hard achievement, one co-op achievement, and a couple of time consuming ones. If there weren't a few sensor issues associated with the game, it would have been a pretty good title.
I still need to get back to Dance Masters and finish getting all my secret ripples. I am hoping to not put it off for too long.
Speaking of putting off, I need to cowboy up and pull the wife in to finish Kinect Adventures. I just need to play each level with a 2nd person.
Other than that, I just need to peck away at Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. I don't think I will be getting much accomplished now that I have Sports Active 2 to fill my fitness niche. It should also be noted that the YourShapeCenter.com site still hasn't offered an event in the Events Section. Hopefully it won't create a permanent 5GS void in my completion conquest.
I was actually hoping to finish my Kinect games in such a fashion that I didn't have so many incomplete games going at once. I will try to wrap a couple of them up in the next week or two.
Anyways, I purchased and started EA Sports Active. In retrospect, I kind of wish I purchased this game when it came out. There is a workout program achievement that takes 9 weeks (real time) to complete and some long distance running/biking achievements that are estimated to take about 70 hours. Definitely my biggest hurdle yet.
I am nearly done with Kinect Sports, but until my ankles heal, I am holding off on finishing it. In the mean time, it will be holding up my Gamefly queue.
I also started Deca Sports Freedom (via Gamefly) and have nearly finished it. I am just missing one hard achievement, one co-op achievement, and a couple of time consuming ones. If there weren't a few sensor issues associated with the game, it would have been a pretty good title.
I still need to get back to Dance Masters and finish getting all my secret ripples. I am hoping to not put it off for too long.
Speaking of putting off, I need to cowboy up and pull the wife in to finish Kinect Adventures. I just need to play each level with a 2nd person.
Other than that, I just need to peck away at Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. I don't think I will be getting much accomplished now that I have Sports Active 2 to fill my fitness niche. It should also be noted that the YourShapeCenter.com site still hasn't offered an event in the Events Section. Hopefully it won't create a permanent 5GS void in my completion conquest.
I was actually hoping to finish my Kinect games in such a fashion that I didn't have so many incomplete games going at once. I will try to wrap a couple of them up in the next week or two.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
GAME COMPLETED #4: FIGHTERS UNCAGED
This game is proof that fighting games can work for the Kinect. The game is not that difficult to earn all 1000GS, but requires a decent amount of grinding. If you have the time and patience and an understanding of the game mechanics, this game is a fun and achievable 100%.
GAME: Fighters Uncaged
REVIEW SCORE: 6/10
Prior to playing this title, I took time to look up some of the online reviews. The reviews for this game seem to be bad to an undeserving level. I get the impression that players were expecting a full motion, 1:1, real time fighting experience. This is not what this game is about. Unlike fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter that focus on fast paced fighting action, Fighters Uncaged works more along the lines of Punch-Out where the fighting focuses more on strategic blocks, dodges and counters. If you were start a match on Fighters Uncaged and flail your fists and feet around like a real street fight, you would most likely lose quickly. If you plan on seriously playing this title and enjoying it to its full potential, it is essential that you play through the tutorials and training sessions to get an idea of how the game works and how the moves are properly executed.
The Kinect sensor works extremely well for this title as long as you have the proper settings and play space. Unfortunately, this game loses a lot of respect due to horrendous character design and cringing dialogue. There also isn't really a lot of play features. There is no multiplayer, and you pretty much keep fighting the same opponents over and over again, attempting to increase your score.
You progress through the game by winning 'Crowns'. Crowns are awarded for beating opponents as quickly as you can while taking as little damage as possible. The better your scores, the more crowns you receive. Once you receive enough crowns, you move up to the next 'league'. Each league increases in difficulty, and offers new fighters to face. Eventually, you beat the game, so to speak, and enter the "Open League". At this point, you just fight opponents to earn as many crowns as you can, which reflect your leaderboard score.
I was happy to learn that I earned a spot on the top 10 in the worldwide leaderboards without even really trying. I could have improved my score, but after reaching 1000GS, I was happy to send it back to Gamefly.
FITNESS SCORE: 5/10
This game isn't really fast paced or strenuous, but seems to work parts of you body that aren't really offered in other Kinect titles. Whereas most Kinect titles focus on leg work, Fighters Uncaged focuses heavily on arms and abs. I didn't realize that Fighters worked my abs until I was sore the next day. The game requires you to lean back while your feet are planted firmly in order to dodge oncoming attacks. This motion acts like a reverse sit up, and really works your ab muscles.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
-There is no point in going out of your way for the 20 win achievements until you reach the Open League. The 20 wins and 20 Open League wins achievements stack, so you will save time by waiting.
-Pay attention to the tips section before each opponent. They will offer you strategies on beating the opponent in the quickest and most efficient way.
-There is an "Advice" section in the tutorials that explain how and when to do the Combos that are required for the combo achievements.
-The best way to ensure that combos will work is to completely deplete the opponent's Zen gauge (the meter on the right side of the screen). If their gauge is empty, they will more likely fall victim to combos. You can deplete this bar by dodging and countering. Also, Super Strikes do a great deal to deplete it. Specifically, use the low hook Super Strike to take out half of the opponent's Zen gauge.
GAME: Fighters Uncaged
REVIEW SCORE: 6/10
Prior to playing this title, I took time to look up some of the online reviews. The reviews for this game seem to be bad to an undeserving level. I get the impression that players were expecting a full motion, 1:1, real time fighting experience. This is not what this game is about. Unlike fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter that focus on fast paced fighting action, Fighters Uncaged works more along the lines of Punch-Out where the fighting focuses more on strategic blocks, dodges and counters. If you were start a match on Fighters Uncaged and flail your fists and feet around like a real street fight, you would most likely lose quickly. If you plan on seriously playing this title and enjoying it to its full potential, it is essential that you play through the tutorials and training sessions to get an idea of how the game works and how the moves are properly executed.
The Kinect sensor works extremely well for this title as long as you have the proper settings and play space. Unfortunately, this game loses a lot of respect due to horrendous character design and cringing dialogue. There also isn't really a lot of play features. There is no multiplayer, and you pretty much keep fighting the same opponents over and over again, attempting to increase your score.
You progress through the game by winning 'Crowns'. Crowns are awarded for beating opponents as quickly as you can while taking as little damage as possible. The better your scores, the more crowns you receive. Once you receive enough crowns, you move up to the next 'league'. Each league increases in difficulty, and offers new fighters to face. Eventually, you beat the game, so to speak, and enter the "Open League". At this point, you just fight opponents to earn as many crowns as you can, which reflect your leaderboard score.
I was happy to learn that I earned a spot on the top 10 in the worldwide leaderboards without even really trying. I could have improved my score, but after reaching 1000GS, I was happy to send it back to Gamefly.
FITNESS SCORE: 5/10
This game isn't really fast paced or strenuous, but seems to work parts of you body that aren't really offered in other Kinect titles. Whereas most Kinect titles focus on leg work, Fighters Uncaged focuses heavily on arms and abs. I didn't realize that Fighters worked my abs until I was sore the next day. The game requires you to lean back while your feet are planted firmly in order to dodge oncoming attacks. This motion acts like a reverse sit up, and really works your ab muscles.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
-There is no point in going out of your way for the 20 win achievements until you reach the Open League. The 20 wins and 20 Open League wins achievements stack, so you will save time by waiting.
-Pay attention to the tips section before each opponent. They will offer you strategies on beating the opponent in the quickest and most efficient way.
-There is an "Advice" section in the tutorials that explain how and when to do the Combos that are required for the combo achievements.
-The best way to ensure that combos will work is to completely deplete the opponent's Zen gauge (the meter on the right side of the screen). If their gauge is empty, they will more likely fall victim to combos. You can deplete this bar by dodging and countering. Also, Super Strikes do a great deal to deplete it. Specifically, use the low hook Super Strike to take out half of the opponent's Zen gauge.
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