Kinect Sports - Kinect Required (Xbox 360)

I got this when i bought my kinect and i have to say of the 5 games i got its the one that gets played the most.The game is similar in it's fun themed sports style to Nintendo Wii's Sports resort game but its much better than that. The game has a number of core sports or 'main events' such as football, bowling, boxing, track & field etc. and it also has a series of mini games based on each of these.All the game modes are alot of fun, while not exactly simulation style or serious it is a while lot of fun. I'm 30 and i play alongside my 5 year old, my 3 year old, their 67 year old grandad and their 26 year old mother sometimes too and we all have a great laugh, the grandad of the family who is no gamer by the way really loves the game.At the end of an event the game shows you a video of you all playing the game recorded by the kinect itself which can be very funny.The core of the kinect's appeal and fun is the fact your body movements are recorded and put into the game and in Kinect sports there is good reward for doing things properly but it is forgiving enough for my 3 year old to play the bowling without and direct help and still get herself some strikes!Overall a top quality fun game and a great launch product for the kinect, i expect it wont be long too before the hardcore gamer or sports fan is being catered for with simulation style sports games too.If your gonna buy a kinect get this game with it, if you have a kinect but didnt buy Kinect sports yet then get it, it's the one kinect game you should have in your collection right now for some good old fashioned family fun.

The fact that this game is a launch title speaks volumes about what you can expect from Kinect. We've had our Kinect since launch but this one had to stay out the way for Christmas, but everyone in the family was itching for a go and to be brutal I expected to be disappointed.Thank Goodness for misplaced pessimism!Started with bowling and frankly is that was all there was with this you would probably be more than happy. But then you have Table Tennis, Track and Field, Boxing, Football and Volley Ball.If there is an issue it is as always not with the game but with the Kinnect - that SPACE HUNGRY brute! We have a small playroom and one person gets just about enough room. The funny thing is you just start playing, enjoying it, then thinking how you can maybe convince the wife to lose, say, the bedroom, so you have a bigger area for the Kinnect. A lottery win maybe - then you could build a Kinnect Ready room.Frankly you WILL find a space for Kinect.Table Tennis is a fun but challenging one handed affair and very receptive. Track and Field is the fun one, and for the middle aged a real workout. Boxing certainly gets the heart rate up, and for the one player could do with a few 'levels' rather than one opponent. Volley Ball was great fun, but led to the wife taking out the ceiling lampshade - you don't need to jump THAT high, dear.Best of all for the blokes is Football, which actually is the least active of the group, but ultimately the most satisfying. The online play just takes it all to a better level.Well worth a pop to show you what that [...] bit of hardware can do.Now, where do we sleep IF the Kinect gets the main bedroom..............

Kinect Sports is what Wii Sports should have been. Gone is the ability to play lying on the sofa or score a strike every time - instead high knees and activity are the order of the day. This game really isn't one for the unfit or the faint hearted - it does require physical exertion.The different sports involved are well complimented by a selection of mini-game with each. Free downloadable extras adds extra mini-games to each sport and mascots for the "party mode" which allows large groups of people to play in two separate teams. While you do need a reasonable amount of space for people to play in - something which people have previously complained about - I think this adds to the realism of the experience. If you weren't to run on the spot before throwing the javelin or be able to properly kick the ball, I think this would significantly detract from the game.The only element that lets this otherwise fantastic addition to the Kinect lineup is the lack of single-player appeal long term. While there is motivation to try and level up, the mini-game menus become quickly tiresome and the main events too difficult and not weighted strongly enough. I love this game, but to get the most out of it play it with friends and then it's nothing less than great fun.