A game that plants the player firmly in a Jedi's shoes is hard to knock - even if wielding the lightsabre is a little slow and clunky
If I were younger and less jaded in my ways, I have to concede that I would find Kinect Star Wars utterly enthralling. After all, this game is all about putting the player in the shoes of a Jedi, and this has been a childhood dream of pretty much every bloke I've ever met who was young enough to enjoy the films when they were first released.
I have to start this preview, however, by making a confession: I am not the type of player Kinect Star Wars is aimed at, the reason being that I am one of those curmudgeonly souls whose love of the Star Wars franchise was obliterated by the prequels. For me, any defence of nearly every Star Wars IP released after The Phantom Menace can be stopped dead in its tracks by uttering the words, "Jar Jar Binks". So the fact that Kinect Star Wars is set during the same time period as the prequel movies was something I had to put to one side for my hands-on preview of the game.
The demo began with a brief tutorial courtesy of Yoda, who was inaudible over the din at the showcase event. Thankfully, a Microsoft representative was on hand to yell over the noise if I got into any trouble and both he and Yoda took me through the game's easy control scheme. Players wield a lightsaber by making cutting and thrusting motions with their right hand. They can also use it to deflect laser beams shot at them from oncoming foes. Their left hand allows them to use The Force to lift enemies into the air and knock them over. They can also use their feet to kick opponents down, provided they're close enough. Finally, by leaning forward, players can make their Jedi sprint across environments.
Once the tutorial was over, I was thrust into the action. The game's plot, I was told, takes place in the same timeframe as the Star Wars prequel movies, and the segment I was playing was set in the cloud city of Bespin. My Jedi arrived there in a dropship which circled the city, showing it was under attack by Trade Federation droids, and then I was prompted to jump into the action.
It's here that the first niggle arose. There was quite a bit of lag between my movements and the action on-screen. Time and time again my lightsabre blows missed my targets because of the delay between my actions and those of the figure on-screen. My left-handed Force attacks were less of an issue, as they cleared foes out of my way easily. But lightsabre attacks felt late and clunky and were especially frustrating when I tried to deflect laser beam attacks, which became a rather big issue when bigger droids with forcefield protection rolled into view. The demo ended once they'd been dispatched and I'd come face to cowl with a pair of hooded figures clutching two lightsabers a piece.
Still, it has to be said that sweeping enemies aside with a wave of one's hand is pretty satisfying, and according to the Microsoft representative on hand, the gameplay won't be limited to lightsaber battles - players will get to pilot vehicles and starfighters too. The latency issues I experienced during the demo may well be cleared up by the time of release, and if they aren't it's a safe bet that younger players won't give a hoot. However imperfect Kinect Star Wars may be, it grants the power of The Force to any player who boots it up and for that reason alone, regardless of my concerns, it is a game which will sell very healthily.
? Kinect Star Wars will be released for Xbox 360 with Kinect this winter
Ivana Bozilovic Cristina Dumitru Cat Power January Jones Christina DaRe
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