Kinect Criticism – Is it Justified?

“Come on kids. It’s time to get interactive with the Kinect!” 

 To most of you, that is what Microsoft must have been thinking when the Kinect was released to the public in 2010. Many gamers debated whether the motion control fad was about to influence the Xbox in the way in which the sensor bar had revolutionised the Nintendo Wii. With sales of the Kinect booming around Christmas 2010, many thought that Microsoft would capitalise on this popularity and bring all genres of games to the latest evolution is console gaming. With few games failing to capture the innovation and competitiveness which has seen game franchises become successful in recent years. So, who is the Kinect aimed at then? Again, most of you would say it would be kids or young teenagers. But why can’t it be for everyone? In the world of Kinect, are there such things as Casual and Hardcore gamers?

  Games which were released in conjunction with the Kinects release included Kinect Sports, Fighters Uncaged, Motion Sports: Play for Real, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved and Kinect Adventures which was included in the Kinect. Straight from the word go, the public and the media seemed to have decided that the Kinect was aimed at children who love to jump around and are always active instead of sitting perfectly still on the couch while creeping through a war-torn city trying to save the world from World War 3. Why can’t these types of interactive games be for everyone? (Unless of course you have a disability or find it hard to move) I’m certain that everyone, at some point in their lives have played sport and enjoyed running around and playing football, tennis or golf. Once I had received my Kinect on Christmas morning I was ecstatic! (I was 21 at the time!) I couldn’t wait to see what the technology was like and how well the sensor would pick up my movements in front of the camera.

 I was very impressed indeed. The voice commands as well which could be performed impressed me also especially because of my nationality, Scottish, and my hard to understand accent. It was the overall excitement of the technology which was in front of my very eyes. It was far more impressive than the Wii’s sensor bar and far more impressive than Sony’s Move. Even at first glance, the Kinect titles looked to be for the younger gamers.

However, many gamers turned their back on this revolution for Xbox and went back to playing Call of Duty, Halo and Need for Speed. I feel as if the Kinect brings in all sorts of gaming stereotypes, Children of all ages (well, 3 and upwards), middle aged people who aren’t gamers and the older generation. Most people can jump, dodge, kick and punch mid-air so why not bring the enjoyment factor that the whole family can interact with in game challenges. Dinner with the family on a Sunday could turn into a games night…

 But no, most gamers would rather be left on their own in a dark room with yesterday’s dinner still on their shirts. This is not a dig at the current stereotypical gamers who wish to play the same game all day and all night. We all have our likes and dislikes. I don’t see how people can play Call of Duty and only Call of Duty for days on end. Kinect changed the typical gaming set up (slightly more advanced than Nintendo’s and Sony’s versions) for the better in my opinion.

The Kinect has not only been used for gaming but as the following advert from Microsoft shows, it can be tweaked and altered to be used for several assignments and activities:

As much as the Nintendo Wii was a success, the technology involved in the motion capturing system was basic and cannot compare to the Kinect’s power. I believe that Playstation merely released the Move just to try and keep up with its rivals and it was a huge failure. Lacklustre games were released immediately after the Move was released and not followed up with any further releases. Meanwhile, games for the Xbox continue to back their “technological experiment” with support in hardcore games and games which use the Kinect’s powers entirely. Games such as Gunstringer, Kinect: Star Wars, Rise of Nightmares, Dance Central 1 & 2 and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. All of these titles have been developed by utilising the Kinect’s technology and motion capturing system so that every body movement is captured and displayed in the game as accurately as possible. Of course there are the childrens titles including Sesame Street and Disneyland Adventures which appeal to children of all ages.

 

 As I have mentioned, several developers have used Kinect functions in their games, some of the more hardcore titles including Forza Motorsport 4, Mass Effect 3, Virtua Tennis 4 and Tiger Woods 13. I believe that developers are finally taking notice of the Kinect and taking it serious. The inclusion in Forza and Mass Effect 3 especially show how much the Kinect has been accepted. The voice command’s in Mass Effect 3 work extremely well in the game (the demo anyway) and fully immerses you into the role of Shepherd.

 

It is rumoured that the Kinect was an experiment on the 360 to use with the next generation which I’m sure Microsoft are in the middle of developing. I believe that the Kinect has been somewhat of a success without impressing every gamer out there. Some of the titles are lacklustre and the same rubbish that keeps appearing (Kinect Sports or Motion Sports) but all in all, I believe that the Kinect has been a success and needs to be accepted for the great piece of technology that it is.

@SimonMarshall6

Online Gaming - Why is no-one talking... Can you hear me?

 When the current generation of Gaming was created in 2005, direct communication through online gameplay was born for the console players. Of course, communication on PC gaming had already been established for several years but this brought the use of microphones to the forefront of gaming. Xbox live allowed gamers to instruct one another and allowed players to get along with one another as they shared common ground with the games they were playing. Of course when the PS3 was released the communication in gaming was not as open as it is on Xbox 360, due to PS3 having no party system. Eventually however, the mood within the online community changed and many people preferred to play without a headset and why is this? This current trend of no communication through gaming has become more and more noticeable over the past 2-3 years. Surely the community’s attitude hasn’t turned sour… Has it?

 Ever since the emergence of popular FPS and 3PS franchises such as Call of Duty, Halo and Gears of War, Communication in gaming has always been vital. How else would you know where an enemy is coming from if you are crouched behind some barrels or whether to go all-out attack and go for the victory? So why did people suddenly begin to stop using the headset to use Party chat or no headset at all?

 The main reason I believe is due to the amount of children that play games which are intended for a mature audience. Kids screaming at you, “Die! Die! Die!” That sort of language and attitude from gamers under 12 or so is no good at all. It ruins the realistic feel which games are supposed to impose or immerse you into the game, as it were.  One minute you are sneaking around playing Search and Destroy and before you know it someone on your team is going around killing everyone because they ‘feel like it’. Partly, it is this immature attitude which has divided the hard-core gamers and Casual gamers I would say. This act of selfishness amongst the “Team Killers” which ruin the game for everyone on their team can be avoided with player feedback in the profile menu but once the act has been committed, it is hard to get your win streak back, especially if you are going for achievements.

Point in question

 These are gamers who wish to show off to their friends by saying, “Oh, look who I killed, they all died trololololol.” Again, this selfish act may just be the last straw for some players who will inevitably turn their back on the game and move onto something else. I would know it’s happened to me before. That is why I have never touched COD: MW3 because of the amount of immature players which are on the servers. Of course the majority of players just wish to play and play fair but there’s a minority who wish to “Troll”.

 The current trend of “Trolling” has impacted gaming like an unwanted zit on prom night. Gamers throughout forums seem to be embracing the “Troll” as well as the Trollface logo. I for one totally discourage this. It’s no wonder people have opted out of using microphones because of small minded gamers who wish to poke fun at any given chance. Left 4 Dead is another prime example of great teamwork to begin with and then it turned into every man for himself. Survival is the aim of the game in both Left 4 Dead games and in order to do this, you need to stick together. When the first game was released it was no problem as the community did this without hesitation. But as the public’s ability to play the game grew, people became cocky and started venturing off on their own which inevitably means that Left 4 Dead became Left 3 Dead, Left 2 Dead then Left to die all on your own. Again, not only did this make players want to only play with their friends or forget about wearing a headset but also turned players away from the game when Left 4 Dead 2 was released.

 Games such as Fifa 12 with its “Be a Pro Mode” which allowed 22 players from around the world play in the same game and if you weren’t quick, then you had to play out of position as the popular positions of strikers and wingers would be taken straight away. As you were communicating with your teammates and asking for a pass or even a touch of the ball, players would play with themselves or with their friends while you are in the same team which makes games very frustrating. The exact same problem which faces other games I have mentioned. Gamers playing the games while looking for solo glory and abandoning the rest of the team happens in many games these days. There is a way around this problem however which can only be found on Xbox.

 The Xbox revolutionised the communication barrier with the party system. Friends could gather in a single party and play the game they wanted to play it and if you were a serious gamer then this was the way forward. If you were playing COD, Left 4 Dead or Fifa then you could plan how to play the game while you were in the middle of the game itself! Personally, I only use the party system nowadays. I have been put off of public communication and would rather talk to my friends or my Xbox Live friends over party chat. It cuts out all of the abuse, bullying and ranting that every Joe Bloggs seems to want to talk about. It of course is a big bad world out there in Xbox Live communication. Microsoft can’t stop that unless they removed the communication function.

 Of course I am part of the problem in that I only use party chat but Microsoft… What else can I do?

 The maturity of some gamers is a whole other issue. Parents buying their kids GTA, which is an 18 rated game and letting them play it shows how little they know of games. I don’t think that the fad of trolling will go anywhere soon. Just need to hope that by the time the next generation rolls around, everyone will have grown up and can play like adults!

Can't we all just talk about it and get along... please?!

@SimonMarshall6

GT: SCIENCEakaSYCO

New Video Game Releases- Are We Stuck in a Rut?

When Pong was created in 1972, the creators of the game had no idea what this simple yet addictive video game would create. For the past 40 years, the phenomenon which is gaming has evolved and grown from two stick paddles and a ball to a multi-billion dollar industry. We have seen the rise and fall of arcades, numerous consoles and also of game series. Many great names have been made in the gaming world both by producing games as well as starring in them. Many days and even weeks have been consumed up without notice on trying to complete a game. Players become so engrossed in a game that nothing else seems important. But, now in 2012, has game ideas gone as far as they could go? I have been thinking about this for a while and it seems as though we have had every sort of game imaginable and in today’s market, the same games are being released without much imagination or a so-called “X-Factor” which makes it stand out from the crowd. What is left for gaming? We have been to then ends of the universe fighting aliens and we are even able to learn guitar on games. But what has caused this over-flooding of poor quality games or the lack of genius behind some of the new titles which has merely seen rebranding or sequels. I promise there will not be a sequel to this blog… Well if I make enough money there may be.

 Activision and Infinity Ward broke, almost, every record within Guinness’ little book last November with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. This was the third game in which Activision have released under the Modern Warfare title and was always bound to break records. As history suggests, Call of Duty 4 and Modern Warfare 2 at the time of each games release, broke records of sales figures so the success of the third MW game was inevitable. One of the successes of this franchise though is that basically, the gameplay has never changed since the unique COD 4. In essence, the COD franchise began with the classic World War 2 setting and gameplay. This continued onto COD 2 and 3 but the evolution which was created for COD 4, was incomparable to gameplay which had been featured before. The online modes were great and could keep you entertained for hours on end. But now I feel, as do millions of others, feels that the COD franchise has been bogged down with the same recipe ever since COD 4 was released. World at War, MW2, Black Ops and now MW3 have all had the same gameplay which made Activision’s 2007 release such a smash hit. No advancements on the gameplay, not building on the gameplay which created a whole new fad of the FPS genre. Of course the game still sells very well but I know many have been put off by the games lack of variety and poor community.

 Don’t get me wrong, it is not only COD that suffers from this sequel, money grabbing concept. Games such as Assassin’s Creed, Need for Speed and even games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat who bring out edition after edition after edition with extra characters added in each time. The problem I see with it is where is the innovation? Where is the inspiration which made these original games great? Have developers become so engrossed in getting money that it is willing to forget its loyal fans that made them the big name which they are today? As soon as a game seems to do well after 1 or 2 games, the company seems to stick with the formula and maintain the same old gameplay. I would go as far to say that I am not a fan of any of these games anymore. The lack of variety and difference in gameplay shows a lack of ideas in the gaming market. This is why the market is getting bogged down with the same old games being produced year after year.

 Not all yearly releases are a bad idea in my eyes however. Sports games such as Fifa 12, NBA 2K12 and Madden 12 all require yearly updates for squads and rosters. Not only this, but the gameplay does change every year from Fifa’s contact engine to the tactical defending and then the online features which all of these games feature. These games to require yearly releases as well as new features as that’s what makes them feel so fresh.

This lack of evolution in gameplay in this current generation may also be due to overcrowding of not only same games, but also the same genre of games, most notably the first person shooter genre. Again, Call of Duty created the benchmark into what became the phenomenon for console gaming on the current generation. The market is now filled with every type of FPS you can think of. WW2, Cold War, near futuristic wars and also wars which take place in space and anywhere imaginable. These days there are so many titles which hope to gain customers who will play their product, as well as COD. Games over the past 12 months such as Brink, Homefront, Crysis 2, Operation Flashpoint, Warhammer 40000: Space Marine, Rage and Bodycount to name but a few all follow the COD formula and all failed to some extent in the FPS category. Brink was hailed as the next big thing with innovative gameplay and constant action but this failed to impress both critics and the public. Crysis 2 is a bit different however, the gameplay was well accepted but the online modes were compared too much to that of COD and were seen as being too similar. Where is the “X Factor”? Sure we all like games with guns in them as it is exciting but far too many average shooters in not good for anyone.

 Another point for this lack of ideas could be pinpointed to what we, the fans, want. For years we have been crying out for this game or that game to be re-released for this current generation and now we have… HD COLLECTIONS!

 Over the past 2 years we have seen the releases of many classic games in HD format so that we can try to feel the same excitement we felt when the HD game in question was originally released. Over the past 12 months, we have seen the likes of Resident Evil 4 & Code Veronica, Silent Hill 2 & 3, Metal Gear Solid 2, 3 & Peace Walker, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Devil May Cry 1, 2 & 3, Ico and Shadow of Colossus all being re-released in HD for the 360 or PS3. With the work and effort that is required to polish an old game up to HD standards, surely that time could be used to brainstorm a new and fresh idea and even begin development of it. Of course games developers would be nowhere without the fans but as well as SOME HD Collections, most of all we want to see new games being released, not carbon copies.

 More recently Xbox fans have been upset with the company due to the lack of exclusives coming to Microsoft’s console. Playstation seems to have much more of a varied exclusives list than Xbox which again is a major downfall of the current games market. Halo, like COD seems to be getting over produced and a new game is released often. Once a year perhaps and with the announcement of Halo 4, 5 and 6, we can only hope that the Halo series can concentrate on becoming the frontier of Microsoft’s console.

 So please Game developers of the world, take your time with these games in which we the public dedicate many hours, days or years to your products. We need to be provided with new and fresh games. I don’t want to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 26 which still features N00b Tubing, Need for Speed: The Running out of Ideas or Assassins Creed: Ezio’s Great, Great, Great Grandson. With all of the hype on the next generation of Console gaming, I feel that we should give this generation the send-off it deserves… Although the next generation has yet to be announced.

@SimonMarshall6