Kinect Rush Review (Xbox 360)

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So far pretty much all of the Kinect only titles have been fairly average at best with Kinect compatible titles like Mass Effect 3 showing more promise. Kinect Rush – A Disney/Pixar Adventure is the latest in the line of family friendly Kinect titles to be released and with all time Pixar greats like Toy Story and Cars in the the mix at least it should market well. But with such great characters and locations at your finger tips you would hope that this is a game that really uses Kinect to it’s full potential. Well, lets see how we go…

So Kinect Rush includes characters and locations from five of the great Pixar animated worlds, Toy Story, Cars, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, and Up. All the locations are tied together via the Pixar Playground in which you run around to select your world and events. It all looks great and is very well presented with all your favourite characters being well represented in both looks and sound. It won’t take long to unlock all the levels, even completing all the individual level goals should be done in no time. This only really leaves you with the challenge of getting higher scores for each level. But I guess the target audience isn’t too worried about unlockables and scores.

 

Unfortunately no matter what world you choose the game mechanics remain the same. You are either running and jumping, driving, or flying. There is a little bit of swimming and climbing but it becomes very ‘samey’ quite quickly. On saying that though, it made it very easy for my five year old to play any level he wanted without needing to be shown new moves. The most painful move of all was when you had to jump. This required you to get both feet a reasonable distance off the floor and became a real chore when timing your jump was also important. Not sure if my Kinect setup is half the problem with the lounge only just big enough to please the sensor.

As much as I can nit pick and not enjoy Kinect Rush that much, I have to say I have never seen a game hit it’s target audience quite like this. Our five year old loves it, my Wife, who isn’t into gaming at all, asked me to show her how to turn the Xbox on and start the game and has since had several sessions while I have been out. And to cap it off, we had friends around who have three boys, making a total of four boys between 5 and 14 years of age, and they loved it. It gave us adults several hours of drinking time in the sun, with only the odd intervention to sort out who had the next turn. So I guess sometimes us serious gamers have to pull our heads in and accept that it’s not always about us.

So after seeing the reaction of the younger gamers and even my Wife I have to say not to take my opinion on this game but to let those who this game is actually intended for tell you what they think. It is obvious from what I have witnessed that Kinect Rush is a popular choice, even though it isn’t a great game. A bit like the Blues rugby team I guess, crap, but popular none the less.

Closing Comments.

All kids love the Pixar movies so Kinect Rush is instantly going to be a winner with them, and if you can handle the sometimes unresponsive controls you may even have a bit of fun. A definite must have for the casual/family market. Serious gamers may find it short and frustrating.

Released on 22/3/2012 on Xbox 360.

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