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Review
Kinect Disneyland Adventures

If you were to ask any parent in North America to list their top five vacation destinations, it is a sure bet that Disneyland (or Disneyworld) would be mentioned – if not at the top of the heap. Known as “the happiest place on Earth”, Disneyland has been making kids smile for as long as it has been open for business; and considering that adults will tell you that they feel like children again when they walk through the gates, that is an awfully large number of smiling kids.

Frontier Developments manages to capture some of the theme park’s magic in their latest game: Kinect Disneyland Adventures; which is saying a lot. Even just a fraction of Disney’s magic would be sufficient to kick Dumbledore’s butt and still have enough left over to make the Balrog double over in defeat. Smallest Thumb and I decided to take a stroll through the main gates and we managed to get lost in the game for a very long time – but not in a bad way.

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Review
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012

When motion-based gaming really started roping people in with the Wii, it was only a matter of time before a gold mine of opportunity was unearthed: exercise games. One would argue that a number of Wii and Kinect titles can be classified as such, given that they have you off the couch and moving; but I am referring to the structured exercise application.

While the Wii -with it’s Wii-Mote and Balance Board- promised to help you slim down and strengthen your core, it lacked the useful feedback that the Kinect could provide*. One year ago, Your Shape: Fitness Evolved entered our living rooms and gave us a useful utility with which to live healthier lives. Innovative, but not without its flaws, it is still one of the best workout programs available for the Kinect (and any platform, really). Now, a year later, the 2012 edition promises a lot more – and it certainly delivers.

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Review
Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster

I’m not sure about other parents out there, but I love playing video games with my kid. A good portion of the time, she likes to sit on the sofa next to me and tell me what to do; games like Toy Story 3 or Playstation Heroes are more fun for her to watch than to play. Other games like Flower, Eye Pet or -believe it or not- Gran Turismo 5* inspire her to take the controller and participate more actively.

Games that require no controller at all (read: Kinect), like Just Dance 3 or Fruit Ninja, are even more fun for her due to the fact that she doesn’t have to deal with the awkwardness of a bulky controller built for grown-up hands. So when a game like Double Fine Productions’ Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster comes along, she is all over it like Cookie Monster on a plate of cookies.

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Review
Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking

The popular multi-player Rayman spin-off, Raving Rabbids, has gained quite a bit of notoriety for its addictive game-play and bizarre concept. That sort of content is nothing new to the mini-game genre; just look at the equally-bizarre WarioWare series and the sense of popularity it achieved in such a short period of time. Raving Rabbids continues to capture hardcore and casual gamers alike with its increasingly ridiculous plot and plethora of mini-games. Raving Rabbids: Alive & Kicking is the latest in the series and, surprisingly enough, the first Kinect installment. In terms of using Microsoft’s body-detecting peripheral: there’s no better time than now.

Clearly, plot is the least important part in this series and while ridiculously funny to watch for the first time, it’s overdone and pretty mediocre under most standards. Of course, this should be the least of anyone’s worries seeing as how entertaining the game-play can be. This series has always excelled at being the life of the party, even if certain aspects were lacking; But can the same be said about this latest installment?

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Review
Self-Defense Training Camp

The phenomenon that is the exercise game genre cannot be ignored. People purchase these games and enter into contracts with themselves for self improvement; one of the big deciding factors of whether or not people stick to their program relies on the practicality of the game. At FanExpo the Greedy Productions folks addressed these types of games, with Shaun Hatton raising the most important point: the reward from exercise games is proportional to what effort you put in.

Does this formula work for fitness games that involve more than just exercise? Games like The Fight: Lights Out and Fighters Uncaged are fighting games that have the added bonus of having some fitness elements – but are these games really going to teach you anything practical outside of the exercise? Ubisoft’s latest offering, Self-Defense Training Camp, looks to buck the trend with a very comprehensive approach to self defense.

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Review
Kinect Sports: Season Two

The rise of motion-control games has slowly risen more and more since the debut of the various motion control technologies out today. Back when Kinect Sports was just being released players had the chance to experience the once-new peripheral’s motion capabilities and see for themselves whether the technology was right for them.

While the sports-themed mini-game compilation didn’t offer perfect reception, it became a big step for all companies involved in creating motion technology and mini-game based party games. Kinect Sports: Season Two, the sequel to this influential title, has worked on enhancing the technology and transform anyone into a virtual athlete.

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Review
PowerUP Heroes

PowerUP Heroes, one of Ubisoft’s latest offerings, puts you in the shoes of your avatar* in a bout (or several) to save the world from an alien invasion. Touted as a full-body fighting game, PowerUP Heroes utilizes the power of the Kinect to translate your movements into the game. How well does it do? Well, it’s not perfect; but let’s just say that it is definitely an uppercut in the right direction.

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