THE GIFTD

The last few days have been an absolute whirlwind…
Los Angeles, Good Times, XBox 360, Project Natal and most importantly Kinect.
After the initial preview of Project Natal back in Februrary, I marked my calendar for December and vowed to pre-order + MAYBE wait in line like everybody else.
Just over a month ago I had the best email I think I’ve ever received in my entire life…a trip to LA to attend the Project Natal announcement and launch (complete with Cirque Du Soleil) extravaganza. Holy shizzle – well obviously there’s not a chance in hell that I’d miss an opportunity like this and for the last few weeks I’ve been wishing away the days like no tomorrow. Finally on Sunday 12th June 2010 – the time had come.

With a much hyped about Cirque Du Soleil performance to officially kick things off, I wasn’t really sure of what to expect. The crowd outside the Gaelen Center was a mix of hardcore gamers, journos, Xbox devotees and regular folks like myself. Ryuuken!

On entering the theatre everyone was given white, shoulder padded tunics (The Cult of Xbox360!) and asked to take their seats.


The event itself was pretty damn spectacular…think Avatar meets Space Odyssey (yes us humans have truly been primitive with control pads and what not). I think the best part of it all was the open floor and interaction between the Cirque De Soleil crew and regular people. Hate to sound cornball – but it was definitely an interactive event – complete with dancers, fake elephants (I thought it was real for a second) and a little girl that walked on the ceiling (no joke…very poltergeist-esque). You can catch all the highlights here and here for a rundown of after the event. (Mel I see you!)

After Februrary’s one game preview I was itching to check out the real deal so the test stage after the Cirque reveal and Xbox cult extravaganza at Loft 7 was MUCH NEEDED. Have to give LL’s DJ Lady Sha a huge shout out for providing a wicked set that kept everyone dancing. (when they weren’t sweating it up on Dance Central…ahem).

I’m not a fan of driving games in the first place so “Joy Ride” wasn’t really up my alley. Call me old fashioned but I like holding a steering wheel and/or actual controller. No pedals and no steering wheel just didn’t seem real to me. But that’s not to say other’s didn’t enjoy it.



Xbox tripper Dan was taking on all and anyone. Methinks he’s addicted.

Dancing however was and is a whole different ball game. Shackin out to Bell Biv DeVo’s Poison was absolutely effing amazing. Not gonna lie – I worked up a sweat and embarrassed myself getting down to it (Matt if you post that video I will have to hunt you down). The response time was ON POINT (see flick of Dance Central extraordinaire lady above).

Some reviews out have complained of a delay…I didn’t get that at all. Anyone that knows me – also knows that I’ve been peeing my pants to experience some type of Minority Report action. Ladies + Gents it’s here…took awhile getting used to, but it’s absolutely fanf*cking-tastic, words cant describe just how killer the menu selection process is.


I also loved how there was a breakdown section during each song (see above) – meaning for 10-20 sec you can do what the hell you want and watch it all on screen. (My specialty – the running man).
Warning do not attempt the “Man Swagg” in 5 inch heels. You will embarrass yourself and you will most definitely trip and fall at some point.

One of the things I also loved was that after the game there were the snapshots on screen of you actually dancing (see above). Not your Dance Central avatar…just plain old you. Think the snapshot you get after a roller coaster ride but in HD. Ummm my dance face? Far from supermodel – definitely got to work on that.

I didn’t get to try the Yoga or revisit dodge ball – but I did catch a glimpse of the Kinectimals. Kids are going to go ape-shit for this. Your own pet Big Cat to stroke, love and hold? Brilliant. Technology has come a long way since Tamagotchi and I reckon Webkins will become a misty eyed memory come the Holiday season.

Some of my friends and Hatorade sippers have put my enthusiasm for Kinect down to a ‘dazzling’ trip to LA, so I’m putting a straight up “shush n stop” to that now.
A bonafide contender for the Nintendo Wii (Your Shape and Dance Central prove this) and Sony Playstations’s ‘Move” (hmmm doesn’t even get a look in) – Microsoft have gone above and beyond to bring motion gaming to the masses. Yes, it might not be for your Call of Duty and Halo fanatics and the marketing sure as hell definitely shows Xbox’s push towards a family/younger audience…but there’s something for everybody and there’s no shame in that. It’ll be interesting to see the titles they release for Kinect in the upcoming months and I DEFINITELY CANNOT WAIT for decent fighting games (sorry folks but Star Wars bores the dust out of me, so I’m not really too amped on that).

End point? Xbox Kinect is truly amazing – although no price announcement yet.
Even though I did unexpectedly come back to my hotel room to find my bathroom had been Xbox stalked, you can count me in as a Kinect devotee for November 4th.

MASSIVE THANK YOU TO XBOX, JESSICA + CHRYSTINA for the trip of a lifetime. And muchos love to Rachel, Peter, Matty Ho, Sean G, Mel and Danny, Kizzy and Lindsey, Heidi, Kimberly and Steven!