The "Retro Game Reviews" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
This thread has been linked to the game 'Kinect Star Wars'.
Not a very long time ago in a lounge not so far away...
It is a period of civil war in my mind. While motion controlled Lightsabers and podracing sound cool in theory, would Kinect be a force for good or would it be an agent of the Empire?
Things started fairly well, C3PO and R2D2 took me through the menu system and showed me where to start, with a fairly cheesy backstory about going through Master Luke's files.
Playing a Padwan to some Jedi master, I soon learnt how to use my Lightsaber and Force Powers with the right and left hands respectively. It was all fairly functional and seemed to work. Blocking attacks felt like something from Infinity Blade, but there was still that cool buzz from actually controlling a Jedi weapon with my own hands.
Fast-forward the story a little and Master Yoda appears. Things take a slight turn for the worst as he opens his little green mouth and I realise that this is not the Yoda I was looking for. Voice acting isn't exactly the strongest element of Kinect Star Wars and that's putting it lightly.
Still, further training with log avoidance and ducking and diving ensued, some of it even worked. Noticeable lack of precision from Kinect started to show, though and the warning signs were clear.
It wasn't long before I was a in a full blown battle, fighting hundreds of enemies that decided the best strategy would be to queue up to fight me one at a time. Fair enough, at least they were polite. While the Kinect tried its best, the cracks were now showing up as readily as a Jawa at a crash site. The storyline moved forward with as much gravitas as a love scene in Revenge of the Sith and leaping on to enemy vehicles while flying through trees in a prequel style speederbike didn't do anything to save the game.
Moving on from the story, the next mode available is a Duel of the Fates, where you face off against opponents with increasing difficulty until you get to the meatier opponents like Darth Vader. I found it had exactly the same issues as the story, mainly because it was just a copy of the one on one battles.
Podracing is more interesting and actually controlled fairly well. The only issue here is that I needed arms like a Wookie to play for longer than 15 minutes, as keeping them outstretched for any period of time involved aching limbs. The challenge gently ramps up and I found the mix of a turbo, repairs and some great scenery (going through a Jawa transport) added a lot to the game. In fact, if this was a standalone game which just used the standard controller it would be a hit.
On the more colourful side I found a Rancor simulation game. Stomping, crushing and flinging citizens of various ports and locations had me in fits of laughter, as it did my daughters who were watching me pretend to be a huge monster. It's a pretty throw-away mini game, but it's fun all the same and the regular challenges, like throwing people a certain distance or stomping on a certain number of enemies, gave me something to aim for.
Last and probably least on many lists, comes the Dancing. Yes, dancing. Set in Star Wars locations and featuring such highlights as a Disco Lando and barely attired Leia bopping along in her slave costume, it's hardly the stuff die hard fans will be queuing up for. Yet, despite the terrible parodies of Holler-back girl (Hologram Girl) and Going Solo (I'm Han Solo) it has a certain charm to it., more ROTFL than ROTJ.
So it' a mixed bag and I guess Kinect's issues are less of a surprise than a sister you never knew you had but might have snogged at some point. While the main game has some big faults, part of me really likes the tongue-in-cheek mini game style events. Maybe it's the side that was given up to the Empire?
6/10
It is a period of civil war in my mind. While motion controlled Lightsabers and podracing sound cool in theory, would Kinect be a force for good or would it be an agent of the Empire?
Things started fairly well, C3PO and R2D2 took me through the menu system and showed me where to start, with a fairly cheesy backstory about going through Master Luke's files.
Playing a Padwan to some Jedi master, I soon learnt how to use my Lightsaber and Force Powers with the right and left hands respectively. It was all fairly functional and seemed to work. Blocking attacks felt like something from Infinity Blade, but there was still that cool buzz from actually controlling a Jedi weapon with my own hands.
Fast-forward the story a little and Master Yoda appears. Things take a slight turn for the worst as he opens his little green mouth and I realise that this is not the Yoda I was looking for. Voice acting isn't exactly the strongest element of Kinect Star Wars and that's putting it lightly.
Still, further training with log avoidance and ducking and diving ensued, some of it even worked. Noticeable lack of precision from Kinect started to show, though and the warning signs were clear.
It wasn't long before I was a in a full blown battle, fighting hundreds of enemies that decided the best strategy would be to queue up to fight me one at a time. Fair enough, at least they were polite. While the Kinect tried its best, the cracks were now showing up as readily as a Jawa at a crash site. The storyline moved forward with as much gravitas as a love scene in Revenge of the Sith and leaping on to enemy vehicles while flying through trees in a prequel style speederbike didn't do anything to save the game.
Moving on from the story, the next mode available is a Duel of the Fates, where you face off against opponents with increasing difficulty until you get to the meatier opponents like Darth Vader. I found it had exactly the same issues as the story, mainly because it was just a copy of the one on one battles.
Podracing is more interesting and actually controlled fairly well. The only issue here is that I needed arms like a Wookie to play for longer than 15 minutes, as keeping them outstretched for any period of time involved aching limbs. The challenge gently ramps up and I found the mix of a turbo, repairs and some great scenery (going through a Jawa transport) added a lot to the game. In fact, if this was a standalone game which just used the standard controller it would be a hit.
On the more colourful side I found a Rancor simulation game. Stomping, crushing and flinging citizens of various ports and locations had me in fits of laughter, as it did my daughters who were watching me pretend to be a huge monster. It's a pretty throw-away mini game, but it's fun all the same and the regular challenges, like throwing people a certain distance or stomping on a certain number of enemies, gave me something to aim for.
Last and probably least on many lists, comes the Dancing. Yes, dancing. Set in Star Wars locations and featuring such highlights as a Disco Lando and barely attired Leia bopping along in her slave costume, it's hardly the stuff die hard fans will be queuing up for. Yet, despite the terrible parodies of Holler-back girl (Hologram Girl) and Going Solo (I'm Han Solo) it has a certain charm to it., more ROTFL than ROTJ.
So it' a mixed bag and I guess Kinect's issues are less of a surprise than a sister you never knew you had but might have snogged at some point. While the main game has some big faults, part of me really likes the tongue-in-cheek mini game style events. Maybe it's the side that was given up to the Empire?
6/10
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Not a very long time ago in a lounge not so far away...
It is a period of civil war in my mind. While motion controlled Lightsabers and podracing sound cool in theory, would Kinect be a force for good or would it be an agent of the Empire?
Things started fairly well, C3PO and R2D2 took me through the menu system and showed me where to start, with a fairly cheesy backstory about going through Master Luke's files.
Playing a Padwan to some Jedi master, I soon learnt how to use my Lightsaber and Force Powers with the right and left hands respectively. It was all fairly functional and seemed to work. Blocking attacks felt like something from Infinity Blade, but there was still that cool buzz from actually controlling a Jedi weapon with my own hands.
Fast-forward the story a little and Master Yoda appears. Things take a slight turn for the worst as he opens his little green mouth and I realise that this is not the Yoda I was looking for. Voice acting isn't exactly the strongest element of Kinect Star Wars and that's putting it lightly.
Still, further training with log avoidance and ducking and diving ensued, some of it even worked. Noticeable lack of precision from Kinect started to show, though and the warning signs were clear.
It wasn't long before I was a in a full blown battle, fighting hundreds of enemies that decided the best strategy would be to queue up to fight me one at a time. Fair enough, at least they were polite. While the Kinect tried its best, the cracks were now showing up as readily as a Jawa at a crash site. The storyline moved forward with as much gravitas as a love scene in Revenge of the Sith and leaping on to enemy vehicles while flying through trees in a prequel style speederbike didn't do anything to save the game.
Moving on from the story, the next mode available is a Duel of the Fates, where you face off against opponents with increasing difficulty until you get to the meatier opponents like Darth Vader. I found it had exactly the same issues as the story, mainly because it was just a copy of the one on one battles.
Podracing is more interesting and actually controlled fairly well. The only issue here is that I needed arms like a Wookie to play for longer than 15 minutes, as keeping them outstretched for any period of time involved aching limbs. The challenge gently ramps up and I found the mix of a turbo, repairs and some great scenery (going through a Jawa transport) added a lot to the game. In fact, if this was a standalone game which just used the standard controller it would be a hit.
On the more colourful side I found a Rancor simulation game. Stomping, crushing and flinging citizens of various ports and locations had me in fits of laughter, as it did my daughters who were watching me pretend to be a huge monster. It's a pretty throw-away mini game, but it's fun all the same and the regular challenges, like throwing people a certain distance or stomping on a certain number of enemies, gave me something to aim for.
Last and probably least on many lists, comes the Dancing. Yes, dancing. Set in Star Wars locations and featuring such highlights as a Disco Lando and barely attired Leia bopping along in her slave costume, it's hardly the stuff die hard fans will be queuing up for. Yet, despite the terrible parodies of Holler-back girl (Hologram Girl) and Going Solo (I'm Han Solo) it has a certain charm to it., more ROTFL than ROTJ.
So it' a mixed bag and I guess Kinect's issues are less of a surprise than a sister you never knew you had but might have snogged at some point. While the main game has some big faults, part of me really likes the tongue-in-cheek mini game style events. Maybe it's the side that was given up to the Empire?
6/10
It is a period of civil war in my mind. While motion controlled Lightsabers and podracing sound cool in theory, would Kinect be a force for good or would it be an agent of the Empire?
Things started fairly well, C3PO and R2D2 took me through the menu system and showed me where to start, with a fairly cheesy backstory about going through Master Luke's files.
Playing a Padwan to some Jedi master, I soon learnt how to use my Lightsaber and Force Powers with the right and left hands respectively. It was all fairly functional and seemed to work. Blocking attacks felt like something from Infinity Blade, but there was still that cool buzz from actually controlling a Jedi weapon with my own hands.
Fast-forward the story a little and Master Yoda appears. Things take a slight turn for the worst as he opens his little green mouth and I realise that this is not the Yoda I was looking for. Voice acting isn't exactly the strongest element of Kinect Star Wars and that's putting it lightly.
Still, further training with log avoidance and ducking and diving ensued, some of it even worked. Noticeable lack of precision from Kinect started to show, though and the warning signs were clear.
It wasn't long before I was a in a full blown battle, fighting hundreds of enemies that decided the best strategy would be to queue up to fight me one at a time. Fair enough, at least they were polite. While the Kinect tried its best, the cracks were now showing up as readily as a Jawa at a crash site. The storyline moved forward with as much gravitas as a love scene in Revenge of the Sith and leaping on to enemy vehicles while flying through trees in a prequel style speederbike didn't do anything to save the game.
Moving on from the story, the next mode available is a Duel of the Fates, where you face off against opponents with increasing difficulty until you get to the meatier opponents like Darth Vader. I found it had exactly the same issues as the story, mainly because it was just a copy of the one on one battles.
Podracing is more interesting and actually controlled fairly well. The only issue here is that I needed arms like a Wookie to play for longer than 15 minutes, as keeping them outstretched for any period of time involved aching limbs. The challenge gently ramps up and I found the mix of a turbo, repairs and some great scenery (going through a Jawa transport) added a lot to the game. In fact, if this was a standalone game which just used the standard controller it would be a hit.
On the more colourful side I found a Rancor simulation game. Stomping, crushing and flinging citizens of various ports and locations had me in fits of laughter, as it did my daughters who were watching me pretend to be a huge monster. It's a pretty throw-away mini game, but it's fun all the same and the regular challenges, like throwing people a certain distance or stomping on a certain number of enemies, gave me something to aim for.
Last and probably least on many lists, comes the Dancing. Yes, dancing. Set in Star Wars locations and featuring such highlights as a Disco Lando and barely attired Leia bopping along in her slave costume, it's hardly the stuff die hard fans will be queuing up for. Yet, despite the terrible parodies of Holler-back girl (Hologram Girl) and Going Solo (I'm Han Solo) it has a certain charm to it., more ROTFL than ROTJ.
So it' a mixed bag and I guess Kinect's issues are less of a surprise than a sister you never knew you had but might have snogged at some point. While the main game has some big faults, part of me really likes the tongue-in-cheek mini game style events. Maybe it's the side that was given up to the Empire?
6/10