E3 Impressions Round-Up: Kinect

During E3 this year, Microsoft put great emphasis on support for its hit motion tracking sensor, Kinect. The company announced new sensor exclusive titles as well as a suite of games made "Better With Kinect." Check out our impressions on the Kinect titles that were available on the show floor.

Dance Central 2

With Dance Central 2, the team at Harmonix is exploring new ways to get more people up and dancing. With that said, this entry to the franchise introduces simulataneous multiplayer that allows two dancers to get up and groove at the same time. The simultaneous multiplayer offers drop in, drop out gameplay, so if one person grows tired and steps out, the other player's score and gameplay will continue uninterrupted. If another person wants to jump right in and take the place of the player who stepped out, they will seamlessly appear on screen with no delay. Both players can play at their difficulty of choice.

The menu screens are as smooth to navigate as the original Dance Central and now boast a few improvements. Hover over a song in the menu and a video will pop up giving the player a preview of the moves they can expect in the track before jumping in.

When choosing characters you'll notice there are old favorites and new faces. Mo returns for Dance Central 2, and a new character was shown, Glitch, who represents younger fans. Characters are in crews this time around as represented by their outfits. There will be six new venues for these characters to cut a rug in as well.

Performing a song is business as usual: Follow the flash cards along the sides of the screen. This time around there will also be gold flash cards. Get moves on the gold flash cards down and you'll earn bonus points. Break It Down mode has been tweaked as well. Instead of going through moves for an entire song from beginning to end like in the original Dance Central, you can focus on specific moves that you're having trouble with. Voice controls will be implemented as well to navigate during dance practice. The most exciting news is the ability to create playlists. Set up your personal song list and rip through them for the ultimate calorie burning dance party.

Similar to Rock Band, you can import all tracks from the original Dance Central for a huge library, but it will cost a nominal fee. The fee has yet to be announced.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures

Under development by the team who brought you Kinectimals, Frontier is working on a new free roam, open world adventure based on Disneyland. The team at Frontier has thoroughly researched Disneyland acre-by-acre for the most authentic virtual Disneyland experience yet. Designed for younger gamers, players can play as a boy or girl and roam the massive theme park. Point in the direction you want to walk in and the Kinect will guide your character in the appropriate direction as you check out the sights. Stand still and move your head to look in different directions. With the other hand you can pretend to wave a magic wand to bring environmental elements such as street lamps or plants come to life. Waving your wand at objects also reveals coins that you can spend in Disneyland shops in the game based on the real-life stores to buy new items and costumes.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures will allow players to meet and greet with more than 40 Disney mascots such as Mickey, Goofy, or Pluto who will give you quests to embark on. All characters are voiced by their official voice actor. You can also hug and take photos with the adorable characters as well. When navigating the giant park and completing quests there is a "fast pass" option that allows you to head straight to your desired location in seconds by simply putting your arms up and then selecting your location. In one sequence I saw a young girl flying through Neverland and collecting coins. A second player can seamlessly drop in, drop out as well if they want to join the fun. The team at Frontier explained that a narrative will tie together activities, but won't be discussing that until later in development.

Kinect Disneyland Adventures is due out this holiday.

Kinect Fun Labs

The folks at Good Science known for Kinect Adventures bring a series of minigames or "gadgets" to Kinect. Inspired by the hackers in the Kinect community, the team has worked with various community members to explore new ways to utilize Kinect. Even though most of the experiences offered through Fun Labs feel like tech demos, the purpose they serve is to show other developers unique features that they can implement into their own games. The app and gadgets are all free to consumers.

I got to check out the Bobblehead gadget that uses Kinect to scan your likeness and record an audio clip of your voice, then will take those components and create a bobblehead (that's me in the image above looking confused because I didn't know when the camera was scanning, or I just always look that way). Kinect successfully scanned my face and clothes, down to my media badge, and put me in a cat suit in a second scan for fun. Needless to say I walked away impressed with its accuracy and could only think of the possibilities something like this could bring in blockbuster titles that allow character customization. Perhaps you could someday have Kinect generate a Commander Shepard to your likeness in Mass Effect.

Another gadget allowed me to scan a plush animal, add googley eyes to it, then moved my body around to make the finished product dance. Not quite as exciting as the face/body scan that was incredibly accurate, but just one more feature showing off what Kinect can do.

Kinect Sports Season 2

Revealed during Microsoft's E3 press conference, Kinect Sports Season 2 will integrate full body gestures and voice commands and feature new sports. Ski, play tennis, darts, football, baseball, and golf when it hits this holiday.

Fruit Ninja Kinect

Halfbrick's popular iOS title Fruit Ninja is making its way to Microsoft's Summer of Arcade exclusively for Kinect. Ben Reeves sliced through a few pineapples while avoiding bombs and got the scoop on the upcoming downloadable. There will be a 2-player mode, leaderboards, and more. Details here.

Star Wars Kinect

Phil Kollar got his hands on a virtual lightsaber in a demo of Star Wars Kinect and was less-than-impressed by the results. Check out his impressions.

Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012

The latest in the Your Shape franchise will offer 90 hours of gameplay according to Ubisoft, with workout programs and moves that target specific areas (abs, legs, butt, arms, cardio, toning, and new to the series, sports training). The new Your Shape will also feature minigames such as jumping rope. I jumped rope for a couple minutes, lightly moving my arms in circles and jumped in place then one foot at a time when prompted. This definitely got my heart pumping.  There is also another new addition that will allow players to run around the world in locations such as Paris, New York, and London. Other features include dance workouts from genres such as African dance, bollywood, hip-hop, pop, and latin. Bootcamps, cardio boxing, yoga classes, and martial arts will be sure to whip you into shape as well. New floor tracking will allow for tracked push ups and crunches unlike the previous entry in the Your Shape series and other Kinect workout titles that don't have this feature.

MotionSports Adrenaline

The first MotionSports title for Kinect was a buggy mess that didn't go over well with critics so imagine my surprise when MotionSports Adrenaline was announced at E3. The new game takes the MotionSports franchise in the extreme sports direction. Engage in wingsuit, mountainbiking, rock climbing, kayaking, kitesurfing, parkour, and more. Adrenaline features split-screen multiplayer action and a party mode for up to four players. There's also going to be asynchronous online play where courses will be populated with the ghosts of your online friends so you can try and beat their times. During my demo with the game, Kinect had trouble detecting my jump to kick off the wingsuit section. There was a noticeable lag in movement and a delay in receiving onscreen credit for collecting items or completing moves. My demo with the game makes me wonder if Adrenaline might run into the same problems as the previous MotionSports title, so here's hoping the team at Ubisoft Vancouver can give it the polish it needs by its October 2011 release date.

Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster

Double Fine's latest project features a cast of memorable characters in a Kinect experience aimed at the younger crowd. The E3 demo featured a father and son taking on the roles of Elmo and Cookie Monster. The two head over to a dark forest to meet with a third monster and engaged in minigames including a bug-catching game. With Double Fine at the helm, we can likely expect a charming and adorable experience. Check out the first trailer here.

Yoostar On MTV

As part of a partnership with MTV, the team at Yoostar has announced Yoostar On MTV. Players will be able to star in scenes from popular MTV shows, music videos, and more. Yoostar has announced that there will  be scenes from Jersey Shore, The Hills, The City, Laguna Beach, MTV, and more. Yoostar On MTV features an improved virtual green screen for better performance capture and less of a halo effect when you appear on screen. An update for the improved tracking technology will be applicable to Yoostar 2 as well in a free download. I got to perform in a Jersey Shore scene where Snooki doesn't like to be called mommy. Works the exact same way as the previous Yoostar: Hold a pose while the camera detects you, then watch the scene unfold while you deliver lines "video karaoke" style. Play back your performance and share it with friends.

Just Dance 3

The hit dance game on Wii is making its way to "all motion platforms" including Kinect. While we only got to see it on the show floor and not play it, it looks visually similar to its predecessors. Images representing what move to do next glide across the screen for you to follow along with tracks from the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Duck Sauce, Gwen Stefani, and more.

"Better With Kinect"

Here's a list of games that feature Kinect support. Click on links for details and impressions.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Mass Effect 3
Forza Motorsport 4
Minecraft