From a lion cub to king of the jungle
As well as performing physical gestures to perhaps throw a ball, jump, spin 360 degrees, or play dead, Kinectimals makes good use of voice commands, such as “Sit,” “Lie Down,” and “Roll Over.” There’s also a range of customisation options to bulk out the content allowing you to decorate your pet’s house with a range of items. There’s a lot of content to get through and Kinectimals always ensures you’re rewarded for your progress by offering plenty of unlockables and goals to complete.The main bulk of the game involves playing mini-games where, for instance, you’ll guide your pet around an obstacles course and jump in your living room to encourage him to leap over obstacles, or steer an RC car with an invisible wheel, or catch butterflies with a net, or toss hoops at a target. You do experience some repetition, particularly with the mini-games that involve throwing an object in order to hit a target, but the smooth performance of Kinect, the lure of more unlockables, and the bond you build up with your pet should be more than enough to prevent you from getting too bored. We doubt kids will even notice because Microsoft has done well to disguise similar games with new objects and new locations.
Though Kinectimals is aimed towards children, we found it quite therapeutic to play. Unlike some Kinect games, you don’t jump around your living room like your favourite team has just scored a goal in the FA Cup Final, but you’ll more than often than not just stand in one spot interacting with your cub gently as if it were a newborn baby, guiding him around the island while gentle music plays in the background and bunny rabbits hop past in the baking sunshine under the Sega-blue skies. There's a real feel good factor that runs through the whole game.
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