Kinect Star Wars
Kinect Star Wars | |
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multiplayer |
Kinect Star Wars is a
Microsoft Studios had planned to make a Star Wars game that utilizes the Kinect since the early development of the motion-sensing system. The game was formally announced at E3 2011 and released worldwide on April 3, 2012. It was the last game to be published by LucasArts before The Walt Disney Company halted all internal development at said company a year later. Craig Derrick served as lead producer on the game.
Kinect Star Wars received generally mixed reviews, with reviewers often praising the game's art and presentation but criticizing the perceived underdeveloped gameplay, weak writing, and inaccurate controls.
Gameplay
Kinect Star Wars features four subgames. In its primary mode, known as Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, players take control of one of multiple Jedi Padawans. Using the Kinect, the player uses their hands to wield a lightsaber in combat. Players also can lift and throw objects with the Force using specific gestures. The story takes place during the prequel trilogy timeline of the Star Wars universe, beginning shortly after Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and concluding with the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Body movement to control vehicles in specific sections of this mode. A second Jedi-centric mode, Duels of Fate, allows players to experience one-on-one duels with characters from the Jedi Destiny campaign as well as famous Star Wars villains such as Darth Vader.[2]
The game's podracing utilizes the Kinect to simulate the dual throttle controls on podracers. Players extend arms fully to operate at full speed, and retract their arm to throttle back on one or both engines. Multiple courses are offered. Rancor Rampage, the game's third mode, allows players to control one of multiple species of rancor which are let loose in various Star Wars locales. Arm movements synchronize between the player and their rancor, and players can execute special attacks in this destruction-based game mode.[3]
The final game mode in Kinect Star Wars is Galactic Dance-off. Here players control one of several famous Star Wars characters through the use of the Kinect. Gameplay is a combination of
Song title (in game) | New lyrics? | Original title | Original artist | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hologram Girl | yes | Hollaback Girl | Gwen Stefani | Tatooine |
Naturally | yes | Naturally | Selena Gomez & the Scene | Tatooine |
Princess in a Battle | yes | Genie in a Bottle | Christina Aguilera | Tatooine |
Stronger | yes | Stronger | Britney Spears | Tatooine |
We No Speak Huttese | yes | We No Speak Americano | Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP | Tatooine |
Kashyyyk | yes | Canned Heat | Jamiroquai | Bespin |
Just the Way You Are | no | Just the Way You Are | Bruno Mars | Bespin |
I'm Han Solo | yes | Ridin' Solo | Jason Derulo | Bespin |
Aerodynamic | no | Aerodynamic | Daft Punk | Coruscant |
Blasterproof | yes | Bulletproof | La Roux | Coruscant |
Empire Today | yes | Y.M.C.A. | The Village People
|
Coruscant |
Demons | no | Demons (Reset! Remix) | South Central | Death Star |
Ghosts 'n' Stuff | no | Ghosts 'n' Stuff (original instrumental mix) | deadmau5 | Death Star |
Little White Doves | no | Little White Doves | Dirty Vegas | Death Star |
Celebration | no | Celebration | Kool & the Gang | Bespin |
Development and release
Microsoft Studios had planned to develop a Star Wars game since early in the development of the Kinect system. Kudo Tsunoda, creative director for Kinect, said of this decision: "It's one of those things where you can see how the unique parts of Kinect can bring to life the fantasy of being a Jedi in a way no other game console or media can do."
Craig Derrick was LucasArts' lead producer on Kinect Star Wars. The visuals of the animation were augmented in such a way to make the Jedi fighting techniques appear realistic because according to Derrick "What we found early in development is that no one wants to look like '
Five individual downloadable content pieces are available. The first, a podracer piloted by an adult
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 55/100[12] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
G4 | 3/5[13] |
GameSpot | 5/10[14] |
GamesRadar+ | [15] |
Giant Bomb | [16] |
IGN | 5.5/10[3] |
Polygon | 4/10[17] |
Digital Spy | [18] |
Kinect Star Wars has received mixed reviews at aggregate website Metacritic, with scores ranging from 30/100 to 80/100.[12] Reviewers often praised the game's art and presentation, but had complaints about the perceived underdeveloped gameplay, weak writing and inaccurate controls. Kinect Star Wars debuted at number one on the UK All Formats Chart, making it the first Kinect-exclusive game to do so in the UK. It is also the first Star Wars game to top the charts since 2008.[20] It also appeared on numerous lists of the worst Star Wars games ever developed.[4][21][22][23][24][25]
Anthony Gallegos of
Lorenzo Veloria of
References
- ^ a b c Tsukayama, Hayley (6 June 2011). "E3 2011: Microsoft shows off Kinect Star Wars". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Jensen, Jeff (5 June 2011). "'Star Wars' at E3: Your first look at 'Kinect Star Wars' -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Gallegos, Anthony (3 April 2012). "Kinect: Star Wars Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ a b "Top 10 worst Star Wars games ever made". IGN. Ziff Davis. 25 July 2016. Archived from the original on 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Orry, James (19 April 2012). "Kinect Star Wars app launches for iPhone, Windows Phones and Android". VideoGamer.com. Candy Banana. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ Reiner, Andrew (4 April 2015). "Fall Of The Empire: How Inner Turmoil Brought Down LucasArts". Game Informer. GameStop. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ^ Mattas, Jeff (13 April 2012). "Kinect Star Wars DLC included on Brisk iced tea bottles". Shacknews. Gamerhub. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- ^ Orry, James (7 July 2012). "DLC round-up July 7, 2012 - Xbox 360 vs PS3". VideoGamer.com. Candy Banana. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
- Hearst Magazines UK. Archivedfrom the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ Reynolds, Matthew; Mansell, Tom (23 February 2012). "Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 console hands-on preview - video". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- Tom's Guide. Purch Group. Archivedfrom the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ G4. G4 Media. Archived from the originalon 11 March 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ^ GamesRadar. Future plc. Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ a b McElroy, Justin (2 April 2012). "Kinect Star Wars review: This is not the game you're looking for". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ Hearst Magazines UK. Archivedfrom the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
- ^ Newman, Jared (2 April 2012). "Kinect Star Wars Horrifies Fans with Cheesy Dance Minigame". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
- CBS Interactive. 10 April 2012. Archivedfrom the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- Univision Communications. Archivedfrom the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Gwaltney, Javy (19 December 2015). "A Disturbance In The Force: The 10 Worst Star Wars Games". Game Informer. GameStop. p. 2. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- NBCUniversal Cable. Archived from the originalon 3 November 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- Complex. Complex Media. Archivedfrom the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- Daily Star. Northern & Shell. Archived from the originalon 12 November 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
- ^ Feldman, Brian (2018-05-22). "The Untold Story of Star Wars' XBox Dance Game Star Wars Kinect". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 2020-10-29. Retrieved 2020-10-10.