Kinect Sports - Xbox 360

Kinect Sports is a collection of sports-based mini-games that includes such sporty activities as volleyball, soccer, and ping pong. My time with the game was split between bowling and the hurdles portion of the track and field events.

Bowling is basically a much easier and more satisfying version of bowling in Wii Sports. Gone are the days of mistiming the release of the Z button or having to hold a controller at the right angle to start your motion. You simply hold out your hand, pick up your virtual bowling ball, and mimic a roll. The harder you motion, the faster the ball will travel. Turn over your hand in mid-roll, and the ball will spin in the appropriate direction. Or if you’d rather be a big shot, you can toss the ball overhand, and watch as the ball appropriately cracks the lane before traveling onward. If you love Wii bowling, you’ll love Kinect bowling even more. It’s simple, responsive and just plain fun.

The next event was hurdles, which requires you to run in place and then jump when the oncoming hurdle turns green. I cleared every hurdle without issue, but didn’t pump my legs fast enough to win the race. I’ve never liked running in place, so a whole game built around it is not my idea of a good time. Still, I was a tad winded by the end of it, so I guess that’s a good sign (maybe not for me, but definitely for the game).

Microsoft had no choice but to create their own version of Wii Sports to introduce players to the Kinect’s capabilities, and this collection looks like a solid enough title that will do just that. You can expect to see Kinect Sports this November.