Featured Kinect Review
PC Magazine Gives Kinect Editors Choice
Source Article: PC Magazine
Kinect Review Summary:
Jeffrey L. Wilson at PCMag.com did a hands on Kinect Review and came away very impressed.He was surprised just how accurate the Kinect sensor is. How easy it was to get up and running and most importantly how much fun he and his colleagues had playing.
He is slightly concerned you need to play in the "sweet spot about 6 to 8 feet away from the sensor". But Kinect immediately lets you know when you get out of range and helps you seamlessly find your way back. And Jeffrey had a great tip ... mark the sweet spot on the floor.
Bottom line, he thinks Kinect is well worth the money and gave it the coveted PC Mag Editor's choice award.
Key Quote:
Microsoft has succeeded in making its spin on motion gaming not only a reality, but an insanely fun Xbox add-on that uses Kinect's depth-sensing camera and microphone in a revolutionary way that kills any accusations of it being a Wii-inspired gimmick.
If you have an Xbox, Kinect is a must-have add-on that's more than worthy of our Editors' Choice Award.
Key Points
- Works with your existing XBox 360 or is included with the new 360s
- Doesn't require an Xbox Live Live subscription (but you can use Kinect's motion navigation with several of Xbox Live Gold features, such as ESPN)
- Setting up Kinect is a simple affair
- Stellar Motion Control (when you are within range)
- Motion tracking surprisingly accurate, overall the experience was extremely impressive.
- A second player can jump into the game at any time (with certain games e.g. Kinect Adventures) without having to pause the game - "I was floored by this"
- Allows non-gamers to easily get up and play without the "daunting" game controller
- You have to be positioned in a "sweet spot about 6 to 8 feet away from the sensor" - may be a problem in a cramped space.
- You can easily step out of the play field (but Kinect senses when you do and tells you what way to step to get right back in the play zone without missing a beat in the game)
- Once you get a hang of the play areas, staying within it becomes second nature.
- TIP: Marking the sweet spot on the floor can be very helpful
- Excellent voice recognition.
- If you don't own a Xbox 360, you have to shell out at least $299 for the entry level Xbox 360 Kinect bundle, but that is more affordable than the $399 PlayStation 320GB Move Bundle
- The $149 for Kinect is fairly reasonable— "after all, when you consider a game title like Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock will cost you $169 after you buy all the necessary accessories."



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