EA Sports Active 2 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)3 1/2 stars out of 5
The "2" in EA Sports Active 2 is actually a little misleading. The first EA Sports Active came out for the Wii in May of 2009, and the second, titled "More Workouts," came out 6 months later, adding much needed core exercises. This game, in essence, is the third in the series. Needless to say, I've been a fan of the franchise for a while, and it has been a great addition to my workouts. I decided to sell my Wii recently and upgrade to XBOX and Kinect, especially after hearing EASA 2 would be out soon after launch. However, being the third iteration in the series, this title for the XBOX is a bit of a step backwards.
Pros:
+ The addition of a heart rate monitor is great! It's accurate, stays put on my forearm even during the boxing workout, and it's easy to connect.
+ No more Wiimote and Nunchuck getting in your way. You don't have to decide between having the leg strap fall off of you or cut off the circulation to your right foot. This allows you to finally use your own weights instead of the included resistance band. There is even a setting adjustment for players wanting to take advantage of this feature.
+ The included resistance band is much more... resistant than the previous band. Your arms will now feel the burn on curls, raises and presses.
+ Step aerobics and boxing is a lot of fun. Both exercises have seen improvements and work well with the Kinect.
+ The game FINALLY recognizes my jumps! One frustration with the Wii was its inability to recognize jumps during downhill inline skating. No more, Sports Active fans!
+ Intensity is not a problem with this game. I completed medium intensity workouts and my heart rate stayed at about 70-80% of my maximum.
+ Lots of stats. You want stats, you got 'em. This game will tell you your average heart rate, calories burned, percent completion, and will give you graphs to measure your intensity. It will even tell you how many of each exercise you've ever performed, ever.
+ Achievements. Nothing like increasing your gamerscore and getting in shape at the same time, am I right?
Cons:
- Motion-controlled menu interface. It is useless. Tip: Once you get your heart rate monitor connected, turn on your XBOX 360 controller as well. If you're expecting to have a controller-less experience with EASA 2, you will be spending a lot of time inadvertently hitting the wrong options and correcting your mistakes.
- Voice recognition. I thought this would be a pretty cool addition. Yeah sure, I'd like to pause my workout simply by saying "Pause." But try to do anything else and you'll find out that it's not worth it. Want to skip an exercise? "Pause." "Skip exercise." "Select." (Are you sure?) "Skip exercise." "Select." It's not a fast process and a little more than annoying if what you say doesn't register the first time. Also, during my first exercise, I somehow managed to bring up the radio on two occasions (by voice prompt I'm assuming) and COULD NOT get it to go away. I had to pull out my handy controller again and hit "X" to get rid of it.
- "Show Me How" is a pain! My first workout was 42 minutes long, and I bet I managed to accidentally trigger this selection about 30 times. I'm not sure if it was a phantom voice prompt or arm movement that triggered it, but it really put a kink in my workout.
- No real-life trainers. It's a small complaint, but I think it's worth mentioning. In the first EASA, you learned how to perform exercises from actual human beings, which not only helped you with your form but also made you think, "Hey, if he/she can do it, so can I." Instead, EA has replaced these trainers with generic computer renderings tirelessly performing alternating jump lunges. Were the developers too rushed to include them? Or just cheap?
- Trainer prompts and suggestions. One of the best features of the first EASA was the helpful suggestions given during your workout, telling you to focus on breathing or tighten your glutes. They were spouted often but always changed and were generally helpful. Now, they are overly repetitive and not useful. Yes, I know I should keep my pushups low, but if I go any lower, I will actually just be laying on the floor. Tip: after you've have one go through all of the exercises and heard all the trainer has to say, go to game settings and turn off all trainer input. You'll be happier doing the running drills when you're not being told to keep your back straight every 10 seconds.
Overall, EA Sports Active 2 does give you a solid, heart-pounding workout at home. But it feels as though EA made a last minute port instead of tailoring their SA franchise for the Kinect. Controls are finicky, graphics are a bit lacking, and sometimes you'll scream at your console for once again "showing you how" to do something you already know how to do.
Verdict: If you already have one of the previous Sports Actives for the Wii, skip this one. For 100 dollars, it's not worth upgrading. But if you are new to workout games, have an XBOX, a Kinect and an endless supply of patience, I'd say go for it. You will get a good balance of cardio and muscle sculpting workouts, and achievements will have you chasing new goals constantly.

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Dance Central Review

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(More customer reviews)The entire reason that I even wanted to get Kinect was this, for after watching them demo it on stage live at E3 I had full hope in what Kinect can do. I was not disappointed. From start to finish this game is a lot of fun to play and because of downloadable content I have a feeling it will have a long shelf life. Let me see if I can break it down to explain why this game is as amazing as it looks.
Menus: Menus are easily navigated and, because of a certain situation where my mother had friends over for the evening, even they were quickly able to pick up how to go through the menus. Its simple, hold your arm out to the right or left and make a slapping motion to select. This already made the game better. I played Kinect Adventures and I found the menus a little frustrating because you have to hold your hand there while it figures out that's what you want, but with Dance Central its just a quick swipe and you move on. Outside of that, all of the menus are very clear and easily navigated to find what you want, that hardest part of which was selecting songs (going up and down the list).
Gameplay: The no control experience is really shown off at its best here as you actually get a good workout moving your body to the beats. Yes, you will have to get off of the couch and start moving back and forth to the rhythms. Overall the Kinect cameras will do a wonderful job at figuring out your motions and, because the game was designed this way, you won't notice any lag. That's right, you dance in time with the person on screen (literally mirroring their actions) and then the game will take a moment (to which you won't notice because you are dancing) to decide how well you performed the action. In other words, don't worry about lag time because Harmonix has already factored that in perfectly, thus making gameplay smooth and easy to pick up on for even a beginner. Again, my mother's friends were very quick on picking up how to play the game.
Difficulty: This game ranges from anyone can do this easy (the first song) to ridiculously hard yet really cool looking moves (last song). It will give you a workout and it never tends to bore because of the variety of songs as well as dance moves. One thing that I also like about the game is that it forces you to start on easy and work your way up to hard. For a pro dancer (almost no one who will buy this game), that means you are forced to learn the different basic moves for the dance and then they get more complicated. That's right, the difficulty is actually used in this game to teach you the set-up for the next step. It works beautifully at getting you dancing to what was in the music videos.
Visuals: From start to finish this game is amazingly colorful and even the opening movie is rather fun to watch. On the other hand, none of the visuals block or distract the player from what is going on or seeing the next move. In fact, the set-up is so perfect that when you start getting your friends in there to dance along side you, it just feels natural for everyone. Now, I will also give this simple argument for visuals as well, because I am a fan of the hip-hop look the game sports (and thank God for that, Classical dancing would be so boring in a party game). If you don't like the hip-hop sort of streets style, then the visuals might not entertain you as much.
Overall: This game does what it says. It will teach you how to dance the moves from the music videos and it will go fairly smoothly along a learning curve as well. The use of the technology is impressive and it is probably the best party game out there since Guitar Hero became known as a party game (Honestly this one is better, because anyone can just start dancing and having a good time). It works great among all ages and all backgrounds since everything is done with visuals and because of the no-controller feel anyone can easily pick it up and start playing (though don't get me wrong, it is not easy to master).

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Dance Central, exclusively for Kinect for Xbox 360, is the first real dance video-game experience that is fun, social and for everyone! Brought to you by Harmonix, the developers who created the world-wide blockbuster Rock Band. Take it step-by-step with Break It Down or jump right in and start performing for your family and friends. Either way, you won't just learn dance moves, you'll own the dance floor!

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Adrenalin Misfits Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my fifth Kinect title and is by far the best yet. The controls are very accurate and game play is lots of fun for my entire family. The half pipe event and big air events are fun and spur on lots of competition. Performing different combinations of tricks while in the air and landing them for points is well done. I'm impressed with the two player split screen options (easy to track where your play space is defined) and the kinect tracking seems to be flawless. This has been more fun than Kinect Sports for my family.

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Experience Konami's first ever Microsoft Natal title with full body motion controls! Adrenalin Misfits thrusts gamers into 7 unbelievable fantasy worlds with exciting boarding battles in amazing environments. Compete in cross boarding action through freestyle, time and collection challenges against boss characters each with unique abilities. Battle Boss' from around the world growing your abilities and gaining more impressive boards each with their own special features. Win a race, steal that boss' board and do battle to collect all 60. Natal controls mean anyone can play because your body is the controller. The Natal camera reads your body's natural motions converting them into character actions on screen. It's not just a race, it's a battle!

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The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout Review

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(More customer reviews)I enjoyed the biggest loser on the wii, but found it frustrating. If the controller was low on batteries or if you didn't pass it in front of the sensor just the right way, or if you punched too hard it wouldn't register and no matter how hard you actually worked, you'd get a low score for your work out. It was also hard when they wanted you to put the controller in your pocket for certian work outs, and I didn't have pockets in the pants I wore to work out.
So when they came up with the game for the kinect... I was excited. I like that you can see yourself in the corner and see how you're doing the move, and what you can do to improve on the move, I liked the body scan thing. Someone reviewed that they're 5'7 but was told they were 4 foot something, and their neck size was 200 some "... that reviewer probaby did something wrong.
I'm right at about 5'7". (in fact, my doctor last said I came in at just under 5'7" but he rounded it up.) and the game registered me at 5'6". no matter my actual height, that's nearly right one. The scan also got my neck and hip inches right on the mark. (I measured myself and yes, they were right on.) So the scan does work. At least it did for me.
The game itself is pretty good too. Push yourself and you can work up a really good sweat. I also like the fact that every so often they ask you to record a video diary. It helps you keep tabs on how you're doing. Seeing yourself on camera, being as honest as possible puts things into perspective for you.
In game it will ask you how you're feeling and will give you usually three options. you don't have to stop what you're doing to use the controller to answer, you just need to say one of the options out loud as you continue what you're doing. if things are too hard, it adjusts accordingly.
this is not to say it doesn't have it's glitches.
When it asks you to jog in place... it's nearly impossible to do it in the exact rythem as the trainer, so you get a low score... same with the punch jab steps. It will always tell you to extend your punches even though you've gone as far as you can go...
but the glitches themselves are relatively minor compared to the glitches I always got playing Biggest Loser on the Wii.
I give this game an A-/B+
I get a good workout, I love the motivational tips, I love the video tips, I love the fact I can see myself actually doing the workouts in the corner so I can keep an eye on my own movements, I love the video diary function, and hands free gives you a much better workout than when you have to worry about not letting the controller fly out of your hand.

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The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout is an exercise simulation gamefor Xbox 360, based on the popular The Biggest Loser televisionseries. Utilizing seamless physical player movements only possiblewith Kinect for Xbox 360, The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workoutis designed to evolve along with the player's exercise routine. Featuringthe cast and trainers from the TV show, the game's 125+ exercises,2-4 player support via Xbox LIVE, new challenges, customization andmore the game provides a fun and healthy exercise outlet suitablefor every member of the family, regardless of their weight, physicalability or age.

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Vancouver 2010 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games Review

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(More customer reviews)Total 100% miss with this game. They state there are 14 events, but really that is hardly true, there is downhill skiing/snowboarding (lumped into one since the snowboarding is virtually identical to the skiing....really), Toboggan/luge/skeleton(again all one in the same on this game), Ski long jump (basically wait 12 seconds for the load time and then compete for about 10 seconds), speed skating(actually the only decently thought out and executed event). That is it...4 events really. You begin by being able to select your country, but it makes no difference who you choose. What they should have done is include a lot more events, and made all the countries a little different in the proficiences in each event and then had you compete in each type of event. Not at all what they did, you simply pick the event you want to compete in, and try to place. There is no record keeping of cumulative medals won vs other countries, no 'Medal Standings' nothing. This is nothing more than a 800 MS Point Arcade game (a rather forgettable one at that), that got a full retail release. Shameless.
One last thing, the online vs is OK. The 2 games I played online both filled up quickly (no idea how....who is buying this junk??) and there were no lag issues or anything like that. Remember of course that you only get to play one event online though...no 'Medal Standings' after several events, just one go through of one of the 4 events and their identical events with different names.

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Vancouver 2010' is an authentic simulation of a host of events from the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, focusing on the adrenalin rush that comes from the extreme speed of winter sports. Including an all new challenge mode, the game allows players to immerse themselves in the world's greatest sporting event like never before.

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Kinect Joy Ride Review

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(More customer reviews)Some of you may recall that Kinect Joy Ride was originally supposed to premiere as a free game for Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers; however, that changed when it got pulled into the Kinect lineup. While they have expanded the game beyond what was originally intended, it is still hard to justify the $50.00 price tag for what is offered on the disc.
The controls for Joy Ride require that you stand up for the duration of the game and they hold onto an imaginary steering wheel to control. Flips and other stunts are accomplished by twisting and turning your body off of jumps. While fun for a while, soon I was left wanting to sit back down and relax. However, as far as interactive entertainment racing goes, this is quite fun. Add in your friends or family and it is more enjoyable. Additionally, a nice touch is that Joy Ride offers (along with Kinect Sports & Adventures) is the use of KinectShare.com to share photos of you failing your arms about on Facebook.
I didn't really notice any lag while driving, but overall I would still say that steering an imaginary vehicle is hard to accomplish, but that may just take for time. It's hard to understand why Joy Ride doesn't offer speed control over the vehicles when the E3 promo video for Kinect had shown the player placing a leg forward or backwards to speed up or slow down. Maybe that is not possible since they reduced the quality of the Kinect Sensor camera to get production costs down, but I really have no clue.
The weirdest thing about JoyRide is that the entire game is only 1.5 GB in size. Given that some Xbox LIVE Arcade titles (i.e. Lara Croft: GoL) far exceed that size, I do not know why this simply could not have been a $15 arcade title (and it probably should have been). There is only a small selection of cars and tracks, but being Microsoft, I wouldn't be surprised to see some DLC come down the pipes for this. Ideally, I would really like to see Xbox partner with Hot Wheels to provide digital scans of the cars into the game. (The box states that it has the capacity for object scanning, but Microsoft has yet to reveal how that is to be used, if at all.)
Overall, I would recommend this game to anyone who bought a Kinect. It is fun, but whether it is worthy of the price remains to be seen. Ultimately I figure I will have enough enjoyment out of it to justify buying it and I think a lot of people are going to like this game.

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Kinect Joy Ride combines the fun of classic karting with the controller-free gameplay of Kinect. Enjoy five different game modes as you race through three unique worlds with stunning landscapes. Navigate obstacles, drift through corners and fly off jumps to wow your opponents with mid-air acrobatics. Then earn boosts, power-ups and other items to turn up the competition and the fun. It's racing action, Kinect style.

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Dance Central Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)So you think you can dance, huh? Well, the game will definitely put you to the test. My wife and I have two boys, one 15 and the other 9. The 15 year old thought he knew how to 'Crank Dat' and do 'The Jerk' but realizes that he needs to put some work behind it. He also says that he is going to practice some moves with this game for the next school dance...how funny. Next, my wife and I were having problems keeping up with some 70's and 80's dance move, even on the EASY level.
This game is really good and responds very well with the Kinect. It will notice if your right arm is folded below the left arm when it shouldn't be. The only thing I wish it could do was use my XBOX 360 avatar for the dances and not the built-in characters. But, I guess you have to give up that to get the smooth flowing action that it has.

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Dance Central, exclusively for Kinect for Xbox 360, is the first real dance video-game experience that is fun, social and for everyone! Brought to you by Harmonix, the developers who created the world-wide blockbuster Rock Band. Take it step-by-step with Break It Down or jump right in and start performing for your family and friends. Either way, you won't just learn dance moves, you'll own the dance floor!

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Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout Kinect Bundle Review

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(More customer reviews)First this game is a workout but the extras you get with the Kinect are the great! It scans your body taking measurements and those along with the pre-test and some additional information you add (age, gender etc) it will create a workout for you. During the game it gives constant feedback on how well you're doing compared to the trainer and making sure your form is spot on (the most important part of the exercise!). It includes options for adding in a daily calorie intake as well. Overall a very well thought out "game" that gives instant feedback and a great workout.

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The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout allows players to experience The Biggest Loser world like never before and takes the game to the online space with features such as video diaries and an online workout friend. The game is compatible with the 360 Kinect accessory.

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Carnival Games: Monkey See Monkey Do Review

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(More customer reviews)When I was a lot younger I loved going to the carnival that visited my area once every year. This game is very entertaining and a million times cheaper than actually going to a carnival. I have 2 children (13 & 8)and they absolutely love this game. I also enjoy this game as it allows us to spend quality family ime together and is great for parties. KINECT has made all the board games in our house practically irrelevant. When we have family get togethers people automatically gravitate towards the KINECT. IN DEPTH REVIEW and our favorite carnival games.
Our favorites are:
* Knockout Punch against a heavy bag that fights back - Extremely challenging to earn the highest scores but non-stop fun.
* You twist your body inCrash Test Dummy to control everything - GREAT WORKOUT
* Leap into a space-age journey in Rocket to MarS - Kids really loved this one
* Catch coins while roller-coasting down Gold Rush Mountain - Similar to kinect adventures game but with more depth and amazing prizes!!!
Of course you get to play all of these games as your Xbox Avatar like most KINECT games.
The icing on the cake is that tickets earned in games can be redeemed to acquire a wide variety of outfits including Ninja, Swashbuckler, Viking and Wild West costumes.
Overall this game has been oodles of fun for everyone and I believe we will get quite a lot of play time out of this title. Fantastic experience, well designed and implemented KINECT controls, limitless entertainment.

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: you've stepped right up to your fair share of mini games and challenges before, but you've never stepped into the action quite like this. Get ready to put on your dancin' shoes for a Cotton-Eyed Joe competition against Monkey Barker, dive into danger in the Shark Tank and go for a reeling ride on Gold Rush Mountain. The rowdy characters, hilarious prizes — and now, the body-testing challenges of the carnival are coming to your living room in an all-new adventure for the whole family.

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HIDEit X Mount, an Xbox 360 Wall Mount Solution Review

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(More customer reviews)Prompt Shipping, Well Packed, Easy Install. My wife loves it, it got our sons gamebox off of the floor.
A++++
Just be careful not to overtighten the screwws, you could crack the plastic

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If you are one of the millions in the US with a flat screen TV, plasma TV or LCD that is mounted to your wall and have been searching for a way to wall mount your Nintendo? WiiTM, PlayStation?3 120 GB, Xbox 360TM, Apple TV? or Mac? mini, you are in good company. Why pay thousands of dollars for custom cabinetry or even hundreds for a component shelf to hide your electronics or media devices?! HIDEit Mounts offers a variety of high quality and cost effective wall mount solutions! Hide them discretely BEHIND your TV with a HIDEit Mount! HIDEit Mounts are specifically designed to fit behind your wall mounted flat panel TV or LCD. Now you do not need a rack mount or gaming system shelf to wall mount a Wii, PS3 Slim, Xbox 360, Mac mini, Apple TV, DVD Player or Cable Box!HIDEit Mounts is your wall mount solution! HIDEit Mounts are a great way to give your room a professional look. HIDEit Mounts are designed with your equipment in mind. Why have your Wii, PlayStation, Xbox 360, Mac Mini, Apple TV, set-top box or other media device sit out in the open on your fireplace mantle, the floor, or on a bulky equipment stand? You took the time to wall mount your LCD or Plasma, now eliminate the rest of the entertainment clutter by wall mounting your gaming consoles and multi-media devices! With each HIDEit Mount, you can still conveniently access your gaming system or media device for changing disks and can easily remove the component for travel.

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MotionSports: Play For Real Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)UPDATE: A small patch came in today, and the motion controls seem somewhat better, and difficulty appears somewhat tweaked.. esp. in boxing. There may be other fixes, but I'll up from 2-3 stars.
It seems that much like with the Wii launch some developers have made some inferior games to cash in. I would place Motionsports in this category.
There are some fun games in here so it's not a complete disaster.On the good side -
Skiing
Equestrian
Hanggliding
Football
are all decent although football and equestrian are almost "turn based" (seems as this was a design decision not a function of the hardware) as you must perform your move well before the motion actually happens which is odd since Skiing and hanggliding are both extremely responsive.
On the diaster/broken mechanics side I would place Boxing and Soccer. Boxing difficulty seems ridiculous. You can connect with many punches on just the second boxer after the "tutorial" boxer and if he hits you a couple of times you're going down. In soccer the setup for kicking the ball pretty much breaks the gameplay as it is extremely difficult to tell where exactly on your floor you need to kick. It does say "shoot" but only for a very brief moment.
There is also no online multiplayer (I believe there is in Microsoft sports) so the game gets a negative there.
Also, there is no broader game.. would be nice if they could have included some sort of party game setup so the minigames don't feel so detached.


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Deadliest Catch Review

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(More customer reviews)Deadliest Catch: Sea of Chaos - Compatible with Move
I expected more game play from the game. It seems to me like you repair the boat more then you go crabbing, which is not that much fun anyway it's all about connecting wires and it's not that realistic. There's no story to the game it's just the same stuff over and over again. On the other hand the movie that is on the disc is very good, very interesting.

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Kinect Adventures Review

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(More customer reviews)Kinect Adventures is most likely your first hands-on experience with the Xbox add-on Kinect sensor. Mine came with the 4G Xbox system. You don't need anymore remote controllers; instead your whole body serves as the controller via the Kinect camera. You flail your arms; you kick and scream, and do all kinds of unimaginable body contortions, and to add insults, it can be captured by the very same camera to send to the vastness bowels of the internets! Who knows? You can be the next laser sword wielding boy sensation if you can stand all the embarrassment from your friends and family relatives.
The idea is to drag your lazy bones, stand in front of the tube and save you from becoming a hapless couch potato. Your first few hours will surely be a lot of fun. You can have another player join you by simply position themselves on your side. He can be a boy or a girl depending on which side he jumps into.
May favorite is "Roaring Rapids", you ride on an inflatable and try to collect as many points by maneuvering with your body. When you jump, the boat jumps with you and you can reach objects high on the rock. By performing successive jumps with a friend, you can even reach higher, even up on top of the clouds.
I also love the game similar to a dodge ball, although you just have to hit targets by slapping and kicking the ball as opposed to getting the blissful satisfaction of hitting someone's vulnerable parts, it is a very active game that can make you gasp for air after finishing a set. You can also use your knees, your body for blocking, or your head. Not to be outdone, the log obstacle course is likewise a very fun game. You have to jump, dock, and position your arms and legs to reach objects to get as many points as possible. Other games are popping bubbles where you are in outer space, weightless and can fly by flapping your arms. The game that I don't care very much is an underwater lab where you have to patch leaks from the damages created by sharks, and other sea monsters.
Overall, Adventures is a very fun game. It just doesn't have as much repeat value as Dance Central, etc.


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Kinect Adventures!Explore the World - and Beyond!KinectTM Adventures will get you off the couch and into the game in a whole new way. You and your friends and family will jump, dodge, and kick your way through 20 pulse-pounding adventures set in exotic locations. Work together as you navigate through roaring rapids, challenge obstacle courses or save a leaky underwater laboratory. Show off and share your accomplishments online with Photo Moments and Living Statues. The spirit of adventure awaits!Game requires the Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor to play - sold separately

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Body and Brain Connection Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I've had this game for a little under a week now and I've enjoyed it. It's not a game I find myself wanting to play for a long period of time, but then it really isn't designed for that. The premise is that you will complete three exercises every day. You can play any of the exercises whenever you want, but you are recommended to play three specific exercises each day, and the choices change around a bit each day. Whenever you want, you can also take a test that will measure your current brain age to see if your regular exercises are paying off. If I don't choose to play extra exercises, I'm usually done for the day in under 15 minutes.
The games are cute, and they don't bore me, but neither would I consider them riveting. Once I've completed my three exercises, I'm usually ready to move on to something else. Note that I have only played in single player mode. I'm sure competing against somebody else would increase the entertainment factor. However, I don't really consider it a bad thing that I don't spend a ton of time playing the game. I do my daily brain exercises, and then I move on to one of the more physically active Kinect games that I find more entertaining.
I haven't had any real issues with the interface. When navigating menus, if you read the manual, it tells you it will not activate any buttons when your hands are close to your body. You move your hand around to where you want it, then push your hand in front of you a bit further to make the program activate the button. On the one hand, I often find myself forgetting to move my hand further out because the other programs I've played with don't require this. But I quickly realize my error when this happens, and one benefit is that I haven't once accidentally selected the wrong thing like I have in other programs. When playing the exercises, I haven't had any issues at all with the program recognizing my movement exactly the way I expect it to. One thing I particularly like is that, while arrowing through instructions or comments, or while scrolling from left to right through multiple screens of choices, the arrow is activated instantly when you put your hand over it. This makes it faster to read through the material. Other buttons have the typical delay while it fills in the little wheel to give you time to change your mind.
Some reviewers have expressed concern that the comments from the Dr. can be overly harsh when you don't do well on an exercise, and that the difficulty can be high for younger children. I can't speak from a child's perspective as I've only played this myself and I'm in my mid-30's, but I can see where some of the exercises would be difficult for a child. That doesn't mean they can't improve if they practice them. As far as the comments go, I haven't found them to be particularly harsh. Usually I've found I agreed with his comments. On the rare occasions when I received an F on something (I'm horrible at that Pacman game!), the Dr. said something along the lines of "I thought you'd be better at this." And I had to agree with him -- I did too! I guess if negative comments from a video game can hurt your feelings, then that's something to take into account when deciding whether to purchase this. But they don't bother me. Yes, my avatar looks sad when I do poorly. But I don't go around grinning like an idiot when I'm doing poorly at something either, so why should my avatar? She perks back up quickly enough after her short moment of pouting.

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From the originators of the video game brain training craze, Body and Brain Connection challenges players to think on their feet in one of the most cerebral and energetic party games. Body and Brain Connection will test the whole family to think quickly and act even quicker as they compete in 20 unique activities ranging from math, logic, reflex, memory and physical-related exercises using the full-motion capabilities of the Kinect sensor. Players can track their daily brain age progress and complete a specialized set of single player exercises determined by the player's previous results. Body and Brain Connection also supports up to four players in a fun and energetic multiplayer mode. Compete against friends and family to determine who has the youngest brain age, or who has the best score across any of the game's 20 exercises.

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DanceDanceRevolution Bundle Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been playing Dance Dance Revolution Universe 1 and 2 several times a week as my workout for the last year. It took some time to work from Basic to Difficult, and I'm still working on conquering the Expert level on some of the songs on these versions. When I'd LITERALLY worn a hole in my dance pad, I came to Amazon planning to order the DDR Universe 3 bundle to get a new one along with a new set of songs (even though reviews were pretty bad). I was ecstatic to see this newer version was being released the following week and pre-ordered it with much anticipation.
I've played for 3-4 hours now over the last week, and here's my assessment:
Instruction manual: There's a book in here, but it's a waste of paper. It's about 12 pages long and is in 4 languages. If you need instructions on how to load the game and select buttons on the screen, you're covered.
Songs: The songs ARE much more mainstream overall, but I haven't found that to be a huge plus. There are a number of songs that are under 100 bpm, which just doesn't inspire me to jump around a lot. I actually enjoy the Japanese-pop-dance stuff that's found on the older versions; I wouldn't necessarily be jamming to it in the car, but I prefer it for DDR.
Difficulty: Perhaps due to the slower pop songs, the difficulty is WAY LOWER. I admit that I'm no longer a beginner, but when I can pick a song and beat it on Expert the first time through when I'm still trying to beat Expert songs on the old version, I think that says a lot. Not only are the routines easier, but the scoring is far more forgiving. This might be appreciated by a beginner, but I enjoy the challenge of working up from JUST finishing an Expert song without failing, to a C, to a B, to an A, with practice over time. The songs that I've muddled through receive B's, ones that I expect to get B's on are A's, and if you get most of the steps but miss a few, you get an AA. A full combo (no missed steps) receives an AA*. The scores seem needlessly inflated. I've received very few AA, and only a couple of AAA scores on ANY level in a year of playing DDR Universe 1&2, and have AA and AA* scores on half of these songs already.
Interface: This is only slightly modified and works much the same as the Universe versions. The dance options menu that used to be accessed by holding down the A-button while selecting a song to play is now accessible from the song selection menu by pressing Y. I thought this was handy, but the design of the menu itself is needlessly annoying (and a constant gripe for me). I prefer my arrows to run 1.5-2 times faster, which is controlled here. It's still the first item in the list, but you can't just change it and be done. You must arrow down or A-button through the other 8-10 items in the list to get to the confirm button at the bottom. If you back out, it doesn't save the change. This makes it a big hassle to move between slow songs (which I have to run at 3x now) and fast ones, since I prefer the arrows to go by at approximately the same rate and have to adjust it this way.
Display: The arrow coloring is slightly different, but the concept is the same, so I got used to it quickly. On DDR 1&2, I have the background videos turned off because they make me dizzy combined with the scrolling arrows, and the background image brightness turned down to 50% to make the arrows stand out. They've removed the option to turn off videos here, so I have to turn the brightness to 0 to make the videos disappear. I can live with this, but the completely black background gets boring pretty quickly, and I miss the colorful backdrops.
Workout Mode: This is one of my biggest gripes. I use DDR as a workout, and I assume anyone turning on this mode is doing the same. The game will show you how many calories you've burned after each song as before, but it will ONLY track total calories EVER - not daily. I don't really care how many calories I've burned over the last year (or three), I want to know how many I burned TODAY. In order to track this, you'll need to check Workout Mode both before you play (taking note of the total calories) and after, and do the math. This is just plain stupid.
Training Mode: This is my other dumbfounded gripe. If you turn down the speed of the song (which is the only reason I go to training mode, and must be one of the most used features), the song doesn't play. WHAT??? I suppose running the steps to metronome clicks with no music may have some value, but not to me. Training mode is dead to me on this version.
Club Mode: This seems to be the only "story" mode, which I'm not big on anyway, but is usually the only way to unlock new content. I've only delved into this a few times, and I'm trying to be patient with it hoping it will get better. You're led through a sequence of random songs (you choose how many, 4-20). The "challenge" is that the difficulty and options change throughout the songs. This can sometimes be fun, but so far, each sequence has begun in painfully-slow Beginner difficulty, and taken a while to get up to a playable speed. Once it does, this can be fun, but because its designed to change options, you can't set any of your own by default. For me, when a slower song gets to Expert mode and the arrows are only at 1x, I can't pick out the rhythm of the steps fast enough to make them because the arrows are all on top of each other. After suffering through the Beginner and Basic levels only to fail out because the arrows are too close together is beyond frustrating. I'll probably only use this mode if I find out from other players that there is indeed unlockable content to be had.
New features:
Mid-song, you'll get a sequence of circled arrows that will give you bonus points if completed successfully (much like Guitar Hero). This was a little annoying at first because the circles usually obscure the coloring of the arrows, but I've gotten used to it as an added challenge.
My favorite new feature is the "Challenge" level which is unlocked per-song after getting an A on the Expert level (though not available on every song). This opens up "Octagon" steps for this difficulty level, which use diagonal arrows to signify the A, B, X, and Y buttons. This is great fun, and I'm enjoying the challenge of wrapping my brain and feet around 4 new places to step. It's nice to have a new physical challenge that doesn't involve making my feet move any faster, as I was reaching my limit on DDR Universe 1&2.
Overall: This is a worthwhile purchase at this price, and I'll continue to play it, but it didn't meet my expectations. I certainly didn't expect key basic features to disappear or become annoying to use. I'll add it to my DDR rotation, but I'll be rotating back to an older version sooner than I anticipated.

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DanceDanceRevolution is a Rhythm/Dance game that blends classic,heart-pumping arcade DDR gameplay with Xbox 360 centric functionalitythat together is designed to satisfy both longtime fans while alsoaccommodating less advanced players and those coming to it for thefirst time. The DanceDanceRevolution bundle includes a gamecopy and a DanceDanceRevolution Dance Pad controller. Featuresinclude: a hefty track list, Xbox LIVE Vision camera support, newgame modes, unlockable songs and more.

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Yoostar 2: In The Movies Review

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(More customer reviews)First let em start off, by saying I had been waiting for this to be released from the day I heard about, as my family and I enjoy these type of family oriented games (ie: Singstar, Lips, Scene It).
Overall the game isn't all that bad, it just is a slight disappointment, when you sit down and compare it to the pre-release videos that have been shown, the clarity doesn't match up to video previews, I had seen, there not horrible, but like another review stated, choppy, with a glow around your character... Another feature I am not happy with is the fact that you must have your kinect set to Chat On.. Well, I am online nightly playing MW2, and know have to remember to shut down the chat option before going online, so the whole world doesn't hear my entires house drama... The third, would be the outline of your character alot of time has you facing away from the tv, during the scene, making it impossible to read the lines, so you better have a good memory...
The Good points are: definately a great party game, with a bunch of people around, would be great to listen how people can improvise a scene to their own. Also another feature which seems to be the biggest hit at my house so far, would be the scenes that have no dialogue, you simply adlib the scene yourself, such as the King Kong & I am Legend scene, those seem to be the most enjoyable.
Overall, the game is probably not worth the $50 it currently was released at, but @ say $30, would be a decent investment...


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The camera's rolling. The lights are blasting down from all directions. You've only got one chance to get this right and prove you're the right actor for this movie. Your co-star finishes his line and all eyes turn to you. With a deep breath, you begin your performance. Gesturing with your hands, turning your head thoughtfully to the side, delivering every line with gusto, you're pretty sure you nailed it. You smile timidly, awaiting your critique. It's tough to be a movie star, but someone has to do it. Why not you?

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Fighters Uncaged Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)First some background(skip to third paragraph if you don't want it):Since June or so of this year I've been working at getting in shape, slowly adding in new exercises that work. I tried P90X, but I was too out of shape for it at the beginning. So, I worked with a trainer for a 2 months or so and then I started cycling and then I started stand up paddle surfing and also using a step machine that I have. So, my workouts have been cycling some days, surfing some days and step machine some days. When Kinect came out I bought it hoping that it would add another interesting workout into the mix, especially with winter coming and surfing and cycling getting harder in the cold. I bought a lot of games hoping for one or two games that would be fun enough to keep me moving and maybe even so fun that I pushed myself harder than I would have with just exercise for exercise sake. I bought sonic free riders, dance central, fighters uncaged, kinect adventures(came with the kinect), Your Shape Fitness Evolved and Kinectimals. Kinectimals has kind of been a bust for me. It really is a little kid's game. I thought it might have some impressive AI. Dance Central is great. It really recognizes your movements and corrects you. Sonic Free Riders has taken some time to get in to. Like MarioKart, you have to memorize the levels, but its tiring on your knees squating down and leaning forwards and backwards the whole time and then squatting and jumping over jumps and jump turning in the air to try to pull moves. So, I only do 5 or 6 runs a session and have not memorized the levels, which makes winning impossible. Your Shape Fitness Evolved is also very good. You have to do the moves in time with the trainer in the fitness classes, otherwise you don't get credit for them. The gym games are fun and I wish there were more of them and that there was some kind of fitness class that incorporated them. I have done 3 workouts with Your Shape since getting it, there's also a website that lets you track your progress which is really neat, especially for me because I've found that keeping a journal of my workouts has been really motivational and with this website, I get to see other people working at getting in shape too.
I was also what many would consider a "hardcore" gamer. I used to play Bond on N64 and MarioKart for marathon sessions in college. I played a lot of Oblivion in 2007 and assasin's creed and quake on the pc in 2008 -2009. I have loved most of the Zelda games and get really lost in them, including on Nintendo DS. So, I'm not a world of warcraft junkie or a caffeinated FPS lover and I don't play many sports games, but I have a fine appreciation for precision controls and became frustrated with Wii attempts at sports games that required you to waggle the controller (while I loved the Wii for its fun game play and for movement games that were precise like laser hockey). Kinect has been a really nice addition for me with my workouts and is not a Wii-type waggle motion control mechanism. It recognizes you and your movements accurately. Its not as precise as a mouse and keyboard, or even a handheld controller - but the games that its made for are not button pressing games. They are games that are designed to require to you to move your entire body and I've been really happy with the performance of the games and the motion detection. So, knowing how I look at games, you can now hear what I think about this game. I like this game a lot. First, I was incredibly frustrated when the game would not recognize my moves, despite trying to mimic the onscreen avatar till my thighs were burning from jumping and squatting and from squatting and then exploding up through an uppercut. I sort of chalked this game up to a loss, but then I had a friend come over and saw that he was able to control it much better than I was. Together we went through the training classes analyzing how the kinect saw different movements and got to understand how this game wants you to control the player. This game does not require you to punch hard. You simply have to move your hand forward for a punch. This game does not require you to do a full body punch to get someone in the gut, instead starting with your hands in guard mode, you make a circle to the outside pointed diagonally downward. Also, moves are only possible from certain distances which are clearly marked at all times. So, you can't uppercut somebody from long range. And you can't round kick a knee from long range. You have to be up close. Once we worked this out, the game got a LOT better. The workouts that I went through getting to this point were hard - exactly what I wanted: I found myself forcing my body keep up with what my mind wanted it to do. Although my thighs were burning from squatting, I would push to try to get Kinect to see the movement.
I've just moved up the ladder to league 2 today. I've played this game maybe 5 or 6 times. Each time I walk away pretty sweaty and have to take a shower. Its been a really good addition to the workout routine. Especially good is that as you fight the computer, you have to dodge punches which means leaning back very quickly many times at unexpected times. So, you're using your stomach and lower back and keeping tight the whole time. My stomach and back were sore (in a good way) for the past few days and just are starting to feel ready for the game today. This game is a really, really good start on fighting games for kinect.
I've seen reviews that seem to be written by people who were in the frustrated stage of review that I was in before I really worked out how to control the game. I wish they would keep at it and really do the training until they can successfully pull off the moves there before they write these reviews. This is a quality game. Its worth buying. You have to work at getting it down - but that's like all sports. You have to practice and for the first time, video games are starting to feel like sports with the kinect. The more you train your movements, the better you will be at playing this game. And that's exactly what I was looking for when I bought it. So, I really love this game and encourage people to buy it.

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Fighters Uncaged is an unique and gritty tournament style fighting game exclusive for Xbox 360 that delivers 100% controller-free action via the body mapping and motion capture capabilities of Microsoft Kinect*. The game features 70 real martial arts move -- including punches, kicks, defensive actions and more -- that the player instantly triggers in-game against opponents by performing the actual move in front of the Kinect sensor. Additional features include intense combo possibilities, special voice activated moves, over-the-top opponents and multiplayer support, including co-op and online leaderboard functionality on Xbox LIVE.

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