Welcome to yet another installment of Get Moving This Christmas, and as I focused on the Playstation Move last installment, I will be focusing on two family-oriented games released for the XBox Kinect – Disneyland Adventures developed by Frontier Studios and published by Microsoft Studios, as well as Just Dance 3 released by the folks at Ubisoft. Microsoft was kind enough to supply a review sample for Kinect: Disneyland Adventures while a personally copy of Just Dance 3 was used for this review. Shall we begin?
Title: Kinect: Disneyland Adventures
Published By: Microsoft Studios
Developed By: Frontier Developments Ltd.
Console: XBox360
Release Date: 18th November 2011
Genre: Mini-games, Open Park, Theme Park
Audio: English
Subtitles: English
Classification: This game is classified PG
Region: This was based on the Australian version of the game however no difference should be present between regions.
One of perhaps the major disappointments to any avid theme park fan in Australia is that there is no Disneyland in any shape or form. Sure we have some big name parks, but getting up close and personal with the much loved Disney characters and riding on the many unique rides designed by Walt Disney Imagineering is a luxury not everyone will be able to enjoy these holidays. However, the XBox may have the next best thing – Kinect: Disneyland Adventures is a new family game on the XBox360 which allows the players to interact with Disney characters and play some exclusive minigames based on the real rides.
Haunted Greeted by a magic ticket, you are invited to interact with the many beloved Disney characters which inhabit the worlds of the park – that is right…. no costumed actors for us but the real deal! These tasks will begin off as simple things including taking photos of environments or other characters, getting autographs or travelling around the park, which might sound boring at first but is a great way to get you wandering around the place instead of remaining confined to one area at a time. More importantly, as you progress through this storyline, you unlock new “rides” to visit. I use rides lightly as while they appear visible in the background, you get to open a warp portal not only skipping insanely long lines, but getting to dive straight into some very inspiring levels based on the ride and/or series they are based upon. For example, while the Matterhorn Bobsleds might be just a normal ride as Disneyland, in this game you go bob-sledding with Goofy and rescue him in an all-out epic snowball fight from the monsters that hide in the hills. Another example would be It’s a Small World, where it may just be an ordinary boat-ride in real life…. but who said there cannot be some dancing sequences in the game version?
It is mean’t to be fun, and it really pulls it off and I could easily call this one of the best Kinect games out of the market in terms of gameplay, with a diverse number of “rides” each with their own theme and encompassing most of the Disney characters and series. While the games and the questing would be the biggest draw, you are also encouraged to enjoy the experience so you get to run the famous fireworks show, meet and greet all the characters around the park (Dancing and Hugging them is something that I would not consider optional), taking photos of Hidden Mickeys and collecting autographs. Depending on your actions you can also collect pins which don’t hold much to the game but are fun little collectables which give you bragging rights and achievements when doing the multiplayer segments of the game. There were a few gripes I did have however which made the game a little bit more… challenging. Firstly, I would have loved to have been able to use a controller at the start as I found the kinect movement system wonky… and who walks around a park with their right arm out to steer their movements… really? I also found at times (Although that might be my TV configuration) that the Kinect sensor was rather picky about picking up my movements.
The design is bright and colourful and should be visually appealing to all who play it. The Disney characters have all retained their in-series appearances and despite this potentially being the first time rendered on current-gen systems, look and sound like their cartoon counterparts. Your custom avatar also has some nice styling options to give your kids or other family members that unique look. With the exception of a few omissions due to copyrights and what-not, the park supposedly retains the exact same appearance as the real park – while the mini-games in the rides are creative and visually stimulating. Not only do you get the visual feeling you are at the park, but you also get the audial sentations through remixed versions of the songs and small tracks while you wander around the park.
Simply put, I loved this game and think it would be a great Christmas addition to your collection.
Design: B+
Music/Voice Acting: B
Gameplay: A-
Replayability: B+
Personal Opinion: A
Overall Score: B+
Title: Just Dance 3
Published By: Ubisoft
Developed By: Ubisoft Paris
Console: XBox360 / Nintendo Wii (Out Now), Playstation 3 (Due Soon)
Release Date: October 2011
Genre: Rhythm
Audio: English
Subtitles: English
Classification: This game is classified G with a Caution – “Gaming experience may change online”
Region: This was based on the Australian version of the game however no difference should be present between regions.
For a game family members of all ages will enjoy, Just Dance 3 is yet another installment in the long running dance franchise and still shows no signs of slowing down. Not a good dancer? – Who cares! Embarassed to dance infront of others? – Give it a song or two and those worries will be gone… that is the brilliance of the Just Dance franchise. Unlike the Dance Central series which is also available on the XBox360, this game does not use realistic environments or characters but instead uses a colourful neon derived design with environments and dancers that use this neon style to replicate the themes of the songs. Everything to funky 70′s haircuts to costumes inspired by a halloween film to even a group of Super Sentai characters are all there ready to help you learn and replicate the moves.
The basic gameplay is fairly straightforward. Through the use of the Wiimote (Nintendo Wii), body movements (XBox360) or PS Move (Playstation 3), you and a group of friends have to replicate the movements of the dancer/dancers in front of you to earn points and become the overall top dancer and have fun! These dance moves are well timed and with difficulty levels, do allow you to change their complexity… but after a few songs unless you are physically very very fit, you may find yourself breaking a sweat or more likely…. on the floor in fits of laugher as some of the moves to make you look ridiculous (In a good way) and work out your entire body. In comparison to previous instalments, the soundtrack is most certainly broader and contains that diversity of songs that should have something for all tastes. These range from modern songs such as Pump It (Black Eyed Peas) to older songs such as Land of 1000 Dances (Wilson Pickett) to more out there songs including This is Halloween (Danny Elfman) and Spectronizer (Sentai Express)… and all of them have unique dance moves to complement them.
While the previous instalments introduced solo and duet gameplay, Just Dance 3 introduces quartet dance routines where every player takes the role of a dancer each with their own routine. While I never had the chance to get up to the four, I did try a three-person dance and it was hilariously fun. Unfortunately as with the duets, the game doesn’t grasp this concept fully and only include it in a handful of songs which is slightly disappointing – but fair enough I suppose as not all songs loan themselves to it. Also included in the XBox360 version is a Just Create mode which allows you to make your own dance routine which can be saved and shared with friends. The only limitation to this is your imagination – but if you have plenty of that you should find it much fun.
In terms of flaws, the only minor ones would be the occasional wonky menu control and the need of a lot of space in your lounge room to not bump into each other…. but you know what…. provided that if you live in the southern hemisphere that you keep the room cool (Those in the the northern hemisphere rejoice!) in the heat of Christmas, you are looking at hours of fun to be had.
Design: B+
Music/Voice Acting: A
Gameplay: B+
Replayability: A
Personal Opinion: A
Overall Score: A-
