This week Family Gamer TV talks to Tobi about Kinectimals, their family’s alternative to a real pet. We also look at the new Kinectimals with Bears, the Windows Phone 7 version and the physical cuddly Kinectimals cats. Tobi said the …
Continue ReadingIt can be fascinating to see the different ways people connect to games, especially the first time they encounter them. This is what keeps Family Gamer TV motivated to follow our different families as they start playing new consoles and …
Continue ReadingWith the holidays coming, the risk of over indulgence is greater than ever. In an effort to get the jump on my impending bulge I decided to commit to a fitness program. More specifically a fitness game. I have enjoyed …
Continue ReadingWith so many different dance games available on the various consoles it can be hard to pick the right one for your family. This week on Family Gamer TV, Vanessa casts a mom’s eye over Dance Central 2, having previously …
Continue ReadingI love all things Disney. When given the choice between Las Vegas or Walt Disney World as a honeymoon destination, it took me about a second to decide on Disney. I’m counting the days until we can take my daughter to Walt Disney World for the first time, but that won’t be for a little […]
Continue ReadingA new game makes the Disneyland park an open world you can fly through, and the Kinect a must-have family-gaming accessory.
Continue ReadingTest driving three difference dancing games, on three different consoles, with the whole family.
Continue ReadingFamily Gamer TV talks Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster with Tim, before getting stuck into Forza 4 head tracking. I round this off with my videogame advice for infant games (3-5yrs). If you’ve missed our previous FGTV shows you …
Continue ReadingFamily Gamer TV meets gaming mom Vanessa. She talks about her history with the Wii and how Kinect compares. Just Dance 3 is her game of choice this week, something I follow up with news about the recently released Kinect …
Continue ReadingMuch as I would love to have a Kinect, we have neither the space nor the hardware for it. But in the course of researching sensors for an upcoming book of robotics projects I’m working on, I found this cool …
Continue ReadingThis week, Microsoft announced a couple of new additions to their “playful learning” line of family games aimed at bringing families together. The games were developed with the Sesame Workshop and National Geographic, as well as the Games for Learning …
Continue ReadingWhen the Kinect was released almost a year ago, one of the launch games was Kinectimals. This game for kids allows users to interact with virtual animals through a series of simple motions the Kinect motion detector recognizes and interprets. …
Continue ReadingThe Forza games on Xbox 360 have always stood out, not only because of great design and realistic physics, but also because it’s done a very admirable job of appealing to a double apex’s worth of gamers.
Continue ReadingWhile hunting through the release lists for my Hot 3DS Christmas Games, I stumbled upon quite a few interesting Kinect games. These titles are being called Kinect’s second wave because they each extend the use of the controller in some …
Continue ReadingImpressions of Nyko’s new Kinect peripheral the Zoom have been harshly polarized, with some praising the effectiveness of its space-saving design and others lamenting the fact that this promising device seems downright nonfunctional. My own review treads between these two …
Continue ReadingA problem of having three gesture control systems (Kinect, Move and MotionPlus) is the temptation for developers to deliver a one-size-fits-all approach to their games. I have talked at length previously about how Virtua Tennis 4 suffers from this syndrome …
Continue ReadingI think it’s safe to say that Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox 360 has been a success. Despite the limitations of the device, it seems to have caught on to a large (and growing) extent in the marketplace, and in …
Continue ReadingThe challenge for those of us who want to play games with our families is to encourage them to play without making them feel pressured. It can take a long time, but this approach is, in my experience, much more …
Continue ReadingThese days video games affect every part of life, from online dating to self improvement and even health and fitness. But sometimes we forget they are supposed to be about letting us do things that we wouldn’t normally be able …
Continue ReadingLast week at Comic-Con, Microsoft and LucasArts unveiled a limited edition Star Wars-themed Xbox 360 Kinect console. Boasting a 320GB hard drive system skinned in R2-D2′s iconic blue and a white, a custom white Kinect sensor and a C-3PO-themed wireless …
Continue ReadingNow the E3 dust has settled I’ve had some time to pick through the remains and see what was most exciting from a family gaming perspective. First off I thought I’d look at the Kinect games that really stood out …
Continue ReadingLeedmees Kinect uses your body to guide its hapless tiny travelers home. While this full-body iteration of Lemmings-meets-Twister is perfectly pitched and well executed, the real excitement is the theater it creates in your living room. Having been roundly impressed …
Continue ReadingDads can often get a little overlooked in the present department. Mother’s Day is seen as a more official event than Father’s Day. With this in mind I’m happy to write a quick post about a competition for dads to …
Continue ReadingNow the dust is starting to settle on the big announcements from E3, I’ve started to pick my way through the marketing spin and actual reality — and found there still remains plenty to be excited about for family gamers. …
Continue ReadingI purchased a Kinect unit for my Xbox 360 on a bit of a lark. It was during one of those Amazon special promotions, so the price was right. I secretly wished that it would be the magical doodad that …
Continue ReadingI’m still fascinated with Microsoft and Sony’s motion controllers. But more than the hardware itself it is how developers will use it that is most interesting. In my recent post about The Michael Jackson Experience dance game on Wii, 360 …
Continue ReadingWhat do you get if you bring a Kinect and some Tesla coils together? You get to be an evil genius! Or Emperor Palpatine. Behold the power of electricity… And the bit I really love is where they say they …
Continue ReadingNow the excitement of the Kinect launch is fading (and we gear up for the 3DS’s arrival) you’d be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about. After a bit of research though I’m pleased to report that there …
Continue ReadingMy kids have really got into dancing the last couple of years. The oldest now has weekly Street Jazz dance lessons and another of them is looking to start Break Dancing lessons. It’s been really good to see the confidence …
Continue ReadingKinect has certainly got my family more active this year. We’ve really enjoyed the way different Kinect games get you using muscles you didn’t know you had – yes Dance Central I’m looking at you. Then yesterday my daughter (7) …
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