Review: Kinect Sports Season 2

Words by: Jennifer Allen | Posted on: Wednesday 30th November, 2011 | Filed under: Game Reviews, Retail Games.

The original Kinect Sports was a big success when it hit the Xbox 360 last year, quickly establishing its place as one of the few must have Kinect games of the time. Now, with another Christmas looming ahead of us, comes Kinect Sports: Season 2, hoping to be bigger and better than its predecessor. In some ways it is but there’s still that sneaky feeling that those who already own Kinect Sports, won’t reap quite as many benefits from this package.

Kinect Sports: Season 2 comes bundled with six new sports to tackle, comprising of golf, skiing, tennis, American Football, baseball and darts. Between them, they manage to cover all abilities with some requiring plenty of practice to master while others being very welcoming to newbies. Refreshingly, there’s also the addition of some excellent voice based controls meaning that pretty much anyone can navigate the already simple menu system. Similar voice controls are offered throughout each game, not just the menus, very nearly making for the seamless experience that we’ve all been waiting for since the Kinect sensor first appeared on the scenes. For this reason alone, it means that it’s fine to leave kids or non gamers to play the game alone without any need for supervision – something that far too many family titles have struggled with in the past.

The sports available are a bit of a mixed bag with some feeling distinctly watered down compared to the real thing. American Football is perhaps the best example of this. Players only ever play offensively without the option to defend. Instead, you simply throw the ball to a player then run quickly on the spot to attempt to score a touchdown. The problem is it all feels a bit random. There’s seemingly no way of dodging the AI, instead you just have to hope you run fast enough to get away. That’s not to say it isn’t a fun mode, it just feels extraordinarily limited with such a one sided way of doing things. It’s all a little too simple, even despite the addition of choosing tactics and plays (they don’t change much), but kids will like it.

Baseball is similarly basic but I had a lot more fun with it. Players take the role of both batter and pitcher, swapping at appropriate moments. Batting is a little inaccurate when wearing thick clothes but for the most part, it works intuitively. Every now and then, players have to run on the spot in order to reach the next base adding more interactivity to the experience. Pitching is more satisfying with throwing curve balls taking hardly any practice at all. It’s also possible to catch the AI or opposing player out by sticking a hand out in the relevant direction. It’s simple yet satisfying.

Skiing is a similar, undemanding experience. With only 3 courses on offer, it’s also a little too brief. All the player has to do is crouch to ski faster and lean side to side to move through the gates that appear on the slalom courses. It’s all over a little too soon to be anything more than an idle distraction. Tennis, too, struggles with depth with movements automated and requiring the player to just return the ball with even that being rather inaccurate and occasionally infuriating.

Depth comes from the two remaining sports: golf and darts. Golf is nearly comprehensive enough to be a game in its own right. It’s the perfect example of how intuitive controls should work right down to the ability to look around the course by just moving your head. Voice controls further add to the experience as you can change clubs through that method rather than hand gestures. Darts is similarly intuitive although much more challenging. Adjusting according to the height of the TV and the people playing, darts does take some practice to truly figure out. It’s also pretty satisfying when it finally all clicks. Do expect younger family members to become infuriated at the careful aiming that’s needed to achieve success.

Besides the main game modes for each sport, they all come with mini games too (except American Football bizarrely). Don’t get too excited though as they’re all mostly variants on the ‘hit x with y’ style of gaming. Even for party play, players will find the regular modes much more entertaining.

Some service has been given to single players with the ability to send challenges to other players but Kinect Sports 2 is primarily a game to play with friends. With friends, you won’t care how shallow some of the games are but alone, it quickly becomes apparent that this is a game to play for a short time then put aside in favour of something more gripping. Still, with Christmas on the way, it’s great for a family gathering but you may find it leaving to collect dust outside of these occasions.

About Jennifer Allen

Jen's been playing games for longer than she can remember (20 odd years) and has been writing about them for 4 years. In her spare time she likes to pretend she can train her guinea pigs to do tricks. She should stick to chocobos.

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