Kinect Adventures! Review (360)

How badly do you want those Scout badges?

So, after months upon months of speculation, hype and couch potato pessimism, the Kinect is finally here. Yet it’s going to take a lot to encourage those with the guts to spend their cash on what could turn out to be the most over-hyped camera in history to shell out even more for release software. Fortunately, an informal piece on epileptic fit impersonation accompanies the fancy piece of kit that broke the bank.

Kinect Adventures! is the complimentary piece of software that comes bundled with the costly peeping tom, and is just about everything you need to get you off your seat, onto your feet and inadvertently smacking loved ones in no time. The set-up is camp and simple. Your Avatar is thrust into a merry group of conveniently named ‘Adventurers’, whose speciality is travelling the world to get big thrills and reap the rewards. Your job as their new cadet in the rag tag group of extreme gap year thrill seekers is to show just how much fun you can have jet-setting to exotic locations for great deals of hysterical flailing.

Though the Adventurers traverse the world in search for badges to add to their collections, those who wish to embark with them are forcibly deported to the same five spots on the globe. The five mini-games available on offer all veer to strain the sweat from your brow in different measures. Arguably the one that’s meant to get the room jumping about as much as the player is ‘Reflex Ridge’. Taking place on a disused rail-road, possibly on the way to Bognor Regis, the whole track has been rigged with bumpers in a bid to make your journey to the finish line a lot more stressful than it has to be. Darting from left to right, leaping and crouching are the only ways to avoid the novelty marshmallows. The same amount of cardio work is required for ‘Rapid Rush’, a game which sees you cast down river rapids balancing on a raft for ‘safety’. The same measure of darting about is needed to control your raft from left to right, jumping off ramps and even surfing across clouds should you show enough skill and stamina to reach the high road. The vast pouncing and weaving needed to even complete these trials can reduce those who attempt it into fits of ecstasy before collapsing in giggles and sheer exhaustion, and are the most entertaining activities Kinect Adventures! has to offer.

‘Rallyball’ is the human equivalent of arcade classic Breakout, focusing on you thwacking balls to break bricks, then relaying it back as quick as possible. The experience of facing a wall of balls sounds funny on paper (and read back in my head in a ‘Carry On Doctor’ sort of voice), yet provokes a feeling of sheer dread when realised just what has been unleashed upon yourself, yet is nonetheless enjoyable.

Can reduce those who attempt it into fits of ecstasy before collapsing in giggles and sheer exhaustion

For such a sugar and spice, family orientated game, Kinect Adventures! certainly feels like it was produced with a ‘No pain, no gain’ mentality in mind. The more strenuous games always turn out to be the more entertaining, and this leaves the more relaxed of the collection left in the cold. The more static of the bunch consists of ‘20,000 Leaks’ and ‘Space Pop’. The former traps you in a glass cube at the bottom of the ocean, with anti-social fish ramming holes in your only form of protection. Your head, hands and feet seem to shed duct tape and heal these holes, but no matter how difficult the game tries to make itself a challenge, it can all be completed by more or less standing still, apart from some odd shuffling about. ‘Space Pop’ abandons you in a space station with nothing but multiple bubbles to squash. Flapping your arms leaves you floating upwards and lowering them brings you back to the floor. Only slight glides are really necessary, though, and a leisurely walk around you room ensures a place in its hall of fame in no time.

It’s a shame that these rather lazy mini-games don’t match up to the other three, as all of them don’t quite have the appeal of longevity about them. Though there several stages of difficulty and different courses where it applies, all the games don’t add a lot through progress to really spice things up. The main ‘Adventure’ modes makes players complete certain challenges in a selection of pre-picked mini-games, yet means of victory all come down to the same structured rules. A)Complete the challenge quickly and, B) Collect tons of pins littered around courses or by simply completing the former where it need not apply. Though it can’t extend the lifespan of the title very far, the ‘Adventure’ mode is something of a sterling A in effort for at least trying for a game that is technically free, and the rewards upon completion may be enough to encourage younger players to spur forward. As challenges are completed, avatars can earn accessories for both their in game persona’s and those that inhabit Xbox Live. ‘Living Statues’ almost act in the place of trophies, and can be worth some entertainment to a certain degree. Should you wish to record your movements in one of these guises, you can momentarily become a fat hamster, a yeti or a dance troop and waltz about the place spouting gibberish for laughs. Completion of challenges also grants you Scout-like badges, which, although stand out as nice milestones for progress, could’ve been integrated onto your Avatar’s outfit for more of a sense of pride and progression.

Though it’s certainly entertaining, Kinect Adventures! appeal does increased the younger you are. Anyone can play it for a quick blast of exhausting satisfaction, yet parents will probably enjoy watching their over-active nippers jig about the living room more than participating after a while. Working and competing with a buddy makes all the games more enjoyable, yet even from a safe distance can score a few unwanted black eyes for both parties. As it stands, Kinect Adventures! is a fantastic demonstration and introduction to the Kinect, yet feel like something of a warm up for your wallet for the more energetic Kinect Sports.