2012 video game
2012 video game
Kinect Star Wars
is a
Star Wars
video game developed by
Terminal Reality
and published by
LucasArts
and
Microsoft Studios
for the
Xbox 360
that uses the
Kinect
motion
peripheral
. The game features four game modes: "Jedi Destiny", the primary game mode;
podracing
; Rancor Rampage; and Galactic Dance-off. In Jedi Destiny, players assume the role models of
Jedi Padawans
as they wield their
lightsabers
and use
the Force
to attack enemies mostly from the
prequel trilogy
using gestures. Podracing is a race-based game mode, Rancor Rampage is a destruction-based game mode, and Galactic Dance-off is a dance-based game mode similar to the
Dance Central
series
.
Microsoft Studios had planned to make a
Star Wars
game that utilizes the Kinect since the early development of the motion-sensing system. The game was formally announced at
E3 2011
and released worldwide on April 3, 2012. It was the last game to be published by LucasArts before
The Walt Disney Company
halted all internal development at said company a year later. Craig Derrick served as lead producer on the game.
Kinect Star Wars
received generally mixed reviews, with reviewers often praising the game's art and presentation but criticizing the perceived underdeveloped gameplay, weak writing, and inaccurate controls.
Gameplay
[
edit
]
Kinect Star Wars
features four subgames. In its primary mode, known as Jedi Destiny: Dark Side Rising, players take control of one of multiple
Jedi Padawans
. Using the Kinect, the player uses their hands to wield a
lightsaber
in combat. Players also can lift and throw objects with
the Force
using specific gestures. The story takes place during the
prequel trilogy
timeline of the
Star Wars
universe, beginning shortly after
Star Wars: Episode I ? The Phantom Menace
and concluding with the events of
Star Wars: Episode III ? Revenge of the Sith
. Body movement to control vehicles in specific sections of this mode. A second Jedi-centric mode, Duels of Fate, allows players to experience one-on-one duels with characters from the Jedi Destiny campaign as well as famous
Star Wars
villains such as
Darth Vader
.
[2]
The game's
podracing
utilizes the Kinect to simulate the dual throttle controls on podracers. Players extend arms fully to operate at full speed, and retract their arm to throttle back on one or both engines. Multiple courses are offered. Rancor Rampage, the game's third mode, allows players to control one of multiple species of rancor which are let loose in various
Star Wars
locales. Arm movements synchronize between the player and their rancor, and players can execute special attacks in this destruction-based game mode.
[3]
The final game mode in
Kinect Star Wars
is Galactic Dance-off. Here players control one of several famous
Star Wars
characters through the use of the Kinect. Gameplay is a combination of
Dance Central
series
and
Just Dance
in which players must dance in synchronization with the on-screen character. Cues to upcoming dance moves are shown to the player to ensure they can stay in synchronization with the character. The song selection consists of parodies with title and lyrics rewritten in a
Star Wars
theme. For example,
Gwen Stefani
's "
Hollaback Girl
" is rewritten as "Hologram Girl", and
Village People
's "
Y.M.C.A.
" is rewritten as "Empire Today", while
Jason Derulo
's "
Ridin' Solo
" is rewritten as "I'm Han Solo". Dance locales are themed to the character and a particular moment for them in the
Star Wars
saga story; for example,
Princess Leia
's dance takes place in front of
Jabba the Hutt
, and Han Solo's dance takes place in the carbon-freezing chamber on
Bespin
.
[4]
Development and release
[
edit
]
Microsoft Studios had planned to develop a
Star Wars
game since early in the development of the Kinect system. Kudo Tsunoda, creative director for Kinect, said of this decision: "It's one of those things where you can see how the unique parts of Kinect can bring to life the fantasy of being a Jedi in a way no other game console or media can do."
[2]
The release of the game was formally announced at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo
on June 6, 2011, where the first gameplay trailer and portions of the game were shown.
[1]
A
social media
application was released for
iOS
,
Android
, and
Windows Phone
mobile devices. It combined Twitter and Facebook feeds on the game in the style of the Star Wars opening crawl.
[5]
Craig Derrick was LucasArts' lead producer on
Kinect Star Wars
. The visuals of the animation were augmented in such a way to make the Jedi fighting techniques appear realistic because according to Derrick "What we found early in development is that no one wants to look like '
Star Wars kid
' in front of their friends."
[2]
It was the last game to be published by LucasArts.
[6]
Five individual downloadable content pieces are available. The first, a podracer piloted by an adult
Anakin Skywalker
, is only available through a promotion with
Brisk
. Select bottles of iced tea feature a Microsoft M-Tag barcode which can be scanned by the Kinect to unlock the podracer.
[7]
The remaining four consist of playable characters in different modes: a Snow Rancor, a Korriban Rancor, bounty hunter
Aurra Sing
and Jedi Master
Kit Fisto
.
[8]
It was released worldwide on April 3, 2012.
[9]
A limited-edition console bundle was launched alongside the game with the Xbox 360 S set designed to look like
R2-D2
. The bundle included the console with a 320 GB hard drive, a white Kinect sensor and the gold controller modeled after C-3PO. The bundle was sold for a MRP of $449.99 in the United States and £349.99 in the United Kingdom
[10]
and is the first custom Xbox 360 bundle to be released.
[11]
Reception
[
edit
]
Kinect Star Wars
has received mixed reviews at aggregate website
Metacritic
, with scores ranging from 30/100 to 80/100.
[12]
Reviewers often praised the game's art and presentation, but had complaints about the perceived underdeveloped gameplay, weak writing and inaccurate controls.
Kinect Star Wars
debuted at number one on the UK All Formats Chart, making it the first Kinect-exclusive game to do so in the UK. It is also the first
Star Wars
game to top the charts since 2008.
[20]
It also appeared on numerous lists of the worst
Star Wars
games ever developed.
[4]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
Anthony Gallegos of
IGN
felt that the game was simply a collection of
minigames
instead of the larger "Jedi epic fans are dying for."
[3]
Meanwhile, Liam Martin of
Digital Spy
maintained that there was a strong sense of effort from the developer, and to simply "call Kinect Star Wars a mini-game compilation would be to do it a disservice." Martin praised the games setting, which is narrated by R2-D2 and
C-3PO
. He did concede, however, that certain elements of the game's controls were unresponsive at times, and that this could cause frustrations to players.
[18]
Jonathan Deesing of
G4
gave the game's Rancor Rampage and Galactic Dance-off modes high marks. He stated that some modes might feel tiresome to players, and noted that, during his time playing the podracing mode, he would sit in a chair to minimize fatigue and to feel further immersed. He, however, criticized the game's graphics for resembling that of a
Wii
game.
[13]
In a more critical review Brad Shoemaker from
Giant Bomb
stated, "It doesn't matter who you claim
Kinect Star Wars
is for, it's a shoddy product on almost every level".
[16]
Lorenzo Veloria of
GamesRadar
praised the game for seldom having to repeat a move (e.g. a kick and a lightsaber slash) to make the action work and making one of the best uses of the Kinect in an action game.
[15]
Justin McElroy
of
Polygon
criticized the Jedi Destiny mode for imprecise blocking controls, the repetitive combat formula, and limited strategy.
[17]
Mark Walton of
GameSpot
praised the Galactic Dance-off mode for being "silly" and "comical fun", but criticized the lightsaber duels for being slow-paced and the storyline for being a derivative of the
original trilogy
.
[14]
The "I'm Han Solo" routine in the Galactic Dance-off mode was considered an absurd addition to the game.
[26]
[27]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Tsukayama, Hayley (6 June 2011).
"E3 2011: Microsoft shows off Kinect Star Wars"
.
The Washington Post
. Nash Holdings.
Archived
from the original on 12 November 2012
. Retrieved
6 June
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
Jensen, Jeff (5 June 2011).
"
'Star Wars' at E3: Your first look at 'Kinect Star Wars' -- EXCLUSIVE"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Time Inc.
Retrieved
6 June
2011
.
- ^
a
b
c
Gallegos, Anthony (3 April 2012).
"Kinect: Star Wars Review"
.
IGN
.
Ziff Davis
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
3 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
"Top 10 worst
Star Wars
games ever made"
.
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.
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Archived
from the original on 15 December 2016
. Retrieved
15 December
2016
.
- ^
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"Kinect Star Wars app launches for iPhone, Windows Phones and Android"
.
VideoGamer.com
. Candy Banana.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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2012
.
- ^
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.
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.
- ^
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.
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Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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Archived
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. Retrieved
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2012
.
- ^
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"Games out this week:
Kinect Star Wars
,
Rhythm Thief
,
I Am Alive
"
.
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.
Hearst Magazines UK
.
Archived
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. Retrieved
16 December
2016
.
- ^
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"
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.
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.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
Tom's Guide
.
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.
Archived
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. Retrieved
12 February
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Kinect Star Wars Critic Reviews for Xbox 360 at Metacritic.com"
.
Metacritic
.
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.
Archived
from the original on 22 April 2012
. Retrieved
24 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
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.
G4
.
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. Archived from
the original
on 11 March 2013
. Retrieved
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2012
.
- ^
a
b
Walton, Mark (3 April 2012).
"
Kinect Star Wars
Review"
.
GameSpot
.
CBS Interactive
.
Archived
from the original on 15 November 2016
. Retrieved
17 December
2016
.
- ^
a
b
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"
Kinect Star Wars
review"
.
GamesRadar
.
Future plc
.
Archived
from the original on 21 December 2016
. Retrieved
15 December
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Shoemaker, Brad (5 April 2012).
"Kinect: Star Wars Review"
.
Giant Bomb
.
CBS Interactive
.
Archived
from the original on 7 April 2012
. Retrieved
5 April
2012
.
- ^
a
b
McElroy, Justin (2 April 2012).
"
Kinect Star Wars
review: This is not the game you're looking for"
.
Polygon
.
Vox Media
.
Archived
from the original on 20 December 2016
. Retrieved
16 December
2016
.
- ^
a
b
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"Kinect Star Wars Review - Digital Spy"
.
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.
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.
Archived
from the original on 4 April 2012
. Retrieved
4 April
2012
.
- ^
Newman, Jared (2 April 2012).
"
Kinect Star Wars
Horrifies Fans with Cheesy Dance Minigame"
.
Time
.
Time Inc.
Retrieved
14 December
2016
.
- ^
"
Kinect Star Wars
dances up UK chart"
.
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.
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. 10 April 2012.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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.
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.
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- ^
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"
Star Wars Kinect
'
s
I'm Han Solo
Dance Is Truly Amazing (VIDEO)"
.
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.
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.
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.
External links
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]
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