so.. best kinect game so far

The must have depends on your audience (who's playing). Dance Central is a lot of fun, but it's not very kid friendly. My friends 10 and 7 year olds gave it a shot, but it was a bit too complex for them.

From an "adult" performance level, and if you're looking for something that will wow people over the age of 16, my bet would be on the two games you mentioned. Dance Central is a bit more adult only because of it's graphic stylings and music content. I've heard people say it's a bit like the Rock Band of dance - which it is.

Anyway, ymmv on games. For my "adult" friends, the one that's gotten the best reaction has truly been Dance Central.

-JR

Oh, I'm not a dancer either - not by a long shot. But that's the beauty of it, not only does it give the "wow" factor for people who've never seen the Kinect (my friends have been stunned that their entire body is being viewed by the Kinect), it also makes people want to try it. I've yet to introduce the game to anyone who hasn't liked it.

Kinect Sports is good (I don't have it, my friend does), but it is a lot like a much upgraded version of Wii sports. It's a fun game, and very cool, but it doesn't have that "next" gen feel that Dance Central at least touches upon. I'm not saying Dance Central is totally next gen, but I believe the package (graphics, gameplay, camera use) is what pushes it a bit farther along.

Again, it's really your personal preference. In my case, if someone said "Hey JR, you can only have one of two games to enjoy and show to your friends", I'd go with Dance Central.

Again, I'm a terrible dancer, and it doesn't make me want to dance. It does make me want to play more songs so I can learn more moves and finish a song on hard. Much like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, it sucks you in...

-JR

The right answer is both. Both are a must have for Kinect.

I only picked up the xbox and kinect last night, and yet to set it up. Was at Toy's R Us because they had some good deals on games. It is there where I found a kinect game I had not heard about and did not know existed. "Sonic Free Riders" is a Sonic the Hedgehog game that looks like it will be fun, and certainly get you moving riding boards, bikes, jet skis and even a mine cart. Anyone that has the chance to play this game, please chime in with your comments.

I have not played it but saw a few reviews. It apparently has a bit of a learning curve that makes it hard at first to get into. But it seems like some of the reviewers who stuck with it liked it.

Sports was the other kinect game I picked up.

You can go way lower than that with Kinectimals. It's fun enough for all ages, but really it's aimed at a pretty young audience. My friends 10 year old loved it, but the 7 year old and our other friends 5 year old both got a bit distracted and confused at one point due to the guide/menu mechanic to get at your tools/toys/etc. They still liked the game, but wound up just sitting on the couch telling the 10 year old what to do, and trying to get up and push in front of her.

Another odd thing that Kinectimals seemed to do to the kids was to make them keep slowly approaching the screen. It was almost like they were drawn to the game - not sure why.

I'd say Kinectimals is a great game if you plan on having a decent amount of 11, maybe 12 year olds or below around the house. Even though the younger ones got a bit confused, they were enthralled in it as much as they are when they watch their favourite movies. And to add to the experience, they could tell their older sister/friend what to do.

-JR

And Kinect Adventures, but that really comes with the Kinect anyway. It's pretty fun, very basic, and it really starts off with a tutorial showing you how to work with the Kinect. Overall - a quick way to get a family playing together. Some of the modes can be really fun (river rafting with a friend can actually be good, sweaty, PG fun), yet some aren't so hot (plugging holes in the glass tank is a tad morbid, and not really all that enjoyable).

I'd say the games go in this order from most enjoyable to OK - Dance Central, Kinect Sports, Kinectimals.

I don't actually own Kinect Sports, my buddy owns it, so I've played a good amount of hours on it at his place. I'm kinda on the fence about buying it. It's good, but I can't see my wife and I playing it together all that much - she's 7 months pregnant sooooo....

-JR

Haven't hooked it up yet. Most likely not until the weekend. TRU has kinect games, buy 1 get 1 at 50% off, until the 13th I believe. Also any other 59.99 xbox or ps3 game, get a $20 TRU card. Buy 2 games, get a $50.00 card.

I cannot imagine choosing... They compliment the system in different ways.

Dance Central for me.

it depends. do you not dance because you have zero interest? or do you not dance because you're bad (but secretly would be interested if you could get better)?

if you have zero interest, period, no game will convince you to like it.

when i first started going to dances and clubs, i hated dancing. i just sucked. i was one of those guys that just bobbed up and down. trying to look cool with the lame hand waving to hip hop music. the more crowded, the better for me (so I could become invisible).

but once my girlfriends started showing me how to dance (because girls love to dance and they didn't want to be embarrassed in front of strangers), I didn't mind going to less crowded places (you can't do any moves unless there's room). and the cool thing is once you go beyond the bobbing up and down, girls actually gravitate toward you. of course, this is just for dancing. bets are off if they're actually interested in you. I still fear dancing (takes a girl to actually get me to go) but it's actually pretty fun to do.

now, Dance Central won't make you a dancing guru. and most of its moves are too sensationalistic for the club (they were pulled from music vids) unless you're really good and can pull it off without looking lame (and let's face it, good looking guys can do whatever and get away with it, but the rest of us can't). but the principles can be used (how to move your hips, how to transition, etc.). like with anything else in life, once you know the principles, you can improvise. now you can understand how that stud at the club does his thing and you can pull off some of his stuff. and there's some great music to be played in this game (just wish there was more tracks!) and any game where you can develop rhythm and where people can have a good laugh can't be all that bad.

the things that dance central 2 needs is online multiplayer and a bigger track selection. they could also improve the learning mode so that you could learn any move any time without having to go through a whole routine in sequential order. that would move it from a great review to an excellent review. they would've knocked it out of the ballpark if they had 40+ tracks and online play.

my kinect games:
-Your Shape Fitness Evolved
-Kinect Sports
-Kinect Adventures
-Dance Central

kid friendly: kinect adventures, kinect sports. (there is the free joy ride demo on the marketplace as well)

teen-adult recommended: dance central, your shape.

list of known upcoming games and already released ones:
Kinect Games by Release Date

NOVEMBER 4, 2010
Microsoft Kinect for 360 (Microsoft)
Adrenalin Misfits (Konami)
The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout (THQ)
Dance Central (MTV Games)
Dance Masters
Fighters Uncaged (Ubisoft)
Kinect Adventures! (Microsoft Game Studios)
Kinect Joy Ride (Big Park/Microsoft Game Studios)
Kinect Sports (Rare/Microsoft Game Studios)
Kinectimals (Frontier Studio/Microsoft Game Studios)
MotionSports (Ubisoft)
Sonic Free Riders (Sega)
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft)

NOVEMBER 16, 2010
EA Sports Active 2 (Electronic Arts)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--Part 1 The Videogame (Electronic Arts)

NOVEMBER 18, 2010
Deca Sports Freedom (Hudson)
Game Party in Motion (Warner Bros.)
Zumba Fitness (Majesco)

DECEMBER 14, 2010
Brunswick Pro Bowling (Crave Entertainment)

2011 and beyond
Body and Brain Connection (Namco Bandai)
Child of Eden (Ubisoft)
Codename D (Microsoft Game Studios)
Forza Motorsport 4 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Haunt (Microsoft Game Studios)
Michael Jackson The Experience (Ubisoft)
Project Draco (Microsoft Game Studios)
Rise of Nightmares (Sega)
Star Wars Kinect (Lucasarts)
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (Capcom)

the kinect platform right now is prime (unfortunatly) for those same craptastic wii ports. i wish to believe that microsoft will not allow such shovel-ware, but money talks.

dance central is from harmonix. as its known, they also make rock band. if youre the kind who will shy away from singing the vocals on rock band, you may not enjoy dancing in front of people. it is embarrasing. heck, if you want embarrasing look at videos for dance masters. ugh!

If you don't like to dance don't buy a dance game. I can't sing, guess what Karaoke is not fun to me. It's basically full body DDR, so you know what you are getting into. Kinect Sports is a much safer buy IMO.

Check out Giant Bomb's quick looks, you can see how the games break down.

The dance games themselves could convince me to buy a Kinect, but I'm waiting until there is a larger selection. I think Dance Central could very well be like a Rock Band or Guitar Hero in that it could have a huge library of songs and styles to suit all tastes....in addition to pure hip hop versions, dance versions, etc. My wife would love it, and I know my closet dancer would come out pretty quickly. I'm one of those idiots who will dance his as$ off no matter how bad as long as I have a little alcohol in me. Lack of confidence is the biggest obstacle to decent dancing.

I've played pretty much all the launch games at this point, and I'd definitely say Dance Central is pretty much it. If you've got kids, then add Kinectimals to the list. Kinect Sports is only worth a weekend rental IMO. And nothing else is really worth your time.

Kinect Adventures (pack in with the Kinect) has a demo of Dance Central on it so just try that.

Fighters Uncaged. Despite some of the reviews...the game is very responsive with no lag. Knee your opponent, kick to the head, punch to the gut, blocks....the camera does a very good job of picking up your intended action.

my friend and I were discussing this, but do you guys think it's possible that the reviews out are off previous builds of most Kinect games.

I've noticed with almost every title that there was an update upon playing it the first time.

For example, Kinect Sports is outstanding for me. There is no lag, it's very responsive and the same goes for Your Shape Fitness, Adventures and even Joy Ride.

Just a thought, but maybe these updates have improved stuff that reviews picked up on.

My favorite game is Kinect Sports. There is so much variety and fun to be had. Dance Central is right up there too. I am really digging Your Shape Fitness as well, but I don't consider it a game at all.

Now I have not really played the game, just the training but I also found the game mechanics to work pretty well. I needed a sixth game for our second buy 2 get 1 free so I figured I might as well get Fighters Uncaged instead if Sonic.