Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Kinectimals With Bears Provides Truth In Advertising
When Kinectimals launched alongside Kinect last year, we found it to be an adorable virtual pet of sorts. Using the peripheral to interact with the variety of jungle cats worked surprisingly well, and there was little denying that younger gamers would love these playful pets. Just shy of a year later, the game has received an "extended release" in the form of DLC or as its own retail disc. Kinectimals Now With Bears doesn't bill itself as a sequel, and doesn't play like one. However, the addition of bears brings some new activities to extend the Kinectimals experience.
It won't take long to realize that Kinectimals Now With Bears is an accurate title for the extended release, as it plays and feels exactly like the original Kinectimals...only with bears, now. These young cubs are about the same size as the cheetahs and tigers from the original release, although you'll get a chance to partake in several new activities. Scattered across the new island of Mira are juggling, fishing, and tree climbing games to play with your bear.
I spent a couple of hours playing these games with my black bear Bort, and they were about what you'd expect if you've played the original. Various arm motions and gestures controlled Bort as he climbed trees, juggled with me, and helped me fish. Most of my gestures were picked up quickly, although it wasn't immune to the occasional Kinect misreading.
There isn't a ton of new content in this DLC, but young gamers who fell in love with their cats in the original game are sure to love the baby bears just as much.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
