Hands-On: Kinect Star Wars

Microsoft displayed a plethora of Kinect titles last weekend during Auckland’s Armageddon Expo. As popular as Just Dance 2 was, the one Kinect game that caught our interest was Kinect Star Wars.

When Kinect Star Wars was first announced back at E3 2010, I was intrigued about how it would play like. I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since I was a little kid and couldn’t wait to finally have a chance to play the game first hand.

I got a chance to play two levels in Kinect Star Wars and my thoughts on the game are mixed I will have to say. Graphically, the game is looking amazing. Episode 1 fans will love the fact that the likes of Battle Droids, Destroyer Droids and Anakin’s podracer are rendered accurately and stay true to the look and feel of the films.

As it is with most Star Wars movies and video games, the sound in Kinect Star Wars is excellent too. You can expect the laser blasts, lightsaber sounds and the iconic Star Wars theme music here in Kinect Star Wars. Fans of the franchise will feel right at home playing this game thanks to its visuals and audio.

In terms of gameplay, it’s not the type of game that would appeal to hardcore gamers. The gameplay is only an on-rails experience meaning you don’t have the chance to actually control where you want your character to go to. The majority of the time you would just swing your arms aimlessly hoping your lightsaber would hit the numerous droids that are trying to kill you.

Although with that being said, I don’t even think Kinect Star Wars is the type of game where you can get killed. While I was waiting for my turn, I saw lots of kids playing the game and taking ages to strike down the droids with their lightsabers. No matter how many times that got shot at, there was no life bar or game over screen to greet them. This may have been designed specifically to cater for the “casual” gamer much like the Lego video games….

Since you get to control a Jedi, you can also use your force powers too. This is done by lifting up your left arm and then moving it around. You can execute the classic force push or having some fun by shaking your enemies like rag dolls. The only sort of motion you can do in the game in terms of moving your character is by leaning your body forward to go straight or jumping on the spot so your character can jump. Jumping becomes a crucial part of the game when you face off against General Grievous’ MagnaGuards. This is because they block all the time and you will need to attack them from behind.

The other level I got to try was the pod race. Unfortunately, there was nobody there to tell me how to exactly play this mode so I guessed and lifted my arms up and steered like I was driving a car. I would say it was difficult playing this mode as I was continuously crashing into the wall most of the time. Whether or not this was a result of me not knowing how to play the game or this is how you actually play I don’t know.

Nevertheless, I feel there is still some work that needs to be done with Kinect Star Wars to ensure it runs smoothly when it hits in 2012. The demo kiosk beside me didn’t work because the game failed to pick up any of our motions…