Star Wars fans really love to get into the immersive environment of George Lucas’ world and now Kinect Star Wars gives them a chance. In this new gameplay video, we actually get to see this first hand, and it’s actually kind of cool, despite what I’ve said in the past.
The first thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the game seems to have to do with Jabba directly or indirectly. Course we all know the Hutts have their grubby little hands in just about everything in the Empire, so this isn’t a big surprise. There are the pod races on Tatooine where you get to use your body to control Anakin’s podracer against opponents like Sebulba and others. This is just like you did in the game Star Wars Pod Racer, if you ever played that, only with more action. In this one, you get to nudge your opponents and throw things at them in an attempt to disable their pods to win the race. Revenge for slamming you is always fun.
Speaking of revenge, or perhaps why Jabba had locked up the Rancor to begin with, it seems that his captive is running amok in Mos Eisley, laying waste to everything he can find including buildings, people, whatever. And you are him. When you reach out your hand and bash something, it gets bashed on the screen. You can pick up guys and toss them around like ragdolls or step on their little Empire bodies. Of course, their goal is to put you back in that hole obviously, someplace you would not want to return to. At first I thought that this one could be pretty bad, but getting out of the hole of stress is necessary sometimes and I can’t think of a better way to do it than beating through a town (in a game, not in real life) just like those guys when they take a sledgehammer to an iPad or a car. And far less costly. Of course the goal is to do as much damage as possible before they take you down, but the struggle looks so satisfying.
Next we are transported to Jabba’s Lair to meet with the Hutt himself. And you remember what was in Jabba’s lair, right? No, not that annoying flying critter that made nasty comments. No, the beautiful Princess Leia in her most famous garb, the slave bikini. While other of Jabba’s harem gets to dance, none will entrance the fans as much as putting Leia through her paces on the dance floor and watching those hips shake (even if it is a bit cartoonish).
And finally, the topping on the cake, as it were, is the Jedi mode. Remember that video of the Star Wars Kid? Well that will be you playing Kinect Star Wars when you enter this mode. Your job is to take out as much of the enemy as possible using all your wits and weaponry (and full body motion). This one is the most immersive part of the game as you become one with your character. When you swing your invisible lightsaber in the living room, he or she swings it in the game, slicing through a set of battle droids or deflecting their blasts. You can also force push as well, which is fun to get rid of several of them at once, and if you get into a real bind, you can jump out of the way.
All in all, it sounds like a fun game now that we’ve seen more of it and I have to admit, even if I’ve been hard on it, I am looking forward to April 3, 2012
