Games and Gaymers

Kneal Before Project Natal!

I just don’t know if I’m ready for this. Maybe it’s because I’m kind of lazy. I don’t have the desire to be fully immersed in a video game. I like swiping at Stormtroopers with my lightsaber from a safe distance, preferable on my couch. But Xbox 360’s Project Natal would have me jumping around and waving my arms like a crazy person, completely immersed in the gameplay. With absolutely no controller. Project Natal uses cameras and microphones to map your body, face and voice and then respond to your every movement and vocal command. Rabid enthusiasts predict this will be the end of all other video game systems, as well as computers (and I presume telephones), since you can see and chat with your friends and use it to post on Facebook and Twitter. My favorite game on Wii is the cow racing game on Wii Play. I don’t know if I would enjoy it as much if I actually had to simulate straddling a cow and jumping fences in front of my friends and loved ones.

You can read about and see Microsoft’s presentation at E3 (complete with Steven Spielberg, for some reason) here. And you can read a review of the gameplay at Gizmodo. Finally, here’s the video demo of the game itself. A lot of this is probably simulated, but you get the idea, as the most annoying family in history shows how dependent they are upon Project Natal. Enjoy!

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