Feature: Hands-on with Kinect

The Kinect is set to be Microsoft's biggest hardware launch since the arrival of the Xbox 360 in 2005, and aims to transform the way we interact with the console and with games forever. A motion camera with lots of neat tricks up its sleeve, the device houses two lenses for stereoscopic vision, detecting depth and movement in three-dimensional space, while an infra-red camera increases accuracy by picking up the heat signature of players as well as their shape. It'll also come with a microphone for voice commands, and boasts the ability to isolate voices and block outside interference. In terms of features, it has everything it needs for true hands-free gaming.

At gamescom 2010, DS put the device and its launch line-up through its paces. Here's a taste of the sports, racing, dancing and fitness titles that'll be on shelves come November 10.

Using the device

Kinect is designed to be entirely controller free, so navigating menus is usually performed by holding out your hand, palm facing forward, to direct a cursor around the screen. Flicking between menu options depends on the game, some opting for hovering the cursor over a button for several seconds, others locking the cursor into a zone, switching screens with a swipe of the hand. It's the stuff that science fiction is made of, and nine times out of ten worked fine, with occasions where the cursor would drift on its own, or lagged behind your hand movements. Outside interference and unfinished software could easily account for these, however.

Later this year, the dashboard will be revamped to make way for Kinect. While the standard interface will boot up the console, waving at the screen will jump into a screen with six panels, allowing navigation with the cursor, and more options available by moving to the edge and swiping across. The panels housed all the usual suspects for playing and launching Xbox Live services. Whether all these services will cater for Kinect specifically is unknown, but the Avatar customisation area will be updated with panels and hands-free buttons and swipes.

Playing and stopping movies will also make use of these options, but it's far easier to use voice commands instead. While we couldn't demo this system (Microsoft's event was very noisy) you can navigate and launch services using voice alone, prefacing them with the word “Xbox”. Both this and the cursor navigation are logical in design, with the latter working hassle free and certainly enjoyable in a novelty way. However, there is little doubt that navigating menus would be handled far more quickly and more efficiently with a control pad.

Finally, there's positioning. Much like the Wii sensor bar or the PlayStation Eye, it'll sit below the television pointing out into the room. While you can play the Wii from a metre onwards, a possible issue with Kinect is that it has a specific zone of play. All demo stations required a lot of room to play games, with an area four to five feet from the screen needed to pick up the player. In front or behind that, and the sensor will struggle or fail to pick up users at all. While the experience is no doubt optimised for the living room, for those who play their consoles in compact spaces, this could end up being a real deciding factor. However, we're hoping to test the device in real world situations before passing proper judgement in this regard.

Kinect Sports

Based on the phenomenal success of Wii Sports, we're not exactly gobsmacked that Microsoft has come up with its own take on the formula. Kinect Sports offers players the chance to compete in football, volleyball, table tennis, bowling, track-and-field, boxing and more. Aside from track-and-field, there's little here that the Nintendo series hasn't already explored, so the level of imagination on show isn't exactly staggering - but how do the games play?

Football is clearly the jewel in the crown but the others more than hold their own from a standpoint of functionality. The motion technology allows a good deal of accuracy during each event and the games are certainly enjoyable when played against friends, particularly the bowling which is sure to become a fan-favourite. However, like its Wii counterpart, Kinect Sports has severely limited appeal in single-player mode as nobody wants to thrash around an empty living room.

Kinect Adventures

For the adrenaline-hungry extreme sports enthusiasts out there, Kinect Adventures ensures that thrill-seeking is no longer limited to the great outdoors. Admittedly, the size of the thrills may vary compared to real-life mountain climbing or white-water rafting, but this is an entertaining take on such activities.

Adventures has the player take on the role of the controller, requiring them to use full-body motion to jump, dodge and kick their way through various obstacle courses and exotic locations. Not only are the events fun to play, they also have the feel of a mini workout, hinting at scope for health and fitness titles using the hardware. Like most of the Kinect launch line-up, this is intended as a social experience and the option to jump in and out of online multiplayer sessions will certainly prove popular among those looking for an impromptu exercise session.

Dance Central

If you want a studio to be working with a brave new peripheral for a music rhythm game, then the top choice would be Harmonix. And it looks like they've delivered a belter: similar to how Just Dance instructs you with a scrolling list of moves that are demonstrated by on-screen performers, here the camera senses your whole body movement for an incredibly diverse range of dance moves that are handed to you at just the right complexity and speed so you're always on top of the action.

The studio is also planning to give it the Rock Band treatment, with regular downloadable content, already adding to the likes of 'Poker Face', 'Poison', 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' and the other 30 or so tracks on the disc. With support for multiple difficulties, hundreds of moves - many which are song specific - and its accessibility for both the casual and core gamer, we predict this to shift a lot of copies at launch.

Kinectimals

This Nintendogs style offering has you choose and play with cute animals using motion control. Holding your arms out would allow you to scratch behind your tiny beast's ears or tickle his face, and it will repeat your claps, spins and jumps. The cub gets better with practice however, so more complex manoeuvres such as star jumps and balancing on one leg will take time to get right, providing a goal for players to work toward. Recognition for all of these was good but not perfect, particularly with lying down and playing dead, which it didn't seem to pick up on at all.

The island location is home to all kinds of activities, one of which is an assault course that has you run on the spot, leap, duck and balance as the little cub goes across ledges and over fences. Once done the time will be posted to a local leaderboard, and working on his abilities in other areas will see improvements in his times as well. Kinectimals is as much a gimmick as Nintendo's best-selling dog-walking title was, and while it was difficult to see what the options available were for long-term play, it was a fun and cute enough addition to the launch line-up.

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Ubisoft is providing a fully-fledged fitness title without the need for boards or accessories. After scanning your body for height and size details, it then puts you through your paces with a variety of tasks. One is a simple minigame of punching and kicking blocks that fall from the screen, gathering pace that requires timing and rthythm to complete. It'll also offer areas for push-ups and strength training, as well as a zone for relaxing yoga exercises.

While on the surface it sounds like a basic fitness title, there are a lot of very smart design features that make good use of the Kinect. For one, the player is always displayed on-screen as a silhouette, providing instant feedback as to whether they're replicating the yoga moves currently, or if they're throwing fists in the right direction. It's perhaps the only Kinect game to do this, and is a simple addition that really benefits a fitness title. The menus are also designed with as little clutter as possible, making it easy to navigate, with on-screen text neatly adjusting around the player in relation to their position.

Kinect Joy Ride

Kinect Joy Ride will no doubt be the first of many controller-free racing titles that uses the Microsoft's patented motion technology. Taking its cues from the likes of Mario Kart and Tony Hawk, the game has players perform vehicular manoeuvres through steering gestures and stunts, via full-body movement. Leaning in the direction you are travelling helps you powerslide around corners, while thrusting your arms forwards activates a boost.

Successfully pulling off combos in Stunt Mode feels satisfying, but the motion controls during racing modes are certainly no replacement for a control pad as far as accuracy is concerned. Subtle motions rather than exaggerated gestures are encouraged, though this method still falls somewhat short of the precision that's usually associated with traditional inputs. While there's some fun to be had in multiplayer, Joy Ride is essentially a novelty title.

Kinect will be available for Xbox 360 from November 10 for £129.99.