Kinectimals is a virtual pet game in which the player can interact with various breeds of wild cats, the player and the animal then embark on a quest to discover the secrets of the island.
By this i mean the graphics. I was watching some videos of Kinect, my girlfriend wants me to buy it, and i was amazed by how damn good this game looks. The animations are awesome too, and by god are those animals soo fucking cute. This game is the cutest thing i've seen, it makes Viva Pinata look like a pile of shit. This is probably the best looking game i've seen, I mean it has Pixar like quality to it. I kinda want this game just to have it constantly running on my T.V like a screensaver, seeing it would put me in a good mood whenever i see it, it's that damn cute.
@zombie2011: Ever considered writing Kinect press releases? "Kinectimals: So good it makes other creature interactivity games look like a pile of shit". Well, I'd buy it.
The demo they showed at E3 was just plain bizarre. It seems to be similar to the EyePet - not really my thing, but some people seem to like it. Can't really imagine how it'll sell though - it probably shouldn't have been an actual full retail price launch game.
" The demo they showed at E3 was just plain bizarre. It seems to be similar to the EyePet - not really my thing, but some people seem to like it. Can't really imagine how it'll sell though - it probably shouldn't have been an actual full retail price launch game. "
That was just like a free play thing they showed. There is a game element to it, there are like challenges and obstacle courses where you kinda control the animal by jumping and balancing and other weird gestures.
" That was just like a free play thing they showed. There is a game element to it, there are like challenges and obstacle courses where you kinda control the animal by jumping and balancing and other weird gestures. "
It does look pretty stellar from a visual standpoint. I have a feeling this would be crack little kids. I'd be picking it up for sure if I had kids. It would keep them occupied for MONTHS.
It's a very good-looking game, the detail on the animals and the lighting looks very nice but to say it makes Viva Pinata look like a piece of shit is unfair. They're games made in different times and I still don't think Kinectimals carries the same colourful style or playful character design that Viva Pinata did.
@Gamer_152: What if we combine Kinectimals and Viva Pinata, making some kind of hybrid that is both adorable and ensures that Brad will never leave his house?
" @Gamer_152: What if we combine Kinectimals and Viva Pinata, making some kind of hybrid that is both adorable and ensures that Brad will never leave his house? "
Won't work, you still need to map it onto the Starcraft II gameplay. Then Brad would NEVER leave the house. "Skittles, destroy the Hydralisks Skittles".
@NikoAlexander57: Make two modes. One where you can do the stuff showed with the cats or the pinatas. Then have a tactics mode where it is starcraft but instead of zerg v terran v protoss v humans, its animals v pinatas. And the main characters will be Banjo Kazooie characters.
@FizzleNizzleBear: Based on this forum, I'm callin' it, the Giantbomb community should make an indie game studio. "Makers of the best games ever...according to Brad Shoemaker."
It looks great for my 7 year old nephew. For me, not so much. I don't need blood, guts and Nolan North in my games but I can do without playing with tigers and shit using my imagination.
Obviously it's not going to appeal to the crowd here, which seems to love to hate the Kinect games. That's fine, it's not aimed toward us. But I can relate to the Pixar-ness of the visuals. Not the quality, to be sure, which is just plain silly to expect in a game on four-year-old console hardware. But the feel of it? Yeah, it's definitely there. I do disagree with the "generically cute" thing being overdone. On the 360? I don't think so. I'll admit that this depends a lot on your aesthetic tastes. VIva Pinata was a decent game. Whimsy? I guess. But there was plenty there that was generically cute as well, and it certainly wasn't a boring game.
Microsoft's entire run-up to the Kinect release has been to appeal to a wider market, predominately kids and casual gamers for whom the Xbox is generally not the console of choice. So far, I think they're doing a decent job of it. Whether or not it is going to be a success is still up in the air, but I can't blame them. We won't see a new console for at least a few years, so there's no particular surprise that the game isn't aimed at us.
@haggis: I see what you're saying, but Viva Pinata had a lot going for it in terms of original art direction and weirdness, off-setting the apparent cuteness of it all. This is just an ever so slightly anthropomorphic tiger cup being all cute for the kids. Which is alright, but if Microsoft thinks Kinect is suddenly going to make the Xbox any less intimidating to the Wii audience, and recreate the lightning in a bottle that Nintendo had, but four years later and with more expensive hardware...I think they're gonna fall flat on their face.
And it's not that I dislike stuff for kids. It's just that, out of all of the archetypes in human culture we've always gotta go with the small set approved by consensus and marketing potential. Bleh.
Why do people feel the need to insult another perfectly good thing (in this case, Viva Piñata) in an effort to prop up whatever they're praising more? Can you not praise the game properly enough without throwing something else in the mud at the same time?
"OMG Cheesecake is so awesome, it makes pie and cake taste like shit!" doesn't make much sense, does it? Sure, cheesecake is undoubtedly the best, but cake and pie can still taste great.
" Why do people feel the need to insult another perfectly good thing (in this case, Viva Piñata) in an effort to prop up whatever they're praising more? Can you not praise the game properly enough without throwing something else in the mud at the same time? "OMG Cheesecake is so awesome, it makes pie and cake taste like shit!" doesn't make much sense, does it? Sure, cheesecake is undoubtedly the best, but cake and pie can still taste great. "
" Why do people feel the need to insult another perfectly good thing (in this case, Viva Piñata) in an effort to prop up whatever they're praising more? Can you not praise the game properly enough without throwing something else in the mud at the same time? "OMG Cheesecake is so awesome, it makes pie and cake taste like shit!" doesn't make much sense, does it? Sure, cheesecake is undoubtedly the best, but cake and pie can still taste great. "
Its called Hyperbole, it's a joke. Relax! "
"Fly ball to left field... aaand the left fielder just let it fly right over his head."
@BBQBram: I suppose I can see that. VP's art direction was more sophisticated in some ways, but then I haven't seen enough of Kinectimals to really judge it.
I think you're right about trying to recreate Nintendo's success. But I'm not sure that's exactly what Microsoft is trying to do. I do think Kinect will make the Xbox less intimidating. I think so because I've heard people (who would never buy an Xbox) say precisely that. The question is how many will buy into it. I suspect it's going to be enough for Microsoft to declare success, but not enough to really change the market.
And archtypes are archtypes for a reason. There's a reason why so many kids movies feature anthropomorphic animals. Kids love them. Kids marketing is always safe. Just look at Nintendo, which rarely gets criticized for doing essentially the same thing. Neither does Disney or Pixar get criticized for it. So why, exactly, is it so wrong for Microsoft to do this when everyone else is?
@haggis: It's not that cutesy animal thing I have a problem with, it's how freaking bland it all looks. I wouldn't really compare this to anything Disney, Pixar or Nintendo. Look at the art direction in The Lion King even, there is a very distinct style and color palette at work there. This is just baby animals with a creepy smile and squinty eyes. Hell, even Kirby's got more personality.
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