The year was packed with top rated games. Games that stole your heart and had you glued to the TV screen for hours. It’s going to take me all of 2012 just to get caught up on all my gaming! Keep an eye out for deals, because a lot of these games are going on sale for the holidays. In random order, here’s our list of best games of 2011 for the Xbox 360. Your favorite game not listed? Share it on our Facebook wall.

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Batman: Arkham City
Battlefield 3
LA Noire
Dragon Age 2
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Gears Of War 3
ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM
Forza Motorsport 4
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

When away from home several of us have been loving the fact you can play games on the Windows Phone 7 and get achievements!

Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel

Manufacturer: Microsoft

Platform: Xbox 360

MSRP: $59.99

Are you trying to decide whether or not to splurge on the Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel?

Well, I have already blown my money so check out my observations!  With the release of Forza Motorsport 4 this week I got caught up in the excitement and purchased the Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel. This U-shaped controller is an alternative to the traditional Xbox controller or expensive steering wheel setups that can also hog up extra space in the home.

The wheel comes with a disc that needs to be inserted before using. My system was up to date and didn’t need the update. Other than that, just pop in the 2 AA batteries and sync it with your Xbox 360 and you are able to hit the streets.

Initially, my first response was to hold the wheel out in front of me like I was driving a real car. However, quickly my arms tired out. I was able to comfortably place my arms just like I would with a regular controller and the wheel worked perfect.

Pros:

• Wheel is very intuitive and natural.
• Trigger placement fits great with hand and provides an easy way to hit the gas and brakes.
• The D-pad is very accessible with left thumb and should prove easy to use for shifting.
• It is surprisingly accurate and responsive.
• Fun to use!
• The top ends of each side light up green which is just pretty!
• Works on just about any racing game.

Cons:

• The LB and RB buttons were left off! Makes it impossible to navigate a lot menus.
• No way to hook up a headset.
• I don’t race as well when using the wheel but if I practiced more I would get better using it.
• Rumble seems very light and almost nonexistent.

Verdict:

The Xbox 360 Wireless Speed Wheel is a lot of fun and exceeded all of my expectations. The wheel definitely has a place in the racing world. It would be great for those wanting a steering wheel that is inexpensive and it is a space saver with it being so small. It would also be great for those who play more casually and I could see kids really enjoying it too.

For me, the exclusion of the LB and RB buttons has ruined it for me and is a deal breaker. It is not convenient to switch back and forth between the wheel and a regular controller every time I need to navigate menus.  Also, I am not interested in training myself to make such fine motor movements in order to exactly hit a turn or pass.

Score:

7.5/10

If the LB and RB buttons were included I would have given a much higher score because the wheel performs very well.

Forza Motorsport 4 has zoomed onto store shelves and into the hands of car enthusiasts and racing game lovers. Forza 4 is loaded with tons of new features and improvements. The mere action of playing the game to get an overall feel for it was quite a long task simply because there are so many things that can be done and I tend to get distracted easily. With that being said this review could go on and on but I will try to highlight key points to save time. If you are like me you just want the details!

Forza Motorsport 4

Released: 10/11/2011

Developer: Turn 10 Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Genre: Racing/Driving/Simulation

Platform: Exclusively on Xbox 360

Pros:

• Huge car selection.
• Forza 3 Profile Import = Reward to those who have been a Forza fan.
• Slick and clean menu system.
• Create a car club and share cars in a club garage. Sharing is caring!
• Rivals Mode quickly becomes addictive.
• Share your screenshots and video clips!
• Hundreds of hours of gameplay.
• Ability to create and share photos, videos, car designs, and tunings.
• Autovista Mode lets you explore the cars inside and out. I have learned a lot!
• Graphics and Sound – The attention to detail is simply amazing.

Cons:

• The soundtrack has a few good songs but soon I will be muting and playing my own music.
• Would like to have seen a larger variety of decals and fonts for creating vinyls.

Wish

I want a Windows Phone 7 companion app for Forza 4 with the ability to create tuning setups, view rivals, or just see stats!

Kinect:

Forza 4 utilizes the Kinect Sensor but it is not required to play. After waving your hand to activate the Kinect modes of play the options available are Autovista, Quick Race, Hot Lap, and Split Screen.

Kinect Pros:

• Voice commands to navigate menus works great and is natural.
• Can play standing or sitting.
• Head tracking feels natural and adds a sense of realism.
• Actual driving in Quick Race and Hot Lap was amazingly accurate!

Kinect Cons:

• Head tracking requires me to sit forward and closer to the television than normal.
• Hand tracking to select items is slow and inaccurate. Recalibration of my Kinect offered no improvements.
• Choosing cars and tracks takes forever.
• Autovista using the Kinect – Frustratingly slow to do anything and I kept selecting things I didn’t want to select. I was impressed with the user interface created for Autovista using Kinect but I will still be using the controller. It is just way easier.

The Verdict:

This is a great game franchise and I wasn’t sure how much Turn 10 Studios could improve the already incredible Forza 3. I must say that my expectations were met and exceeded.

There are a lot of fresh additions to the series including the Top Gear integration which results in more fun for us. The Community section fosters even more sharing and participation to an already active community.  I was expecting a little more responsiveness with the Kinect sensor. However when it came down to driving with Kinect they landed it! I did not think I could navigate a track so accurately (not that I am amazing with a controller).

The depth and detail of this game cannot be conveyed in a review or even through the demo on Xbox Live. You will really just need to try this one out in order to appreciate the stunning visuals and massive attention to detail.

Score:

9.5/10

Fruit Ninja Kinect has made the leap from mobile devices to the Xbox 360 this week! Finger slashing is no more. Now it is time to slice and dice that fruit with those ninja arms of yours. You will quickly realize that those ninja reflexes require a lot of energy and you will be thankful that the games tend to be short.

Fruit Ninja Kinect:

• Halfbrick Studios
• Xbox Live Arcade
• 800 Microsoft Points (see money saving tip below)
• 1-2 Players (Local Only)

Fruit Ninja Kinect comes with the same game modes from the mobile versions including the Classic, Arcade and Zen modes. The Kinect version adds Party mode which will pit you against another opponent locally. In this mode you can either choose to work cooperatively or compete against each other.  As you progress you will unlock Sensei’s Swag which consists of new blades and backgrounds that can be selected in the Dojo.

Pros:

• Same fun addictive gameplay that I love from the mobile version
• 2 player mode allows for cooperative and competitive action
• Motion tracking is excellent and can capture your fastest ninja moves
• Crisp and vibrant graphics
• Leaderboards are great motivation and easy to navigate

Cons:

• No fruit slicing over Xbox Live
• Navigating main menu takes a little practice

The Verdict:

This simple game is genuinely fun. Often with Kinect games I find myself bored while waiting for load screens just standing around waiting during cut scenes. Fruit Ninja Kinect is great because you instantly slice into action and there is no learning curve. You do exert small but exhaustive bursts of energy during the game but I was able to quickly recover to keep playing. If you are a fan of this on your mobile device you for sure will love the Xbox Live version.

I was very impressed with the accuracy of the motion tracking. In Arcade mode I could precisely slice around bombs and hit some tricky fruit combos. The only lacking aspect to this game is the inability of competing head to head over Xbox Live. It would be so fun to out slice my friends or at least try too!

Score: 9/10

Money Saving Tip

If you are interested in Fruit Ninja Kinect but want to save some money then wait until September 13th, 2011 when The Gunstringer is released. This game looks to be very promising and it will include a code for a free download of Fruit Ninja Kinect! As of right now The Gunstringer is slated to retail for $40.00 and Fruit Ninja Kinect is worth $10.00 (800 MS Points). Additionally, The Gunstringer will also include free DLC titled “The Wavy Tube Man Chronicles” and if that just is not enough if you preorder from select retailers you get 2 tokens for a free Avatar Prop from the game.

Whether you decide to buy it now or wait until September I highly recommend at least trying the free Fruit Ninja Kinect Demo out now on Xbox Live.

Last night we tried out Avatar Kinect for the Xbox 360 and have included the video from that session. Check it out and let us know what you think! We found that Avatar Kinect is not perfect by any means. Overall, it is definitely worth a look just for the initial fun aspect of it. Plus, you will get some easy achievements and that is never a bad thing. However, don’t wait too long because it is only free for the first 45 days and it would be very sad for you to miss out on those 50 easy achievement points.

Also, if you have made any videos with Avatar Kinect post them on our Facebook page wall. We would love to see them!

PROS

24 different stages

5 minutes of recording time

Ability to upload and download video at KinectShare.com

Emotes

Video quality is surprisingly good

Great eyebrow tracking and picks up smiles perfectly

CONS

Unable to move legs

Limited movement of head

Hands can glitch through body parts

Mouth movement is not very accurate

Tip:

Use a headset mic to avoid the Kinect distortion and feedback noise.

I just finished watching the Xbox E3 Media Briefing and I can sum most of it up
in one word. Kinect. A lot of great games and features were presented and a few
not so impressive things were shown as well. I will save you 90 minutes by
giving you the super abbreviated  version.

EA Announced that they will  bring Kinect to
some of their well-established sport franchises like PGA, Madden, and Fifa.

Actually, just about every game had Kinect integratation.

• You will be seeing Kinect features added to games like Mass Effect 3 which will offer
  voice recognition in real-time. At first the demo looked unimpressive. However,
  I could see some useful benefits to using the voice commands during
  battles. It offers a much easier way to control your squad.
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier caught my attention with the Gunsmith mode
  which offers the ability to completely customize your weapons through the
  use of Kinect gestures or voice commands. Oh yeah, you can create up to 20 MILLION different weapons.
• It was also announced that going forward all Tom Clancy titles would integrate Kinect
  into its games. I just hope they only add features that add to the
  experience and are not there just because it was announced it would be.

I love the Forza Motorsport franchise so I have been excited to see more about
Forza 4. I won’t bother you with details. Watch the video it speaks for itself.

The worst thing that I saw during the briefing was the demo for Fable the Journey. It is very sad to ruin such a great game. It is nice that the guy was seated while playing but I really don’t want to do all those annoying hand gestures. Watch and you will agree.

Kinect Star Wars is a title that Dezign Grrl and I have been looking forward to for a
long time. The graphics look amazing and it has tons of potential. The trick will be to see if they can make the game fun and engaging and avoid making it repetitive and boring. I would sure love some online lightsaber duels! Yeah, I am a nerd.

Kinect Sports has remained my top pick thus far since Kinect launched. I was
happy to hear that Kinect Sports Season 2 will be adding sports like golf,
football, darts, skiing, and tennis.

As a Windows Phone 7 user and from a graphic design perspective I love the new
changes coming to the Xbox Live Dashboard visually. The Metro styling that looks
much like my WP7 has me hooked. The addition of YouTube to the new Xbox
experience is something that I have wanted for a long time. Also, it was announced
that they are working with local providers to provide live TV. I may never turn
my Xbox off! Read more about the new features on Mashable.

A teaser trailer for Halo 4 releases for the holiday season 2012.

Last but not least. This was my favorite announcement for the briefing  but I have heard a lot of others who are not
impressed at all. I first bought my Xbox and converted from my Sony Playstation-Only ways after playing Halo a few times at a friend’s house. Now they are remaking and remastering the original Halo game
and bringing it over to the Xbox 360 – Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary. This is the best ever (for me at least)!

There was a lot more info that I left out and some great games for kids as well. You
can catch a lot of the briefing on the Xbox Live dashboard and around the web. Better start saving some pennies for this fall!

Brunswick Pro Bowling

Far Sight Studios/Crave Games

• Players 1-4
• Kinect Sensor Required
• Voice Enabled
• Activity Level: Active

I have been waiting a couple of months for the release of Brunswick Pro Bowling but I found it odd that the game had released last week and I had not heard anything about it.  I looked on my usual gaming sites and found no reviews and none of my friends were playing it on Xbox Live.  I started to become concerned that maybe the game was going to be a flop.  I hopped on Amazon.com to order the game and saw two people give it one star.

I thought to myself, “Oh, it can’t be as bad as they say…I am sure they are just being overly critical.”   So, this weekend I happened to see it at Costco for $42.00 and I decided to just pick it up because really how bad could it be, right?

The Low Down

Look I am just going to be direct and to the point on this one.  Brunswick Pro Bowling is by far the worst Kinect game that I have played and that tops the demo for Namco’s Body and Brain Connection.  I popped the game in and found it difficult to even get through the first game.  I caught myself loading the dishwasher in-between frames!  Honestly, I don’t know where to begin with the amount of problems with this title.

Pros:

• It’s a bowling game
• It came in the pretty purple box
• 5 Modes – Quick Play, League, Online Tourament, Rival Challenges, and Spares Challenge

Cons:

• Menu navigation is terrible
• Sensor accuracy is terrible
• What is the point of having a Kinect if you have to point where you are going to throw the ball, before you throw the ball?  You have to extend your non-bowling arm straight out at shoulder level to activate the aiming arrow.  Then move it left or right.  Do I even need to mention how incredibly difficult this is to do not to mention how much it slows the pace of an already slow-paced game?
• Music is completely flat and boring
• Characters show no excitement and they just look depressed
• Apparently it was too difficult to come up with more than 12 achievements
• Game constantly either won’t release the ball when thrown or it accidentally throws it when I am getting ready to swing back.

The Score  2/10  -  This is the generous score!

The Final Verdict

This is the first time I have ever bought a game and felt like I was totally ripped off.  Crave Games really dropped the ball (yeah weak joke) on this one.  I was literally pissed that I wasted my money on this.  I traded it in almost immediately but I feel responsible for the poor person that buys my copy.

If you are me and liked the bowling in Kinect Sports then just stick with that.  It is tons more fun and infinitely more responsive and accurate.

We’ve played a lot of games this year but here are some of our most played games in 2010 for the Xbox 360 in no particular order.

]]> http://geeksrespawn.com/our-most-played-xbox-360-games-of-2010/feed/ 0 http://geeksrespawn.com/ea-active-2-review-for-kinect-on-xbox-360/ http://geeksrespawn.com/ea-active-2-review-for-kinect-on-xbox-360/#comments Thu, 30 Dec 2010 17:35:40 +0000 Jen Hochstedler http://www.nyxgrrls.com/?p=797

EA Active 2

• EA Sports
• 1-2 Players
• Voice Enabled

One of the main reasons I got a Kinect was to use it as a workout tool.  So, naturally I bought EA Active 2 as soon as I saw a deal last week that dropped the price from $99.99 to $59.99. The game comes with a heart rate monitor and an elastic band to be used during workouts.  After playing Your Shape Fitness Evolved and The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout, I had a laundry list of things that I would like to see added to a fitness game.  If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the article Your Shape Fitness Evolved VS The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout.

So here is the breakdown of my observations during my first four workouts of EA Active 2.

Features:

• Heart rate monitor shows your current BPM in real time on your TV.
• Set up either a three or nine week program.
• Choose the workout difficulty that determines the length and intensity of workouts.
• Mini games like mountain biking, soccer, dodge ball, and cardio boxing are mixed into your workouts.
• Create your own workouts!
• Floor exercises like crunches, pushups, and planks.
• Warm ups, cool downs, and stretching.
• Journal to log daily nutrition and other activities.  Data is graphed to show progress and opportunities.
• Workout groups can be formed to keep each other motivated.
• EA Active 2 website lets you see your stats and workout groups.
• Two people can workout together (local play not over Xbox Live).

Pros:

• Game allows you to perform most exercises at your own pace and will wait for you.  Oh, how I used this during the pushups!  It took me awhile but I did them all!
• Good explanation verbally and visually of each exercise.
• You can use the band provided or substitute with dumb bells.  An option in-game allows you to notate the weight of your dumb bells.
• If you are broken like me…you can choose to skip exercises when selecting your exercise program for the day.  Also, if you get into a workout and your knee starts hurting then just pause the game and skip those lunges.  There is no need to hurt yourself.  Just do more of something else later.
• Finally, a Kinect game that can really work your core and you will feel it the next day!

Cons:

• Movement and tracking is okay.  However, it is easy to perform an exercise without proper form and still get credit.
• Mini games get boring real fast.  I would almost rather stick to the regular exercises.  How could cardio boxing be boring?
• Graphics are nothing special but get the job done.  I expect more for this being an Xbox game.
• Heart rate monitor seems HUGE on my arm but it does not get in the way at all.
• Long load times when game connects to EA Servers (this has been improving though).
• The navigation using the Kinect is terrible!  Don’t do it.  Read the tips below.

The Score:  8/10

The Final Verdict:

So, there are a few things that I really miss from Your Shape Fitness Evolved like the Zen class, the Cardio Kickboxing, and even some of the games.  However, EA Active 2 has a lot features that really appeal to my personal needs.  I am plagued by injuries and the ability to create personal workouts is huge.  I can now focus on working the areas I need to and can avoid things that can cause flair ups to old injuries.  I am a little disappointed in the number of different exercises and wish there were more.  However, I don’t think it is much different than the other fitness games.  Maybe there will be some DLC in the near future.

If you like to be in control of your workouts then that might be the deciding factor to buy EA Active 2 over the other two fitness games right now.  I would not say that this game is “fun” but if you want to workout it is good for that.

Tips:

Also, if you do purchase this game here are a couple of tips that will save you much frustration.

• Use your controller to set up the game.  The navigation by hand movement is so difficult that you will curse the world by the time you get through a few menus.
• Use voice commands as much as it will let you when not using your controller.

Here is a video clip of Sue Bird from the Seattle Storm promoting the game.  I had to include this.  She is pretty much the best WNBA player ever!