Kinect Sports Review

Is Kinect Sports a must have for Microsoft’s shiny new Kinect sensor this holiday season. Or, is it just a rip of off the overly popular Wii Sports. How does it stack up against the other Sports titles on the market? Find out in our full review after the break.

Kinect Sports is a party game no doubt about that. It doesn’t have a deep career. It honestly doesn’t feature much depth at all. What it does offer is crisp natural game play that buries the competition. Kinect Sports offers up a variety of games to choose from and mini games for most of the sports includes. There is Boxing, Bowling, Soccer, Table Tennis, Track and Field and my personal favorite Beach Volleyball.  All of them are a blast! This game maybe the most impressive as far as Kinect’s movement tracking goes. The competitive and co-op game modes are really fun though they are limited to two active players at a time. The mini games feature four-player competitive turn based game play.  

Boxing:

Boxing plays really well, reading several different punch motions. You can even step into a punch for a little added power. Hooks, jabs, straights, upper cuts it’s all here. The game will give you a good work out as well. This one is light years ahead of Wii Sports.  One of the best Kinect has to offer. You can play head to head or you can battle the computer player. The CPU is way too easy to on the easier settings but it is a nice challenge on the hardest difficulty.

Bowling:

This one is pretty good but it does lose something in not having a controller. Yes making a proper bowling motion works great to knock down pins but, it is difficult to be accurate and it’s tough to put proper spin on your rolls. All in all it is good fun.  Good game for kids of all ages. 

Soccer:

Really simple game play mechanics, really fun game play. You move your body in the path of the passes to steal the ball. You kick the ball to pass and shoot. No running to worry about. The game is a little on the easy side even on the hardest of difficulties. To be honest this is the most fun I have had with a soccer game on a console.

Table Tennis:

This one is the only place Kinect Sports suffers from not having a controller. Though it is still a decent game it feels like there is something missing without the controller. It is certainly an adequate table tennis game but it has trouble with forehand and back hand at times and the spin isn’t always there for you.

Track and Field:

Track and Field offers a lot of events and a lot of running and, some really funny video play back. 100 Meter dash, long jump, javelin, discus and, hurdles, It’s all here.  It’s hard not to have fun with this one and it definitely shows off what Kinect does that Wii and Move can’t. It tracks everything! This one isn’t for everyone due to the physical demand. This game shines on the Kinect censor.

Volleyball:

This game is flat out great especially in co-op it’s the most natural feeling sports video game I have ever played. You squat to bump, you raise the roof to set up your team mate then jump up to spike it home. This game will keep you on your toes the whole time and you’ll come out sweaty with a big smile on your face.

Mini Games:

There are a ton on the disc they all allow up to four players. All the mini games are just broken down versions of the main events. Track breaks it down to the individual events of the instead of the tournament mode. Soccer offers up kicking accuracy and goal tending.  There is some good content here but nothing that shines outside of the main game modes.

Achievements:

The achievements are all obtainable but will take a little while. Plan to lose a few pounds while going for the thousand. The difficult ones here are just for beating the AI on the hardest difficulty. A determined person could probably knock it out in a day or two.

Conclusion:

This game should be a for sure purchase for any one that picked up a Kinect sensor. There isn’t a huge amount of depth here but you can’t really expect depth from a sports title. There is plenty of replay value here. Kinect Sports is a great companion to your new Kinect sensor. If you are trying to decide between this game and Motion Sports I’m confident you will be happier with Kinect Sports. Microsoft hit a homerun with this one.

8.1