Story:
The Kinect has had it’s share of ridicule ever since it’s release. Despite the Kinect’s mild success with motion tracking within casual party games, core gamers – myself included- have been waiting for the features of the Kinect to integrate into the game mechanics of more “hardcore” games. Sure you could look around your car in Forza 4 or examine your weapons in the upcoming Ghost Recon, but when do these controls integrate in the midst of my gameplay rather than existing as little more than a side attraction? Apparently Mass Effect 3 has the answer.
During E3 2011, Bioware first announced Kinect compatibility with Mass Effect 3, which began on the right track but left viewers with mixed opinions. To begin with, Bioware took the best route with the relationship between the Kinect and a hardcore game- partial integration. Rather than forcing players to assume a unnecessary full body control scheme, which beckons the gimmicky feel of casual games, Bioware chose to partiallly integrate the Kinect by utilizing the voice feature. This idea proves exceptional mainly due to nature that the voice controls only add to the players experience, not taking any emphasis off the controller which is the main tool for any hardcore game.
But while Bioware started on the right track, gamers began to question the necessity of the Kinect after seeing some of the options in gameplay. For example, Players will have the ability to read Shepards dialogue options, only to have him essentially repeat what you said. This seemed to subtract from the player’s interactive experience as it unintentionally emphasizes that you aren’t Shepard, only controlling him (or her). While other abilities include voice commands for grenades and squad member controls, none of these actions really sold the audience as all these flashy commands could already operate with a touch of a button.
Well it would seem people have had a change of heart during CES where Bioware featured a playable demo of Mass Effect 3 with the Kinect and, according to Gameinformer.com, these voice commands go much further than I previously thought (Read the original article HERE). Not only are these voice options responsive, but those who experienced the Kinect with Mass Effect 3 seemed to find the commands natural and enjoyable to the gameplay experience.
Bioware isn’t attempting to add more gimmicks by utilizing the Kinect as they craft available voice commands in order to streamline game mechanics, thus freeing the player from the limitations of mapping commands on a console controller and pausing the game in order to give teammates commands. Instead of clogging the exceptional experience we have come to know and love with unnecessary motion integration, the Kinect may very well perfect the pace of combat within the game and – dare I say it- prove that the Xbox 360 is the best console to assume the role as Shepard.
My Opinion:
I have full faith in Gameinformer.com’s article as the same news seems to echo through other gaming sites. After all, if there is any developer in the industry that can pull off Kinect integration without isolating the hardcore audience, it has to be Bioware. While my opinion may be bias because I both have a Kinect and play Mass Effect on the 360, I seriously think this is the route that developers need to take if they are eyeing the Kinect or any other “interactive” integration. Rather than attempting to have a player swing the arms and jump up and down, simplistic partial integration highlights areas that can improve the experience while leaving the essentials within the controller. Simply put, hardcore games tend to have a plethora of options for the player, all of which must be accessed by the controller, if developers stick with streamlined voice controls, suddenly we are capable of playing games with a wider variety of abilities and less menus or pauses to access them.
Will the Kinect make the 360 the best console to play Mass Effect 3? Probably not. Most players will stick with the console they played from Mass Effect 1 and 2 (ME2 being the case for PS3 owners) as importing their personal character and decisions will be the main strength of Mass Effect 3’s sales across platforms. But while PS3 owners might not buy a 360 for the Kinect integration in Mass Effect, those that do have a 360 and Kinect can only look forward to the Kinect streamlining commands and increasing the combat pace within the game. I for one intend to play with Kinect integration, at least to see how it fairs with the hard core gaming experience. With any luck Bioware may have struck gold and provide proof that the Kinect can actually enhance the hardcore gaming experience.
Information: http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/719983/feedback-ces-2012-thq-rumors-and-your-questions/ , http://www.gameinformer.com/games/mass_effect_3/b/xbox360/archive/2012/01/18/mass-effect-3-preview-not-bad-with-kinect.aspx
Pictures: http://thegamefanatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Mass-Effect-3-Kinect-CES-602×338.jpg , http://i.haymarket.net.au/News/mass-effect-shepard-statue.jpg