When Kinect-capable core games struggle, it's often because developers haven't found the middle ground between merely supporting the peripheral and sacrificing their firstborn children to it. The dismal Rise of Nightmares is unplayable without full-body motion controls - a shrivelling prospect even if you do possess a living room roomy enough to swing a dead cat in. The otherwise awesome Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, meanwhile, handles the functionality so gingerly it barely justifies a mention on the box.
At the risk of trotting out the one about "untapped potential", much of that's down to growing pains. Kinect has been surface-side for a while, but its much-vaunted design vocabulary is still smoking hot from re-entry, still in the process of solidifying. It's all too easy to burn your fingers. Despite brilliant efforts from the likes of Q Entertainment and Twisted Pixel, no developer has meshed Kinect features and traditional design concepts convincingly enough to be worth imitating. Until now.
Mass Effect 3's voice commands are there at the stem cell level, whether you're bowling Singularities at a Cerberus mech or ordering Wrex to wind his neck in, but they're never shoved down your throat. Unplug your Kinect unit, and Mass Effect 3 is simply a smarter Mass Effect 2, retaining the cover-shooter mechanics with tweaks while layering on scenarios that emphasise positioning and combined power usage. For many, doubtless, this'll be the only way to play, and there's absolutely nothing stopping you.
There's audio feedback from your team, too - in case the sight of Cerberus troopers levitating, catching fire or crumpling bonelessly leaves you in any doubt as to whether your frantic requests for back-up have been heeded. As we wrote in an earlier feature, the command tree branches off cleverly according to context - if Liara's the only Biotic in your squad, the game will assume it's her you're talking to when you call in a Singularity.
8 comments so far...
Decent_Jam on 14 Feb '12 said:
This is absolutely the sort of news I wanted to hear. It makes a really good case for Kinect and a good precedent for the future.
It's a whole different ball game to get motion in there successfully too, but it's a big step into a bigger world.
More like this and MS will get some more of my cash...
SidTheSloth on 14 Feb '12 said:
Sounds good...
But it can still wait until second playthrough, really not that arsed about it, especially as it means plugging the thing back in and reconfiguring it
Is it just my imagination though or are the battles much faster paced than 2? I did find myself pausing to use the wheel almost every 3 seconds so i can see how it may be useful. I'll try it at some point and happily give it credit if due.
Bezza89 on 14 Feb '12 said:
No! It's the opposite, I don't want to want to buy a kinect. This and Future Soldier are kinect buy games.
CHIEFRAPTOR on 14 Feb '12 said:
Yeah being able to voice the dialogue is actully class! Also found myself skipping conversations less when i was replying because it felt more like a conversation.
Some things that are pretty pointless are opening doors or searching containers using your voice as its so much easier just to tap A.
And i also think i deafened my cousin who was in party chat with me as i took on the mech, i was shouting overload and warp so loudly!
STE MO on 14 Feb '12 said:
This article and CHIEFRAPTOR's comments have put my mind at rest. I was envisaging it being a bit of a mess like Halo anniversary, you'd be chatting to your mate and all of a sudden, the Kinect would think I was saying something and switch to classic mode or throw a grenade. Then the wife would come down stairs and talk to me and all sorts of things would start happening.
Not got round to the demo, had to take the wife to Metrocentre for some grub and movie and then I get home and the father inlaw is playing hot pursuit with my eldest who's all chicken pox'd up, might get a chance tomorrow fingers crossed.
paulbrown23 on 15 Feb '12 said:
I'm not denying that it works really well, as I've seen someone with a Kinect play it, but I can't bring myself to use it for the simple fact that it's not really Kinect integration, it's just voice recognition. We've had voice recognition for years (Tom Clancy's EndWar seems to be the best example that I can think of), and although this is very advanced voice recognition which works really well, it's still not taking advantage of the Kinect. Put the voice recognition tech in a headset that costs me something like £20, then we'll talk Microsoft
bamozzy on 15 Feb '12 said:
I like the fact that 'Kinect' is being used for 'voice recognition' - I do not think this game would work with motion controls. I think though that 'Kinect' is being utilised better and the games for it are improving. I also think that this may improve playing ME3, I don't think it will be enough to warrant spending over £100 to get it. However with games like 'Kinect-Star Wars' coming up it might be worth investing in one.
Fortunately I already have 'Kinect' (I upgraded my 360 elite for a 250gb 360s with kinect in a package) so I can see the benefits already. Kinect (to me) is more than just a gimmick and is certainly enhanced a lot of my (and my family) gaming and media experiences. I have actually got my daughters interested in gaming!!! LOL
TigusVidiks on 16 Feb '12 said:
Very interesting. If only more games would incorporate Kinect like this, instead of trying to make Kinect the game itself.