XBOX Kinect is #1

Posted by Janet Lee on 8th Dec 2010

I only found out about Kinect a couple of weeks ago. After reading some of the preliminary reviews, I was intrigued enough that I pre-ordered it almost immediately. Since first finding out about it, I have read as many reviews as I have had time to read. Unfortunately, the more I read the more leery I got about my pre-order. Most of the reviews complained about lag, or the space requirement, or that the games were nothing more than regurgitated Wii games, and how every game title ever developed wasn't re-developed for Kinect on launch day.

Setting up Kinect was a breeze. Plug and play. A few setup items and you're ready to go.

We moved the coffee table out of the way and moved the couch back a couple of feet to get the 6-8 foot distance recommeded in the documentation. But I don't think you need that much space, honestly. For some of the games, we were as close as 3-4 feet from the Kinect and it worked just fine. I think the space "problem" is a non-issue.

We played Kinect Adventures first, the game that comes in the box. Wii-like? Yes. Fun? So much more fun than any Wii game I've played. That Kinect can track your every move -- your hands, head, arms, feet, hips, EVERYTHING -- is just amazing. No controller can detect whether you're moving side-to-side, or backwards and forwards, or squatting or jumping while at the same time moving your arms and feet. It's just brilliant how well Kinect works.