NOW CLOSED Xbox 360 with Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Pixar Rush games - tester review thread

[TheOtherHelenMumsnet]

This thread is for the 8 testers who are trying out the XBox 360, Kinect games console with Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Pixar Rush games.

We hope you're enjoying the testing! As you know, we've asked you to post two lots of feedback on this thread, as well as doing your video and photo feedback. Below are some initial questions for you to answer now, we'll post some further questions later on that we'd like you to answer at the end of the two-week test once you've had a chance to put the Xbox to the test fully! Please also feel free to leave any other comments you may have.

All testers who add both sets of feedback to this thread (and do their video and photo feedback) will be entered into a prize draw to win: Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joyride, Star Wars, Dance Central game, Lips I Love the 80'S (1 mike bundle), Xbox Live 2100 points, and 12 month Xbox LIVE Gold membership (RRP £378).

Initial impressions:
Q1. What was your DC's initial reaction to being able to test the Xbox 360 and Kinect games console?

Q2. How easy or difficult did you find the setting up process?

Q3. What were your first impressions of the Xbox 360, Kinect and Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Pixar Rush games?

Q4. The first time your DC(s) played on the Xbox and Kinect, how did they get on?

If you're not a tester, please keep your eye on this thread because we'll be opening it up to everyone to share their thoughts on Xbox in the next couple of weeks and there'll be more prizes up for grabs.

Thanks,
MNHQ

Dear OtherHelenMumsnet, having a bit of difficulty getting hold of the PR ladies to arrange courier collection of the camcorder. Do you have email addresses for them. Very much want it collected today if possible!
Thanks everso!

Hi testers - thanks for all your feedback so far. Here are the second stage feedback questions - these are just to start you off - please feel free to add any other comments too.

If you've already answered these Qs on this thread after seeing them in the video briefing note, please note that one more question has been added (Q10) so please answer this one on this thread as well.

Everyone who answers both sets of feedback questions, and has provided their video and photo feedback will be entered into a prize draw where one of you will win: Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joyride, Star Wars, Dance Central game, Lips I Love the 80'S (1 mike bundle), Xbox Live 2100 points, and 12 month Xbox LIVE Gold membership (RRP £378).

Lastly, if you're not an 'official' Xbox tester but would like to add your comments on your experience of playing with the Xbox 360, Kinect games console, or any of the games discussed here, please do!

Follow-up questions:
Q1. Overall, what was the most enjoyable part of this experience for your child(ren) and for you/your DP?
Q2. Did you find yourself playing together as a family or did your child(ren) play more independently? If you did play together, what would you say was the best thing about doing this? And were there any disadvantages to playing as a group?
Q3. When playing the Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Pixar Rush games, were there any particular characters that your child(ren) enjoyed playing as? Which ones were they?
Q4. What is your overall opinion of the games? Were they appropriate for the age of your DCs or not? Were they engaging enough for your child(ren)?
Q5. How did your child(ren) find interacting with the Kinect sensor? Did this work well or not?
Q6.Do you think your DCs will be/are any more active as a result of using Kinect or not? And do you think it will influence/has influenced the way they play with their friends/other people?
Q7. Do you think your family will get together to play more now that you have the Kinect or not? Can you see yourself playing the Kinect with other adults at all?
Q8. Has having the console in your home changed your perception of Xbox, or computer games more generally, at all? If so, how? If not why not?
Q9. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Xbox Kinect to your friends? If so why? If not, why not?
Q.10 Did you use the Family Settings on the console? If so, have they changed your perception of what it's like gaming together as a family at all or not? Did you know that these existed on Xbox 360 before you starting using the console?

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw
MNHQ

Hi, OtherHelenMumsnet...still no word from the PR Peeps ;-(. Please note we have no landline at the moment so need to email to contact us!

Q.10 Did you use the Family Settings on the console? If so, have they changed your perception of what it's like gaming together as a family at all or not? Did you know that these existed on Xbox 360 before you starting using the console?

I didnt know the x box had these settings until I did the intitial set up. I promptly added them as dd has an awful habit of pushing buttons in a panic and hey presto you have magically bought something-(she did this quite regularly on sky box office-cost dp a fortune!! ). Its definately a good thing to have in my opinion, especially as the console seems to connect to the wifi as soon as its on, and its very easy for little people to get to things they probably shouldnt.

Meant to add, I dont think it has changed my perception of gaming as to be honest, we do tend to be on our toes about the instant internet/wifi connection (again we have another console that does the same thing once switched on) but its definately a plus.

Right camcorder returned to base so feel we've almost successfully concluded this fantastic review/trial of the XBox

Q10. In answer to this, somehow I had absorbed the information about the Family Settings in advance of us getting the XBox, so was fully primed and ready to add them as soon as we received it. Very, very useful. Little chance of DD doing anything untoward but much more of a chance with computer-savvy big brother . So a good feature for a family-oriented console!

Q.10 Did you use the Family Settings on the console? If so, have they changed your perception of what it's like gaming together as a family at all or not? Did you know that these existed on Xbox 360 before you starting using the console?

Yes we did. Due to our complete inexperience with all recent gaming systems, we hadn't really thought about the potential implications for the family of a system that is connected to the rest of the world via the internet! The settings meant that we were happy to leave the children playing with the Xbox relatively unsupervised, which we would not have felt comfortable doing otherwise.

I'd just like to add a tiny bit more feedback please....

The weather this morning was utterly dire, and my dcs don't go back to school until tomorrow (sigh). DS and DD1 both had playdates over, and all 4 children (but especially the 2 older boys) had a great time leaping all over the living room playing with the Kinect games. It was a brilliant way to burn off some excess energy when we couldn't boot them into the garden, and the boys (age 6/7) managed the interaction and settings pretty much on their own once I had helped with the initial set-up.

They are now recovering from their exertions by playing with lego quietly in the corner....so thank you :) :)

Follow up questions:
Q1. What was the most enjoyable part of this experience for your child(ren) and for you/your DP?

The novelty factor I guess! We are not a computery family and the children were over the moon to try this. They enjoyed everything from setting up, to the scenes in between games, and of course, playing the actual games.

Q2. Did you find yourself playing together as a family or did your child(ren) play more independently?
If you did play together, what would you say was the best thing about doing this? And were there any disadvantages to playing as a group?

So far we have played all together, although I should imagine in time as they become more familiar with the games and setting up, then the children will play more independently. By playing together the games are more competitive. The children found it more fun to beat daddy than beat the computer! The only problems we had were the profiles changing or dropping in and out.

Q3. When playing the Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Pixar Rush games, were there any particular characters that your children enjoyed playing as?
Which ones were they?

The overriding favourite was definitely Ratatouille . He was easy to control, and they loved the parts where he slides down roof tops on his bottom. Caused much hilarity. My husband liked playing as Peter Pan, mainly due to the sword fighting, (released his inner child ) and I liked playing as Sally from cars mostly.

Q4.What is your overall opinion of the games? Were they appropriate for the age of you DCs or not? Were they engaging enough for your child(ren)?

My Dcs are 4 and 6. The style of the games were appropriate and paid close attention to the Disney and Pixar films. We did find that in both games, set up was slow and we haven?t found a way to skip the intros yet. They really only needed to see them once or twice. Once they actually got into playing the games they enjoyed it and quickly became engrossed in each particular mission. They both enjoyed choosing profiles and being scanned by the sensors but did become frustrated as their profile was changed inexplicably by the machine.

Q5. How did your children find interacting with the Kinect sensor? Did this work well or not?

I think the concept is fabulous and when it works, they loved it. To see their own little avatars on screen running and jumping as they did was novel and engrossing. However they quickly became frustrated if the Kinect didn?t pick them up properly or dropped the games, or went to pause. Staying still long enough for the Kinect to pick them up in a particular pose took a bit of getting used to too. Once they got the hang of it ? which my dd did quite quickly ? it was fabulous. Engaging for both mind and body!

Q6.Do you think your DCs will be/are any more active as a result of using Kinect or not? And do you think it will influence/has influenced the way they play with their friends/other people?

Well the are certainly keen on showing it off to friends at the moment. They were pretty active anyway, but as the Kinect has replaced TV time at present, they are even more so now. I?m not sure if it will influence play with friends, only time will tell.

Q7.Do you think your family will get together to play more now that you have the Kinect or not? Can you see yourself playing the Kinect with other adults at all?

I think we will ? initially my ds needs a bit of help and guidance so we will be playing with, so that he gets to grips with the games. There is so much enjoyment to be had from the games , I don?t want him to miss out so we are happy to encourage him. Aside from that its actually really fun playing together. The children love watching Daddy or do multi player together. It certainly provokes a healthy competitiveness too. In terms of playing with other adults, I daresay it?ll be used frequently after a couple of glasses of wine! My husband has already put requests in for a couple of extra games, he and his mates want to have ?gears of war? shoot offs?

Q8.Has having the console in your home changed your perception of Xbox, or computer games more generally, at all? If so, how? If not why not?

Oh certainly, the Kinect encourages so much physical activity! I was positively exhausted after a particularly energetic round of sword fighting with Captain Hook. I am a lot less frowny if the children ask to play too, as I know they don?t get to sit down at all. And you can?t cheat either ? you have to jump and run properly for instance..

Q9.If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Kinect to our friends? If so, why? If not why not?

I would recommend it yes. For the family orientated, energetic fun it brings. I would suggest though that it is better aimed ( or the games we tested) at the over 5 year olds. We are all looking forward to purchasing some more games to try out together. ? probably the dancing and driving games first.

Q.10 Did you use the Family Settings on the console? If so, have they changed your perception of what it's like gaming together as a family at all or not? Did you know that these existed on Xbox 360 before you starting using the console?

I did not know they existed prior to using the console ? and I still don?t? I must have inadvertently skipped that bit during set up. I?ll have to go back and investigate as it sounds as if they are useful, particularly controlling the ratings of films and games and family timer to restrict game playing time throughout the week.

Hope this feedback helps. As you know all my footage and photos is on dropbox, so enjoy.

PS Before I sign off on this thread, DS went back to school yesterday and I have never seen such envy, wonderment and excitement as when he told his school friends that we have the XBox 360 - we will be having the whole class round on playdates for the rest of the term methinks !

Follow up questions.

1. The most enjoyable part of the experience I think, apart from the wonderful graphics on the games, was seeing my two PLAYING TOGETHER! Quite often they end up tearing strips off each other arguing with conventional games etc, but they seemed to help each other on the missions and had a laugh too.

1. We started off playing more as a family, and then as the children got more into how to do things, they sort of left me behind so to speak!

I didn't find it as easy as they did, if you know what I mean.

1. DD loved traipsing round Disneyland talking to the different characters, though before she got the hang of it she got quite frustrated with it and her DB. He kept moving too near the Kinect and it identified him as a guest - she didn't like that.

DS loved the cars game so much - but says his arms were very tired!

1. Overall opinion is Great! The games made them laugh out loud, and me too!

1. All of found the sensor frustrating at times to deal with, apart from DS, who seemed to have the knack right from the beginning.

1. I don't think the DC will be any more active as a result of playing the Kinect, you can't stop them running about anyway, even when there is nothing on!

1. Possibly yes. My Dad and Auntie have already been roped in to play when they came round for a cuppa!

1. I can appreciate how clever it is, and what a dinosaur I am...

1. Yes I would recommend it to friends.

10. I didn't know about the family settings - I'll check it out when we play again.

Thanks so much for this change to experience Kinect - very pleased!

Q1. The best bit for me was watching the DC set up the box and get started, making characters and picking up how to play the games. I felt like a spare part! The best part for the DC was playing the games together and showing off the Xbox to their friends.

Q2. Generally the children played together without adults. We did find that with an adult and a child with a significant height difference we struggled to set the Kinect up so both players were visible. Also, in a group, the non-players found it hard to keep out of the playing area, frustrating the players. A bigger room or less furniture would be advantageous fat chance.

Q3. We preferred the Pixar characters, probably because our favourite family films are Cars and Toy Story. DD?s favourite were Ratatouille and Incredibles.

Q4. Disneyland Adventures ? we liked the games but thought all the running around the park interacting with characters was a bit boring and unnecessary, after the initial thrill of dancing and taking photos.
Pixar Rush ? we enjoyed this more, but again there was a lot of filler before we could get stuck in to the games.

Q5. They picked it up quickly and used the voice controls also. The frustrating bit was when the sensor picked up spectators or people coming into the room.

Q6 The DC and their friends have been playing on a different make of family console for several years, but had moved onto more passive adventure and music/singing games instead of the sports games. The Xbox has definitely got them back into being more active again.

Q7 We don?t tend to play as a family, other than the wine-fuelled occasional guitar hero-based karaoke sessions with family friends. So it?s unlikely, unless we buy some different games for the Xbox.

Q8. DS1 (10) was desperate for an Xbox as he sees it as a more grown-up gaming console. He has enjoyed the Kinect though, and is interested in seeing whether there are more age-appropriate Kinect games with adventure or driving/racing cars content. DS2(9) has his eye on a Star Wars game. And DD(8) would like a dance/singing game.

Q9. Would definitely recommend. Kinect is so clever, and best of all no remotes to charge. As a family we will enjoy it for many years to come.

Q.10 Not sure that we have found the family settings ? will go and investigate. Right, DS1 has found it. I see that I can restrict the content, which will be handy should a friend turn up with COD or Halo .

Thanks Mumsnet and Xbox for asking us to try it out, it's been brilliant fun.

Q1. Overall, what was the most enjoyable part of this experience for your child(ren) and for you/your DP?

For DS1 the most enjoyable part was apparently being able to tell his friends he had an Xbox! For DS2 it was being able to play self sufficiently and both boys absolutley loved the fact that they created characters that became part of the game.

For DH and I the best part of the whole experience was not only being able to play with the children (no limits on number of controllers etc) but alsoo watching the boys playing so enthusiastically together.

Q2. Did you find yourself playing together as a family or did your child(ren) play more independently? If you did play together, what would you say was the best thing about doing this? And were there any disadvantages to playing as a group?

We did play as a family and the best thing about this was that there are no limits on players due to the number of controllers (the fact that there are no controllers is also great because it stops me sending the controller flying because I have got a little over enthusiastic playing after having imbibed a glass of wine )

The boys also played independantly and together which was brilliant because we have found it difficult before now to find games that both DS1 (12) and DS2 (8 last week) want to play on.

The only disadvantage I found to playing as a group was the playing space needed for the Kinect sensor to see everyone.

Q3. When playing the Kinect Disneyland Adventures and Pixar Rush games, were there any particular characters that your child(ren) enjoyed playing as? Which ones were they?

The most popuar characters in this house were Peter Pan in Disneyland Adventures as they liked flying and in Pixar Rush Toy Story and Ratatouille were most enjoyed.

Q4. What is your overall opinion of the games? Were they appropriate for the age of your DCs or not? Were they engaging enough for your child(ren)?

When I initially looked at the games I was worried they may be a little young for DS1 who is 12 but, although DS2 has definately spent the most amount of time playing on the games, DS1 has enjoyed them too - particularly Pixar Rush.

One of the things I particularly liked was that the same game had several different games - it would have been easy for Microsoft to produce a Pixar Rush - Toy Story and a Rush - Up etc to make more money from people. The variety in the games was a definate appeal in this house.

Q5. How did your child(ren) find interacting with the Kinect sensor? Did this work well or not?

The boys loved the Kinect Sensor and I think this is definately what makes the Xbox stand out from the crowd of other games consoles.

It was definately easy to use and they liked the voice activation although they did find it difficult getting the sensor to acknowledge their waving to activate the sensor. They also became frustrated as I walked around the room as they were playing and the sensor picked me up and added me in to the game.

Q6.Do you think your DCs will be/are any more active as a result of using Kinect or not? And do you think it will influence/has influenced the way they play with their friends/other people?

I'm not sure that they will now be more active because of the Kinect as they are sporty,active boys however it has definately changed my perception of games consoles and I will let them play on Kinect more than I would allow on a standard console that does not enourage activity.

Q7. Do you think your family will get together to play more now that you have the Kinect or not? Can you see yourself playing the Kinect with other adults at all?

I'm not sure DH and I would ever spend time playing on the Xbox together but I may have to get a dance game and have a girls night in with my niece, sister etc.

We will play together more as a family - in fact our traditional Friday night, movie night has due to popular request changed this week into Family Xbox night!

Q8. Has having the console in your home changed your perception of Xbox, or computer games more generally, at all? If so, how? If not why not?

My perceptions have changed as I will allow the boys to play on the Xbox more than I expected I would before the trial as it is so active.

I am also very impressed with the graphics of the games.

Q9. If it came up in conversation, would you recommend Xbox Kinect to your friends? If so why? If not, why not?

I will definately recommend the Xbox Kinect to friends and family and have already done so - I was singing its praises to friends at work just this week.

Q.10 Did you use the Family Settings on the console? If so, have they changed your perception of what it's like gaming together as a family at all or not? Did you know that these existed on Xbox 360 before you starting using the console?

We did not use the Family settings as I did not know until now that they existed (disclaimer DH set it up whilst I was at work!) I'm going to investigate and see if they would be appropriate for us.

Thanks again for this opportunity - the Xbox is brilliant and has been a hit with the boys (both big and small) in this house - they are all desperate for more games and avidly deciding which they wll buy next! Out of the games we tested Pixar Rush was the hands down winner everyone enjoyed it.

When are we likely to get our minute of fame, OtherHelenMumsnet?

Good question gazzalw - I'll find out and let you know!

Also, apologies for the hold up on doing the prize draw - it shouldn't be too much longer now

Thanks

PS As this thread is still live thought I'd add an extra penny'sworth. Today was such a grotty day it was just the perfect occasion for playing Disney Rush - the children were bored rigid after lunch and we had great fun as a family playing on it. The children got a bit of exercise and even managed to tempt DW on to play! Result!

Same goes for the Filly-household.....wet Sunday afternoons will never be the same!!

Thanks to all you fabulous testers - Xbox are really, really pleased with all of your feedback and your videos and photos. Here's a message from them:

“Xbox thanks all the Mumsnet families that got involved with this trial for providing us with all their fantastic feedback”

I've asked them when and where your moments of fame will be, and will let you know when I hear back from them.

In the meantime I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the prize draw is...

2gorgeousboys

Congratulations - you've won: Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, Kinect Joyride, Star Wars, Dance Central game, Lips I Love the 80'S (1 mike bundle), Xbox Live 2100 points, and 12 month Xbox LIVE Gold membership (RRP £378)

Enjoy!

Oh my god! Thank you so much I thought this could not get any better.

Congrats 2gorgeousboys! You may never leave the house again with all those games to keep you entertained Can you let us know how the Star Wars goes down please? DS2 is eyeing it up.

Thanks Chippy . Will post an update when they arrived and let you know what the boys think of Starwars.

Firstly, congrats (sorry it's belated) 2gorgeousboys!

Secondly, after receiving Helen's email yesterday about them needing better quality video footage, has anyone actually emailed/heard from Anna the PR woman with whom we are supposed to be liaising?