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Kinect Sports features six team-based and individual sports: soccer, beach volleyball, bowling, table tennis, track and field, and boxing.  In addition there are party and mini-game modes.

Navigation of the menus follows the same standard I’ve seen for all Kinect games so far (Kinect tracks one hand on the screen and you hold your hand to select).  This works well, but I find myself wondering why voice controls don’t seem to be implemented on Kinect games.  I would think it would make it easier and faster to navigate menus then the hand system.

In single player there is no campaign or story mode, but switching between sports doesn’t take much time.  The AI players you’ll play against are a bit too much of a push over at low levels, but I’m guessing this was intentionally done to not frustrate beginners.  As long as you play it in short (30 – 60 min) bursts, it is enjoyable.  The track events can actually be quite physical and you probably won’t be able to play them for multiple hours at a time.  All of the games and mini games are quite easy to pick up and play.  There is a tutorial for each of the games that gives clear instruction as to how to play it.  The only game I found to be a bit of a let down was Boxing.  You can’t really play it how you would try in real life because the Kinect can’t pick up quick movements that well.  When you learn how to deal with playing at Kinect’s speed it is enjoyable, but out of all the games included it is clearly the most disappointing.

Like Wii Sports, multiplayer is where you will get the most enjoyment.  XBox Live functionality is included, but the game works best when you have multiple players locally.  Having players jump in and out worked fine.  Although not surprising it is notable that the Kinect would get slightly confused if someone moved behind those that were playing.

Overall, Kinect Sports is a solid title that shows Kinect can deliver on what Microsoft promised us.

Scores:

Graphics:

While the graphics aren’t going to set standards for photo-realism, they are quite good and appropriate for the tone of the game.

Sound:

Solid with the sole exception of the commentary.  At times I found it either inappropriate or annoying.

Gameplay:

All the games were easy to pick up and play even without watching the tutorials.

Controls:

Kinect works quite well most of the time.  The sole exception to this was Boxing.  Kinect couldn’t keep up with my punches.  Make sure to have at least 8 ft of space available between the Kinect and you.

Originality:

The concept clearly borrows from Wii Sports, but this isn’t a carbon copy.  The choices in sports included were clearly made to emphasize the new abilities Kinect brings to gaming.

Overall Single Player:

While the AI can be a bit of a push over at times, I found it to be fairly entertaining.

Overall Multiplayer:

Well implemented and thought out.  This probably how you should play this game to have the most enjoyment.  Although XBox Live functionality works well, it is more fun to play locally with a couple of friends.

Reviewer’s Opinion:

This game’s concept borrows heavily from Nintendo’s Wii Sports Resort, but Kinect Sports does a good job of showing off the new capabilities that Kinect brings to the table.

Screenshots: