Weight Loss Secrets: Gaming

Isn’t it marvelous? I have friends in gaming places. My buddy, @ElectricGamer, has elite brain knowledge on gaming that is as equally impressive as my elite knowledge of pie eating. So ya, he knows his stuff. And right now he has the Yum Yucky stage with his review of Kinect for Xbox 360. Can I get a “ka-BOOM!” one time?

Electric Gamer’s Review of Kinect

Do you know Kinect? I’m sure you have since Microsoft spent $500 million on marketing for the Xbox 360 accessory. Kinect is the newest accessory for the Xbox 360 that turns the Xbox into a futuristic Minority Report experience. The $150 add-on may be on the pricey side for an accessory to a console that is 5 years old, but it adds new life to the Xbox (not that it needed it). I’ve had some time with my newest toy (11 days) and it’s eleven days I’ll do all over again if the opportunity arises. At first the feeling of paying $150 + tax on an accessory made me question if that amount of money should be spent on an add-on. Normally accessories (in my opinion) should not cost above a certain amount of money even if a game is thrown in, but after looking at the experiences the Wii and Playstation Move have given me, Kinect was the next evolution in motion gaming. Using your body as the controller to play games, control music and movies was something we all saw in movies and waited patiently for our turn, and Kinect brings that to us.

THE GAMES

Kinect launched with 15 titles: Dance Central, Fighters Uncaged, Kinectimals, Kinect Joy Ride, and Deca Sports to name a few. I’ve had 3 titles since launch, Dance Central, Kinect Adventures, and Your Shape Fitness Evolved. With each game I’ve played, Kinect recognized my move to a T – not to its fullest potential, but it does what you expect it to do, especially with the games. The way it recognizes each move you make, whether it may be moving from side to side, jumping, or stretching your arms or feet is uncanny. Although Your Shape Fitness Evolved may be the game targeted to the health-conscious consumer, each game in Kinect provides motion control which can be interpreted as exercise. In Kinect Adventures for example, the amount of squats that you perform will have you aching the next day, and you will not even notice at the time you were doing them. Dance Central can also have the same affect. If you’ve played Just Dance on the Wii, it’s basically the same thing, but this time around you’ll feel free and each dance step will feel natural. Back to Your Shape. If you’re a daily visitor to Josie’s blog, this is the game that might interest you the most. Think of it as your own personal trainer (male or female) at home. It provides a decent enough workout that can be an addition to your normal exercise routine. With this “game”, what you see in the mirror is the image you’ll see on your TV. It scans your body to provide an almost perfect you. The exercises are typical to what you will do with a personal trainer; leg extensions, squats, knee kicks, etc. are all part of the exercise. You can take gym classes or have your own virtual trainer to coach you along the way. It will even tell you when you’re not doing an exercise correctly.

Kinect will also provide control to music and movies through Zune on the Xbox with the wave of your hands or by speaking to it. Using your hands to control is the same effect as using a touch screen smartphone, Move controller or Wiimote, but what makes Kinect stands out is the voice control. Saying “Xbox pause movie” or “Xbox fast forward” is nothing but pure pleasure. It’s also a lazy way of watching movies. You can lay back and enjoy the movie just by speaking to it. With hand movements you have to sit up right so Kinect can recognize you.

If I had to say whether or not Kinect should be purchased, my words will be “definitely take a look at it”.

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About: The Electric Gamer is not just another gaming guy. He’s awesome. He’s my buddy. And he’s also part of our health & fitness community, because just like us – he’s working on his fitness to maintain his sexy swagger. Go on and check him out on Twitter.