Xbox Kinect First Look
Okay, so some of the activities aren't exactly 'realistic.' Javelin throwing and bowling, for instance, are as far removed from the real activities as you'd expect given both require hurling an object from your hands into the distance, and driving in Joyride is pretty much as unlike driving as a driving game can be.
Even when it's not quite as immersive as Microsoft might want you to believe - no matter how much you jump and flail around you're definitely not going to think you're 'actually there' - it's still fun. It remains close enough to create the suspension of disbelief required that you feel 'there' enough to have a damn good bit of fun without being impeded by the interface. Even outside of games, the gesture-controlled UI is surprisingly easy to adapt to; not to mention indescribably fun thanks to the Jedi-like gesture used to swipe between menus.
The 'social' side of Kinect shouldn't be underestimated, either. Once a few of your kids' mates get posting photos of their latest endeavours in Kinect Adventures on BookSpace (or whatever it is the young'uns are using nowadays) it'll only be a matter of time before you'll have to get your own Kinect set-up, if only to assuage the nagging.
Kinect may have the 'hardcore' gaming crowd unimpressed, but that's much of a muchness. The very same gamers whom the Halo crowd would decry as unworthy of even owning a games console are going to absolutely love Kinect, and with good reason. There are some kinds of fun that simply can't be replicated sitting on a sofa, controller in hand, and which are exactly the kind of entertainment Kinect excels at. Plus, if a few kids (or even adults) who might otherwise not have much inclination to partake in much physical activity get off the sofa and dart around the living room for half an hour who's to complain?
As impressive as the technology behind Kinect is, it will all be for nought if it's not taken advantage off with quality first and third party titles. From what we've seen, Microsoft is well on the way to making that happen come November. All we can suggest to the naysayers is that you don't write off Kinect just yet.
