I’m not really a console guy. I have a Wii I got for my wedding and had some limited fun with it, but that’s it. However following the Double Fine Adventure Kickstarter I discovered the various games that Double Fine had on offer, and Happy Action Theatre made me feel that Kinect was the next step up from the Wii, and that my kids might like it.

So I finally gave in and spent $470 on an 4GB Xbox + Kinect bundle (the Xbox is very expensive here in Israel) and one of the first things I did was download the demo. My four year old daughter wanted to play it again and again so I spent the $10 to buy the game and we had a couple of hours of fun, with the 2.5 year old joining in but not really understanding (he went to the TV and tried to grab the balloons).

I don’t know how much use it will get, and I wish the language barrier wasn’t there for Once Upon a Monster, but I’m looking forward to Kinect Party.

Kinect Party is terrific; when it is released, I am 100% certain your kids will love it. I had the pleasure of trying it out for a bit while at the Double Fine post-PAX meetup, and just playing it that short time (and watching other fans play it) completely sold me on it.

I think it’s reasonable to call the Kinect “the next step up from the Wii”, but it’s also important to realize that the two are fundamentally different in many ways. I find that playing Kinect games feels much more ‘natural’ (for lack of a better word).

If you are looking for more fun games for the Kinect that your kids can enjoy (while waiting for Kinect Party), I highly recommend Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports. Both are family-appropriate and a blast for kids and adults alike (though the 2.5 year old is probably a bit young to fully get the hang of them quite yet).

Enjoy your new console!

Dain Schroeder - 02 December 2012 05:19 PM

If you are looking for more fun games for the Kinect that your kids can enjoy (while waiting for Kinect Party), I highly recommend Kinect Adventures and Kinect Sports.

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