Kinect Sports First Look Exclusive – Bowling

Perhaps Microsoft was feeling sympathetic towards Canada when they leased an entire building in downtown Toronto to keep us warm while we jumped, ran and kept our blood pumping to wage against the cold. Or perhaps the entire country has fallen into the future in which the games slated for release months away have been offered up at our feet. Regardless of the scenario the cat has been let out of the bag; Canada has the unbelievable luck of hosting Kinect Sports and others in the afternoon for the next few months at no charge. which means you can come in, greet the staff at the front desk and play the evening away on two floors of Kinect titles. At the lofty heights of the second story one may find Rare’s latest creation ‘Kinect Sports’, which pits you in a variety of challenges which you can play solo or with a friend. Next to a picturesque window which shows off the cityscape, time will fly as you face off into the evening. Instead of explaining the conventions of the game here, you’ll find a video below which showcases the Bowling
Event quite well, with other events in future.

From the get go I can tell you that Kinect Sports’ control is exceptionally fluid; it tracks your precise movements and replicates them in game to a tee, even as Miyamoto can’t seem to get the Mastersword in the upright position..Being a skeptic to anything new, exaggerated or deceptively cute I first attempted to confuse the game by executing ‘Irish Punch Maneuver No. 5’ as seen at 0:14 seconds of the video, but even with my fancy footwork the avatar was able to duck and weave like he’d been practicing for years; in short I was served. Little did I know however, that this deceptive trick was unnecessary, as my onscreen counterpart had been mimicking my actions from the start. Check out the very beginning of the video where I adjust my sweater and you’ll spot the Avatar trying on some invisible clothing. Very sneaky, Rare.

As complex as the exterior may seem going about mimicking your movements to an exact science, like a tart the interior is a soft and malleable mix that invites players of all skill to have a go, as the controls are very easy to pick up and play. The first choice you’ll have to make is if you’re right handed or left handed, whichever your preference you can hold your arm out in the desired direction to have the Avatar pick up a Bowling Ball offered on either side. From here you won’t need to press and hold B, or shake a remote sporadically and pray, instead you just…bowl.
With Kinect following your every movement it’s a simple matter of playing pretend for a few seconds followed by the in-game crashing of pins.
Perhaps you’ve left some still standing though, that’s no problem! Just relocate your character to a better vantage point. Which in turn doesn’t mean pressing + or -, but rather moving your body to a better spot as enacted at 1:43. Hopefully you’ll have better luck than I did when you don’t line up the shot properly and sink it into the gutter, ouch!

At the end of this session I walked away with the Avatars Personal Best who is conveniently named ‘abc’ by the Kinect Staff or cruel parents. At the moment this feat is nothing to boast about, as it’s only been the third day since the bowlers have pushed ‘abc’ to his limits, I’ll wager that in a months time or two abc’s new personal best will look like an Arcade High Score List.
And that does it for Bowling and this blog, stay tuned throughout the upcoming weeks when I’ll attempt to play and document each of the events, including the illusive Party Mode if the option is enabled. LerakoLanche signing out.