Review: Kinect Sports on XBox 360

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

One of the key selling points of Microsoft's Kinect controller is that it offers a true exercise benefit that, provided you put in the time and effort, will get your heart racing and have you working up a decent sweat in no time. Kinect Sports is a launch title that's focused on the competitive aspect of such games as bowling boxing, table tennis, track and field and beach volleyball and puts the Kinect controller as well as players to the test.

Forget for a while that your avatars on the Kinect Sports ($49.99 where video games are sold) categories are cutesy, large headed cartoons. The Kinect sensor uses sonar-like precision to detect and capture your movements for an incredible degree of accuracy and precision. It is easy to take the technology for granted once you are engrossed in say, a bout of boxing but as any Kinect Sports spectator will tell you, the hardest choice is whether to watch the players or their avatars beat the living daylights out of each other.

Playing any of the games in Kinect Sports puts you in the middle of the action right away. I'm not kidding when I say that players should warm up before engaging in these games, at the very least stretch your muscles or limber up you body beforehand.

There's nothing cute about the boxing game which can be downright savage and seems to bring out some scary primal responses from players. The Kinect sensor can track punches, jabs, and accurately determine if you blocked a punch successfully (blocking is just as important as punching).

The punches are where the Kinect really shines. It can tell if you've put some weight behind the punch and can even determine if you've unleashed a successful combination (tip: body-body, head. body-body, head). You would think that whoever throws the most punches or moves the most would have an advantage but the system goes for accuracy. The three knockdown rule also applies to this game as to technical knockouts so while the avatars look like pissed off Lego minifigs, the gameplay is very realistic.

So realistic, in fact, that first-time players are guaranteed aching muscles for days to come (just like in real boxing). We soon discovered we had muscles in our shoulders, our upper backs and our arms that we never knew we had. Gameplay can get so intense that one round seems to take forever and you will be gasping for air and thirsting for water by round 3. Great workout!

The track and field events are similarly exhausting but you need to master running in place (and vigorously with knees going up as far as they can). We cringed as some newbies ran not in place but towards the 55" inch Samsung LCD HDTV we were reviewing, thankfully they caught themselves.

For Long Jump and Javelin events, you need to do a quick and convincing run in place before you either jump up high or fling an imaginary javelin as far as you can. Track and field hurdles is just that, you time jumps over obstacles while competing with other players or the computer.

Soccer an volleyball aren't for everyone and are the least accurate or convincing games in the title. Table tennis is interesting since you really need to be very precise with your movements to return, serve and slice. Players who are good in real world table tennis will do well here.

Bowling is great fun extremely well realized and an engaging experience for players of all ages. This is the game we keep coming back tom because it is so well done. The graphics are superb and the orientation and gameplay really suits the Kinect system's use of space.

On a large LCD HDTV, the illusion of being in a fancy bowling lane is quite convincing. This is also the least physically taxing game (although play bowling for three hours and you WILL be sore) and is the least imposing of the games.

All in all, Kinect Sports on XBox 360 is a thoroughly engaging and physically challenging set of games that are guaranteed to get you and your friends moving. The social aspect of this game is just great people are competitive by nature and there's something about competing in "sports" that intensifies the experience. This is truly a title that's great for parties (bring lots of water and less beer) and one of the titles that has helped get us through this humdrum Winter.

Rating: 5 out of 5