Kinect Star Wars

Despite suffering from many of the same issues that typify Microsoft's motion controlled experience, Kinect Star Wars is actually a very good game. The presentation is superb, and while some game modes are more fleshed out than others, none feel like they've been tacked on or overlooked.

A rather simple collection of five Kinect mini-games with a Star Wars theme. Two of the games are good, two are okay and the last one boring and it's hard to evaluate their long-term appeal, but overall it's a fun, silly game for those who do not take Star Wars too seriously. [May 2012]

Kinect Star Wars may not be among the best Star Wars Adaptions but nonetheless there is a whole lot of fun to find in the rich diverse pool of possibilities. Above all else the coop-mode is quite entertaining.

The lacking lightsaber movements take a while to get around, and the lack of some sort of space battle mode – along the lines of Star Wars: Starfighter – is mildly disappointing.

The Pod races offer a great feeling but there are bad animations and awful controls. The german synchronization is also very bad. Nothing more but a minigame collection.

Genuinely fun for all ages, but Kinect's stubbornness holds it back from greatness. [June 2012, p.76]

The campaign grows tedious in spite of its mixed-up gameplay, and the remaining mini-game modes are enjoyable more for their novelty and humor than for their actual gameplay. I'd still recommend the game for serious Star Wars fans, but if you're more of a casual fan and/or just have a passing interest, it's better worth renting than a full-on purchase.

If you like Star Wars and are looking for a reason to dust off Kinect, this is your opportunity. A game recommended for all ages.

Visually, the game is lacking, with muddy textures and graphics that hail from a long time ago. The Kinect controls are also unreliable at times (but also work brilliantly well most of the time). Overall, though, Kinect Star Wars fulfills most of the promise of a one-to-one lightsaber game, with enough variety (including that goofy dance mode) to make for a solid Star Wars experience.

True to the Star Wars universe, well-finished and almost always fun. Less control of the sword in this game everything works fine. The whole family can meet C-3PO and run or dance with the most famous and new characters. It isn't the best Kinect game but it works. It's very easy.

It won't realize all the whises of those who have been longing to become a jedi for thirty years, but this is probably the best Star Wars game you can make for Kinect nowadays, and offers quite a lot of ways to use the motion detection device. It has some control problems and will not meet the highest expectations, but the overall result is good.

You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to have fun with the lightsaber battles for Kinect – but it helps tremendously so one can ignore little faults like the bad storytelling in the campaign. Even with the mostly entertaining minigames the game rarely taps its full potential.

The writing in the main story put me to sleep. And the Kinect controls are so inaccurate that they take you out of what should be a magical fantasy experience. Clearly, more time wouldn't have helped this game. Better writers might have salvaged it, but it amazes me that no one told the team to start over and get it right.

Many of the individual games exhibit occasional flashes of brilliance, and the absurdity of the Galactic Dance Off bears witnessing at least once. We just can't recommend picking up the entire package in order to do so.

There's enough blasphemy here to put you off the franchise for life. But there is some good news for Star Wars fans at least... It comes in the form of Microsoft's superb limited edition, pimped-out Xbox 360 Kinect Star Wars console.

We have lots of modes to choose from, but Kinect Star Wars is just a collection of minigames that is different from, say, Kinect Adventures only thanks to its Star Wars setting. It's one of better Kinect-only games, but skeptics won't be persuaded.

While the graphics are barely passable in many instances, the frame rate inexplicably drops to a total crawl with every other in-game cutscene.

Kinect Star tries to be a complete experience of the franchise, but in the end, it's just further proof that motion controls are irrelevant to action-adventure games.

Surprisingly enough, Kinect Star Wars is not screwed as much as I thought it'd be. If I had an offspring, who had a liking for Star Wars, I wouldn't hesitate and bought the game. The reason would be this game works perfectly for kids. However, an adult must say to themselves what they are expecting out of this game. This piece of work is not a flawless one. However, it does belong to the above-average Kinect titles, and unlike the other ones, with this one the Star Wars brand does not suffer shame.

We thought that Star Wars Kinect would be the best Kinect game ever since we saw it at E3 2010, but it is just slightly more than a casual game using the Microsoft's camera. Big deception.

It's difficult to review Kinect Star Wars. First of all, it finally gives you that awesome moment you've been waiting for: controlling and using the force. And believe us, it's really awesome. But then that awkward moment comes when you realize the gameplay is not actually quite that good.

Kinect Star Wars is full of shortcomings. Its playability is approximative at best, its very permissive difficulty, and average production values, despite a nice artistic direction. But despite all that, some mini-games are really fun, like the podracing, the Rancor full-on destruction sequences, or the dancing with Vader. It's a family game, no doubt, and a nicely marketed one, that will probably please its core target. But if you're a demanding Star Wars fan and core gamer, there's nothing here for you.

In the end, Kinect Star Wars wants to be a lot of things, but doesn´t achieve really much of anything.

This is probably the biggest production Kinect has seen so far (although that fact doesn't make it a good game). There are many modes that Star Wars fans (and mostly kids) will definitely enjoy, but you just keep getting a feeling that everything that happens on your screen is almost automated.

Sure, the graphics are lacking and my arms were incredibly tired after Podracing, but these in no way detract from how fun the game is. If you like Star Wars and are looking for a reason to dust off your lonely Kinect, you should buy this game. But be warned, your inner-Comic Book Guy will never shut up.

Some sections of Kinect Star Wars seem so much more polished than others, making this a game that while a bit hobbled, can still be a fun jaunt.

Alas, Kinect Star Wars as a package is a mixed, if varied bag of motion tricks. For everything that works well, something else ruins the experience.

Ultimately, high production values and variety raises Kinect Star Wars above mediocrity, but it only delivers tantalising glimpses of the kind of game both the controller and the franchise badly needed.

The problem with Kinect Star Wars is down to the use of the Kinect Sensor itself – while the package is a well constructed and well thought out one, it's all too often that the sensor misreads something and it becomes frustrating.

Kinect Star Wars is a rich Kinect title flawed by poor dialog, control issues and forgettable extra modes. Anyway kids will likely enjoy pods and dancing sessions while fans will be attracted by the chanche to wield a light saber.

One of the mostly anticipated Kinect games ended up being one of the sensor's poorest displays. It simply isn't fun even for kids, except for the dance portion of the game. If you can't resist wielding a virtual lightsaber, you might want to wait for a bargain price.

Kinect Star Wars is a decent title only if you ignore the myriad of flaws. Had the focus been on themed minigames and if the controls and objectives were tweaked a bit, this would have been a derivative but enjoyable title for casual Kinect fans. Unfortunately, the included minigames don't feel very fleshed out, and the main focus of the game delivers some underwhelming moments due to flaky controls and boring combat.

Kinect Star Wars is a bad game. If you go into it knowing that you are getting full-on camp like The Star Wars Holiday Special rather than a legitimate Star Wars experience, it can be fun, but you do have to tolerate faulty Kinect recognition the whole time. Ever since Nintendo introduced the Wii, I've been hoping LucasArts would deliver a great motion-based lightsaber experience, but Kinect Star Wars left me wanting a controller again.

Kinect Star Wars, with all its control and polish issues, has very limited appeal for an adult audience. Kids will likely find more enjoyment out of it, even the absurd dancing mode, but ultimately its more of a Star Wars-themed set of mediocre mini-games than the jedi epic fans are dying for.

Despite all the problems, I actually had a few genuine moments of utter nerd glee as I sliced my way through a group of enemies. When it worked as it should, Kinect Star Wars was tolerable. Don't get me wrong, it's still laughably bad... and some of content is borderline insulting to Star Wars purists (especially the new song lyrics), but the fact is that I never felt like a Jedi, which was, of course, the point.

A cynical package that doesn't do the Star Wars franchise any justice whatsoever. [Issue#85, p.92]

Crappy in places, but frequently very fun. You might hate yourself for not hating it. [June 2012, p.74]

The crucial problem of Kinect Star Wars is in the very attempt to combine the world of Star Wars with motion controls. [May 2012]

Kinect's lack of accuracy is again the root of all problems. The dance minigame is cool, but the rest of the game fails because it's never clear which kind of audience it tries to appeal.

Kinect Star Wars is the classic title that had great potential but is poorly developed.

Kinect Star Wars is one of the poorest games for the Microsoft motion sensor. Its lack of precision ruins all good gameplay ideas and gets the player consistently frustrated.

There are some enjoyable bits here and there -- notably the flying sections and Rancor Rampage -- but for the most part, the Force pull of Kinect Star Wars far exceeds its Force grasp.

This is not the Kinect game you've been looking for. A cute array of mini-games and a decent length main campaign could make this a fun party game with a Star Wars theme, but if you were looking to finally feel like a Jedi, you might want to stick to the bathrobe and flashlight a little while longer.

Kinect Star Wars isn't the worst Kinect game I have ever played, nor is it the worst Star Wars game I have ever played. It's just depressingly mediocre.

Silly dance sequences lighten the mood, but sluggish combat and a forgettable narrative make Kinect Star Wars a weak choice.

Speeder Bikes are unresponsive to the point of fury, and the one-on-one duels don't respond to your attacks in anywhere near as satisfying a way as the exploding droids. The assault courses are fine, but easily rehearsed, and there's nothing in this game that convinces me that anyone making it thought it was actually a good idea. There are flashes of inspiration that make it genuinely likeable - but it fails, and hard, as a forty pound game.

Kinect Star Wars has come a long way since it first was shown at last years E3, but it's still far too simple to leave a lasting impression. The controls are solid though.

Podracing is decent, but nowhere near enough to save the entire package.

An incoherent and clumsy compilation, one driven more by brand synergy than any creative imperative.

You never truly get the sense of being a pro podracer, a vicious monster, or a mighty Jedi, leaving you all-too-aware that you're just playing a videogame…and a mediocre one at that.

Another in a long list of Kinect titles that just doesn't cut it. Its unresponsive controls, lack of depth and short-lived gaming experiences do little to cater [to] any audience. Quite why Microsoft backed it so much is still a mystery; it's a title that they probably should have sent out to die alone a long time ago.

Kinect Star Wars is a double edged sword. On one side, using the force with the Kinect sensor is immensely satisfying. On the other side, Kinect is just what is holding this game back. All in all, it's just another shallow and lacking tech demo from Microsofts admittingly impressive motion sensor.

The action in Jedi Destiny suffers from shoddy implementation. Movement is the most glaring problem, which has the camera automatically select targets for you.

Avoid this game at all costs, young Padawan…and may the force be with you, always.

I just find the whole thing to be a terrible gameplay experience with the exception of the dancing.

Kinect Star Wars is a hodgepodge of ideas that, either through the Kinect's limited functionality or slipshod execution, simply aren't cohesive enough to deliver the Star Wars experience that fans demand. Our advice? Go outside and pick up a stick.

It says a lot that a dancing game is the best thing on offer in this muddled, cynical package. For the most part, Kinect Star Wars feels ill-conceived: kids will be bored, and adults will be embarrassed.

There are a few glimmers of what could have been in here, but this is not the game that legitimizes Kinect as a game-playing device, nor does it do a single thing to restore any vibrancy or value to the Star Wars license. Fans of Star Wars, Kinect hopefuls, and little kids all deserve better.

It's been a long time since we've had a decent Star Wars game though and this miserable misfire is very much more Attack Of The Clones than it is Empire Strikes Back.