It's Xbox Multi player week, which means you can save 33% on your annual XBox Live Gold Membership when purchasing at any GameStop Ireland, Smyths Toys Ireland and Xtra-vision until the 1st of May.
Not only that but we're also giving away the Ultimate Gamers Medley including Kinect Sports Rivals and a 12 month XBox Live Gold Membership. All you have to do is Like and Comment on Facebook to be in with a chance of winning.
With its new and improved Kinect for the Xbox One, Microsoft is taking another shot with yet another collection of sports games. When it works as intended, Kinect Sports Rivals feels like the future, a new way of playing games that makes that Xbox One controller on my coffee table feel outdated.
Rivals lets you use the Kinect to playing six different sports: soccer, Jet Ski racing, target practice, bowling, rock climbing, and tennis. Perhaps the best showcase for the Kinect is the soccer game, since unlike the Wii's controllers or the PlayStation Move, the Kinect can see both your hands and feet. Reading through the list, it might seem like a strange choice of sports events, and inevitably some are stronger and more playable than others.
Before any mountains are conquered or goals are scored, “Rivals” scans users’ actual bodies and faces, creating a cartoony avatar that resembles their real appearance. They can later be outfitted with customizable uniforms and gear earned by playing games. It’s the most innovative aspect of “Rivals” and hopefully just a glimpse of the true capabilities of Kinect 2.0.
Soccer may be the star of the show in terms of innovation however, the new Wake Rider event is by far the most fun you can have without spending a silly amount buying a real Jet Ski. The players sit on a virtual Jet Ski, and holding their arms out in front of them, as if they were holding onto the handlebars. Pulling back on one side or the other enables the player to steer, whilst opening and closing the hands represents squeezing and releasing the throttle. There's even a stamping motion with the foot which is used to trigger whichever power-up the player is using. It all works reallywell and is really good fun.
If the game’s ability to pit a pair of controller-free players against each other in the same room isn’t enough, there are increasingly difficult courses and artificial opponents as well as online leaderboards and challenges to boost competitiveness which leaves you wanting more than just the 6 sports provided... How about some virtual darts for the lads down the pub?
