Kinect Star Wars user reviews (Xbox 360)

Pros Fun for both kids and adults playing together. My kids love it. My 9 yo son saved money to help pay for it and loves it. My 4 yo daughter loves to dance and it is something they actually enjoy doing together. Adults have fun at it too.

Cons Not an "immersive" Star Wars experience.
Combat is repetitive and demonstrates the real limitations of the technology.

Summary I was initially hesitant to pick this game up based on on-line reviews but have been pleasantly surprised. This game is not intended to be a fully immersive, interactive "Star Wars experience" so, fanboys, sit down and pout because the world doesn't revolve around you. This game is a collection of Star Wars highlights meant for kids. Adults have fun with it too as long as you try to not take it too seriously.

The campaign mode is very linear. While you can pick up objects in the environmet and throw things or use the force to push objects or enemies, most of the fighting is old fashioned light sabering. The problem with this is that it seems to recognize some, but not all movements and certain movements (figure 8) don't always work correctly. The upside is, if you are the target audience (younger kids) then you don't care about those kinds of finer details and hacking at the enemy while flaining your limbs is fun.

The dueling mode really demonstrates that the Kinect technology has yet to come to terms with really dynamic maneuvering. Dueling is a little frustrating because of the there is absolutely no skill involved. The enemy attacks you while you block, then you attack him, while he tries to block you. Wash, lather, rise, repeat. Half the time he backs up out of range so you can't hurt him until you have been through the scripted stages. Definately the biggest downside to the game, for me anyway.

The Rancor Rampage is fun. Eating people is fun. Smashing stuff is fun. Doing it cooperatively with my son is a blast. Trying the dance moves as a Rancor is even better. Even adults over the weekend had fun with this part.

Podracing is fun cooperatively, but it gets tiring holding your arms out. It can be an endurance test, but then again, maybe that's not a bad thing if you're playing XBOX instead of being outside. Kind of like those boot camp "hold your rifle at arms length" games. It isn't heavy for the first minute......

The much maligned dance mode is actually pretty darn fun. The songs are rediculously reworded to make them relevant to the Star Wars universe and if you have heard originals, you'll get a chuckle. The moves are given Star Wars relevant names. I can't wait to go to a club and try the "Chewy Hug." I keep telling my son to "do the wingman" in public (he usually grumbles). Seeing Leia willfully dance for Jabba's entertainment or Han gettin' down in the carbonite chamber is funny. People offended by that were probably also offended by Robot Chicked Star Wars because it wasn't "true to the universe" ("....best day of Daddy's life" "what about the day I was born" "not even close")

Yes it is a little over the top, but it brought the most hearty laughter from the adults over the weekend when I challenged a buddy of mine to a dance off. The kids were rolling and the wives were crying. It was, what's that word a GAME is supposed to be? Oh yeah fun. Where were those background dancing girls in the Cloud City? That would have made that movie perfect!

I am sure it only has a T rating because you get to eat people and Leia's outfit. Otherwise, I can't imagine anyone getting scared or offended by anything in this game. If they do, then they have much bigger issues and probably shouldn't be using electricity anyway.

Bottom line if you are 40 and still sleeping in Star Wars sheets, your best friend is TK-430, and you spend your weekends disecting the tactical mistakes made during the battle on Hoth, this game will probably underwhelm you. If you have kids who like anything Star Wars, like the Kinect and are looking for a way to spend some laughs with them, pick it up. I would bet you'll have some good laughs trying to get down with Lando.