Captures the Depth and Breadth of the Kinect with a Handful of Mini-Games
The game consists of a handful of game 'modes.' There is a free mode, a timed mode and an adventure mode. Each mode just groups the mini-games with different restrictions. You have five types of games: 20,000 Leaks, River Rush, Rally Ball, Reflex Ridge and Space Pop. The first time I got into Kinect, and getting through the menu when you're not familiar did pose a clear challenge. I found myself reaching for the controller, but you can't switch while in a menu. I played Reflex Ridge first, and the game tracks your movements fairly well as you move from left-to-right, jumping up or kneeling low to get around obstacles while also collecting gold rings. Once you've collected a certain number of rings, you get a medal: either bronze, silver or gold. The game wasn't too challenging, I thought, but the next day, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little sore.
The next time I fired the game up, I went through a challenge mode, which required me to play all five types of the game. The 20,000 Leaks and Space Pop I found absurd in their design, but also thought they were interesting and the graphics were very well done. The idea in both is to stop leaks or pop bubbles, as the names indicate. In the first game, you have sea creatures slamming into your clear box, and you have to move in different directions to cover the leaks and close them. You have to move quick, and my concept of depth was tested as well as my patience. The Space game required you to flap your arms, which had a distinct silliness to it, but was a simple enough game.
Of the final two games, Rally Ball was the most fun, while River Rush had me jumping all the time, but not seeing the boat jump at the same interval. I may not have understood the dynamics, but got through it with bronze medals. The Rally Ball game is a lot like Hand-ball, though it's all virtual. The concept is to slam the ball into boxes and keep it in play. It seems simple enough, but again posed a fun challenge for those with depth confusion.
Overall, this was a really fun game. Some of the games are silly, but once you understand the mechanics, the games are easy to get through, though I wouldn't go so far as to say master. This is a great game for company as well, as it takes embarrassing pictures as you're playing. I was relieved once I realised how to delete those. As this is a standard Kinect bundle game, you may end up with this game, but of the choices (and a lack of dancing game bundles), this is a fun game and a great introduction to the Kinect.