Further proof that the Kinect ruins everything

We were going to get Kinect Star Wars.  Actually, we were somewhat excited.  We heard good things about the pod-racing, and let’s face it we’re Star Wars nerds so the whole idea of Star Wars is also bait for the perfect trap.

No level of nerdom could have prepared us for this, though.

Sing it with me now.

I’m feelin’ like a star.
You can’t stop my shine.
I’m lovin’ Cloud City
My head’s in the sky.
I’m Solo, I’m Han Solo
I’m Han Solo

(Entire lyrics below)

I hate myself for knowing the words.

There are also Stormtroopers dancing to “It’s great to be in the YMCA Empire today!” and Twi’lek slave girls who quote, “ain’t no hologram girl.”

Once again the Kinect proves worthless to gamers.  Penny-Arcade insinuates you may find enjoyment if you’re 7, but I question whether or not younglings enjoy the game or the simple act of swinging objects around a room without being told to stop playing swords in the house.

Bioware’s use of the Kinect is highly questionable, and their own self-praise is eyebrow-raising-odd.  The Kinect was used as a glorified microphone in Mass Effect 3.  Graev would cough and it would cast a biotic.  This should have never been tacked on, or at most been accomplished with the Xbox 360 headset.

In Kinect Disneyland Adventures the Kinect was actually, believe it or not, the worst part of an otherwise shockingly good game.  If I could have just sat in my La-Z-boy chair with a controller in-hand I would have loved roaming the park collecting Disney crap.

The only use we have for the Kinect now is a hands-free Netflix remote.  It only takes three or four times to get it to work.  “Xbox! PAUSE!”  “XBOX, Pause”  “xBOX, Pause”  “xbox pauSE”

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Reckoning Demo Impressions

Reckoning PC vs. Console Image
Keen's Xbox360 (left) and PC (right) Reckoning setup.

The Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo released today for all platforms!  In a surprise twist, it’s even available for STEAM.  This is an exciting moment for us.  Reckoning is on my personal list of most anticipated games releasing this year and I’m stoked to see the 38 Studios’ first product.

Is Reckoning as good as expected?  What platform should I get it on?  What are some important details worth knowing?  We hope to answer those questions for you by comparing the Xbox 360 and PC versions of the demo.

Before we get into too much detail, let me just say that both of us enjoyed the demo enough to pre-order.  The world really captured our imaginations and the experience as a whole, all things considered, was positive.  It’s nice playing a western RPG with some color!

Read on for our look at the console and PC versions. (more…)

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