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The height of what this can do... and it is good
There is no plot to this(it would get in the way). This offers arcade-style game-play for anywhere between 1 and 8 people, and whenever there's more than one person(it's fantastic it's "just" between several, how quick their reflexes and what kind of shape they are in), it offers a well-handled tournament(free for all, or teams pitted against each other(Football Fever, where you earn singular points by winning the handful of individual bouts, and it shows your progress inbetween all of them, letting you know the stakes... if it's just a single person, it's Par For the Course, where you make your way to the hole, your progress(and if you can avoid the sandtrap!) depending on how well you do in them, and you have to do it within the shot limit)... this was made for inviting friends over) or more relaxed competition in a "tag" system, that asks how many players after every match, so that anyone can opt in or out of the next one... say they've just gotten their rest, or reached the point where they need one. This, as any of its kin, is tremendously exhausting in the long run(don't expect to play for more than a half to a full hour in a row), and that is definitely a positive. It is a great way to get exercise even if you have no open areas around to get it, if the gym is closed(or you want to save the money you might spend going there), if the weather prohibits going out, etc. As the cover promises 101(!) Dalmatians... I'm sorry, *activities*(and it covers a metric crapton of sports(and then some things that you wouldn't think of for that), running the gamut, so to speak). Unless you use your controller(press Start) to go into the menu and manually choose, this is rather streamlined(an unfortunate aspect, as usual, as it takes away choice from those of us with the controllers in our hands), meaning, you don't choose which of these mini-games you play(it either has presets(and you can't put any together by yourself, or choose the length/difficulty of contests... and it would be nice if you could choose how physically exerting it would be, such as "no hopping", one has you jumping trampolines and it really wears you out) or it chooses more or less randomly, perhaps guided by choices along the way, it's unclear and the manual offers no clarity on this). Among what you can do is Curling, Squash, Restringing a racket, Toss pancakes up into a fan(gradually rising), Karate(block sticks being hit at you!) and one where you dive to sides and/or up to block your goal... all in the comfort of your living room. It is fun and addictive. There are also some that are questionable... Spot the Winning Horse is enjoyable, although it's just about good eyes, could as easily have been an online flash game, really, gains nothing from what this enables. Before a round(most of the various ones work well, a third of them seem to have trouble) starts, you very briefly get instructions on how to do it, and an icon shows you the kind of movement you're supposed to do
usually this is enough, but some of them, you can't necessarily figure out how to do well from that(which means you have to practice, as with anything in this medium... however, it takes away from the "have others over who haven't tried it and spar). This is family friendly, and has a silly, cartoony visual style to it(it attaches your actual face(taking a picture of every participant) to these figures that represent you), without being obnoxious to appeal to children(who could easily try this... there's a wide age-range, if you can stand and wave your extremities(...not that one...), this is for you). Sound is well-done, with impact and nuance to them. Graphics are great, and most of what you see in this looks phenomenal. Photo realistic? No. Not supposed to be. It creates a slightly exaggerated, colorful world. As with some other of the "Play" titles, the trouble is worst when something gets "in front of your own body", meaning your torso, it's infinitely better when it's out at your sides so it can tell if your arm are there or not, and especially if it's not standing still(this was not made for very fine, delicate maneuvers... forget using your fingers). This remains worth it to get, even if the technology has supposedly moved on. The Wii offers a more sensitive motion sensor, and thus provides a workable alternative to the PC(if you're not able to assemble a proper one for VG's, or you have some other reason to want something else) for the FPS genre, and third-person titles(really, those of you who try adjusting the free, loose camera with a friggin' thumbstick, on the PS3 or X-Box... Heck, I've seen stuff that's going away from that excellent feature because developers nearly exclusively focus on consoles today... it's going backwards, plain and simple), in addition to putting a tool in your hand that means you get a very real proxy for, say, a sword for fencing(Red Steel 2 is a true achievement in that regard), and there are many more options, in that realm. The machine does still have trouble accepting its limitations on certain releases(something the Eye-Toy tends to do marvelous at), and, judging by all the solely negative press(I haven't tried it yet, albeit I probably will eventually, mainly from a seemingly unstoppable sense of optimism... and a certain Star Wars license), the Kinect is entirely devoid of any such self-realization. Add to that it is seemingly rushed and there are problems with it, with it's inner workings, that should have barred it from coming out in its current form. There is nothing offensive in this(not even the so-called "safe violence" seen in animations for kids). I recommend this to everyone who appreciates the concept, regardless where they are and how old they are. 8/10
- TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
- Jun 11, 2012
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