Kinect’s launch week brought with it a bevy of reviews, previews, news headlines, and video offerings.
This week something strange was afoot at the GameSpot offices. Inside preview rooms and even in cubicles editors were dancing with abandon, throwing virtual bowling balls, and petting imaginary tiger cubs.
Don’t worry, readers–staffers here weren’t experiencing a mass hallucination. This week saw the debut of Kinect, the motion-sensing system which plucked players off of their posteriors and instead had them flailing their limbs like tasered news anchors.
GameSpot covered the peripheral’s debut from all angles, including reviews of Dance Central, Kinect Sports, and Kinectimals. Find out more in the full Kinect coverage below.
THE LAST WORD: November 1-5
NEW RELEASES
Shippin’ Out Oct. 31-Nov. 6: Kinect, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, GoldenEye, James Bond: Blood Stone
God of War Collection, Ghost of Sparta crush PSN
Street Slam dunks Virtual Console
FEATURES
Curious about Microsoft’s new motion control system, Kinect? The GameSpot editors share some of their initial thoughts about the system, its games, and how it works in our Gut Reactions feature. We also give a breakdown of the setup process for the camera that includes details on ideal lighting as well as how far you should be standing from the camera for optimal tracking conditions.
Gut Reactions: Kinect
Konnecting with Kinect
NEWS
Earningspalooza continued at the GameSpot Newsdesk this week, with the latest financials from THQ, EA, Activision Blizzard, Konami, Namco Bandai, and Square Enix. Other notable headlines included the launch of the fall Xbox 360 update, which brought editable Netflix queues, ESPN channels, Kinect connectivity, and more to Microsoft’s console. Polyphony Digital head Kazunori Yamauchi said that Gran Turismo 5 has finally gone gold–and that work on Gran Turismo 6 is already underway. Then there was the not-so-small matter of the PSP2’s existence being confirmed by a loose-lipped EA executive and NBA Elite 11 being canceled outright.
Xbox 360 fall dashboard update goes live
Sony executive hints at gaming phone
Bejeweled 3 shimmering on Dec. 7
PS3 getting exclusive Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood DLC
BlizzCon attendee to appear in Cataclysm
250GB Xbox 360 holiday bundle packs in Alan Wake, Forza 3
Microsoft explains Xbox Live price hike
US Supreme Court appears split on California game law
Namco Bandai cuts 90 jobs in US – Report
NBA Elite 11 canceled
EA posts loss, Medal of Honor sells 2 million
PSP2’s existence confirmed – Report
Kinect has problems recognizing dark-skinned users
Okamiden stylizing DS March 15
Microsoft ups Kinect estimate to 5 million
THQ posts $47 million loss
Starcraft II sells 3M, Activision Blizzard reports $51M profit
Call of Duty FPS confirmed for late 2011
Konami profits surge 73% on slightly higher sales
Gran Turismo 5 release date “soon,” GT6 already in development
ZeniMax buys Starbreeze founder’s new studio – Report
Square Enix six-month earnings falter
Namco Bandai trims first-half losses
PREVIEWS
The week in previews was dominated by an EA Studio Showcase in London, where the GameSpot UK office saw several upcoming games from the Redwood Shores-based publisher. On the list were new looks at Medal of Honor’s upcoming DLC, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, Crysis 2 Multiplayer, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. And toward the end of the week once the team was done with all those EA stories, the UK office also had a look at Test Drive Unlimited 2.
Test Drive Unlimited 2 Hands-On
Medal of Honor Clean Sweep and Hot Zone DLC Hands-On
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam Hands-On
Crysis 2 Updated Multiplayer Hands-On
Star Wars: The Old Republic Impressions: Warzones and Crafting
REVIEWS
November is always a busy and exciting month for the reviews team, and this one is no exception. Call
of Duty: Black Ops is coming next week, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit aren’t far off, and this week Microsoft’s new Kinect hardware arrived on store shelves alongside around a dozen launch titles. Reviews for a handful of those Kinect games are already up on the site, and the team is working hard to get the rest covered as soon as possible. Expect several of those to hit next week, and be sure to check out any of this week’s reviews that you might have missed:
Bloody Good Time (X360) Review
Dance Central (X360) Review
Dead Space Ignition (PS3, X360) Review
GoldenEye 007 (Wii) Review
Haunted House (X360) Review
Invizimals (PSP) Review
James Bond 007: Blood Stone (PC, PS3,
X360) Review
Kinectimals (X360) Review
Kinect Sports (X360) Review
Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring (PS3,
X360) Review
Pinball FX 2 (X360) Review
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 (Wii) Review
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (Wii)
Review
The Fight: Lights Out (PS3) Review
VIDEO
The Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360 was released this week, and the GameSpot Live team worked hard to bring the latest video reviews. Justin Calvert took a stab at Kinect Sports, Kevin VanOrd got cuddly with Kinectimals and Chris Watters got jiggy with it in Dance Central. GameSpot also brought a double dose of Bond with James Bond 007: Blood Stone, and GoldenEye 007 for the Wii. Today On The Spot featured games like Dead Space 2, Fallout: New Vegas, The Fight: Lights Out and more! Rounding out this weeks coverage, we had a Now Playing episode featuring Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer.
Kinect Sports Video Review
Kinectimals Video Review
Dance Central Video Review
GoldenEye 007 Video Review
James Bond 007: Blood Stone Video Review
GameSpot Presents: Now Playing – Call of Duty: Black Ops
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