I got a Kinect for Christmas. I guess Santa was out of coal.
Except for the fitness programs. This would seem like an ideal fit for the Kinect. I've tried a couple, but have been unhappy with the pace of them so far. This led me to try EA Sports Active 2 in hopes of finding a workout routine that was continuous and intensive.
Alas, I foolishly ignored all the warning signs: professional reviewers were all over the map. The gimmicky gizmo included in the package. And of course, the biggest tip off that this software was going to be a TOTAL FAIL, the fact that it is a port from the Wii.
As such, I brought home the flagship fail for the Kinect (so far) and here is how it lets you down:
- constant failure to track your movements standing or laying down (particularly the latter when you are doing crunches)
- constant interruption to re-identify the player. Apparently, it's not enough to sign in under your profile, (twice, since the Kinect re-identifies you after you start your XBox.) but with every routine the game signs you in, and if the facial recognition stumbles (say, with bad lighting) you're forced into a menu to sign in.
and after all that, there is still delay between the routines, the reason I tried it in the first place.
Lessons learned:
1. video game consoles are not a fitness solution. They are the reason we need to exercise.
2. Games designed for the Wii will fail on other platforms too.
3. If you want to burn off your video game induced atrophy, go outside and get sweaty. Play games designed with a mouse or controller in mind, and then go out for a jog.
I tried to trade this game for dog (so I could shoot it) but no one was interested in the game.