Xbox 360 Reviews

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days isn’t a fantastic game. Its visuals are great, combining a careful attention to gritty detail with a shakycam-filled, YouTube-inspired presentation that makes it unlike any other game we can think of. The clumsy action of the first game has been streamlined into a straightforward, no-frills, cover-centric shooter that’s like Gears of War without the chainsaws (or most of the arsenal, actually), and your enemies are smart, tough and fast enough to keep you from getting too complacent behind cover...

Kinect’s pack-in title immediately scores big points for not being another been-there-flailed-that sports entry. By now most fans of motion-controlled gaming have already bowled, tossed, hit, kicked, and paddled their way through more fake sports than they can shake an invisible racket at. So, Microsoft was smart to sell Kinect Sports as a stand-alone entry and give gamers a fresh reason to get off the couch with the bundled Kinect Adventures. Additionally, the family-friendly title serves as the perfect intro to the new sci-fi-like tech, teaching early adopters how to use the hardware through simple, fun challenges...

Unless you are a resident of Southern California, chances are you don’t get to visit the Magic Kingdom often, but now the happiest place on earth is accessible through the wonders of Kinect. The motion-control game Disneyland Adventures offers an open-world, Disney-inspired, minigame bonanza that does well with the entire Disneyland presentation, characters, and tone, but fails to deliver in terms of gameplay and fun...

Perhaps the most important factor to consider when reviewing a game like this is, who is this game really for, and what will they get out of it? We’d bet that the audience for Kinect Joy Ride encompasses two groups: the most obvious is the casual-to-non gamer jumping on to the Kinect hype train, but the other group, we believe, is gamers who love games enough to find the idea of a new way to play a racing game enticing. There is something inherently virtual-reality like and even imagination-come-to-life about holding the air as if it were a steering wheel and driving a car on screen...

If you already own a Wii or PlayStation Move, you’re likely all too familiar with the wide world of motion-controlled sports. Maybe you’re not one of those crazies who impaled their 52” LCD with a Wii-mote trying to bowl a strike, but you’ve probably participated in plenty of arm-flailing archery, tennis, golf, boxing, and even not-quite-sports such as tossing Frisbees at Wii puppies. Despite the oversaturation of gamepad-dismissing athletics, Microsoft is getting into the game with Kinect Sports...