Kung Fu. I have always wanted to learn a martial arts like that. Just never been physically fit enough. But now this is here and on Xbox One, I can live the dream.How this works is actually amusing. The Kinect takes snaps of you in various poses to fit in with the comic book introductions to the chapters. The down side to it, was the actual gameplay. Movement is the same action as punching making it a difficult game to actually play with regards to performing the correct action. Which can be infuriating.To perform somersaults is another action that rarely happen when you want it too.
The Kinect does pick up your actions, but transferring the to actual in gae moves is another issue altogether. The whole package does have it’s char with the comic book approach, but is it really enough to warrant a purchase? Or is it another reason to leave the Kinect boxed up and in the cupboard? Sadly, in my experience, is the latter. Whilst the humour made me chuckle, the crux of the problems lie with the large portion of the game that you will be buying it for. The game interactions just don’t work properly, which will sadly put people off. A shame when you consider how much fun this could have been. Maybe it was just too ambitious an attempt at a Kinect game, or it could be that with Boom Ball, the developers, Virtual Air Guitar Company, just don’t have the ability to make a game work with the Kinect like others have.
It isn’t to be taken seriously though, as the cheesy humour and being a big nod to B movie Kung Fu movies will testify. The price is a major stumbling block too. The asking price of £14.99 will surely prevent a lot of people buying it, and coupled with the recognition issues of the Kinect, will have people passing it up like a salad at a Steak Grill restaurant.
It does offer up 22 levels, and 9 replayable daily challenges to keep you going, but just how many will be playing long enough to either reach the end of the game, or play all the challenges? Not that many if you ask me. You even get a mode to stage you own finishers. But given how hard it is to land the moves the game has shipped with anyway, it seems like a vain attempt at letting you become a martial arts master.
The general idea of Kung Fu for Kinect is a good one on paper, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired. I had high hopes for this game, as it sounded like it would be a great laugh. But Ii only had a laugh at the cut scenes, as the fighting scenes are over too quickly, and you spend more time waiting for the game to load than actually playing it. The game has been badly designed, and will likely leave you with a sour taste in your mouth given the price you will have paid. Your money could be better spent elsewhere, even giving it away is a better option. If you really have to buy it, then so be it.
Trying to think of something positive to say about it apart from the comic book layout and being able to pose for silly pictures, is pretty much impossible.The laughs get old quick, and wont be remembered for long, as you load up the next game to play to turn that frown upside down. There is little reason to be buying it, what with all the Indie and AAA titles available to you now we are in 2016. The Xbox One has a big catalogue of games now, and to be brutally honest, you have no real reason to buy this, at all. Or ever. Unless you have somehow managed to buy and play every single game. In which case you have too much money and should consider buying another console, or taking up another hobby.
The achievements, should you care, are a grind. Do this x amount of times, do that x amount of times and nothing vaguely interesting or funny. You will have given up with this game a long time before you even get them all.
You will need a lot of room to get your full body captured for the game. Which means one of two things. You either don’t have the room available, or you will have to move a lot of furniture to get the distance required. This is a massive inconvenience not only for me, bu for a lot of other people. As I’m sure that we can’t all manage to dedicate a room to gaming. Unless you are rich enough to buy a house with a few extra rooms, or you don’t mind rearranging your house to suit the needs of distance for the Kinect.
To summarise, do you really want to add this to your collection? If so, then I hope you enjoy it. It is far from a polished game, and will leave you feeling frustrated that you have spent £14.99 of your money when for that amount, you could have bought something much better, and had a lot more fun with it. If you do decide to purchase it, then at least wait for a sale. There really is a lot better out there, even the Kinect has a few good titles. As mentioned earlier, the only good features that give this game any points, are the humour and comic book cut scenes. Buy it at your peril.
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
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