Today we’re going to be taking a look at the Kinect Bundle, available for digital download only for the Xbox One platform. The bundle includes Squid Hero and Boom Ball from Virtual Air Guitar Company, a studio known for delivering motion controlled experiences. The usual price of the bundle is £11.99, saving you £3.99 when purchasing the titles individually, which are priced at £7.99 each.
Currently the bundle is on sale from December 29th, 2015 through till January 4th, 2016 and offers a discount of up to 50%, depending on your membership. Right now you can pickup both titles during the sale for a lesser price of just one of the games when not in sale. The discounted price is £7.19 for Silver members and £6.00 for GOLD members.
You hit a virtual ball using your on-screen hands, which will cause it to bounce and ricochet around a semi-transparent room, breaking cubes in its path. You then have to volley the ball on its return or it’ll disappear off screen and you’ll lose the ball. Once all balls are lost you’ll have to retry the level. Upon completing a level you can progress to the next.
Fans of old school block breaking games will be happy to know that other classic mechanics make an appearance, such as multi-ball and new ones like portals.
I loved block breaking games as a child and that love hasn’t diminished with time. Unfortunately something has happened on the way to adulthood because I was out played my 8 year old son!
It’s a great little game that will be forever remembered as the first game that my son out did me on, for a time. I fully intend to beat whatever scores he manages to achieve, like a father should.
You control Squids Hero’s tentacles and position on screen with your hands and are able to interact with ice by hovering a tentacle over it. Small movements allow you to manipulate the ice around the screen, whereas sharp movements will throw it in the direction of which your hand was traveling.
As you progress through the game new obstacles and challenges arise, such as mines and boss fights. The level checkpoints are forgiving and well placed which makes the game child friendly, offering frustration free retries.
Coins gathered from playing through the game can be used to purchase different hats to customise your squid, which adds an other dimension for children to explore.
There’s also a 2 player co-op mode so you can bring a friend in on the fun.
The graphics are colorful and beautifully rendered making Squid Hero’s visuals very appealing, especially to young children, but that’s not to say that it isn’t for adults too.
I had a lot of fun playing it on my own and then watched my 5 year old daughter try get to grips with the game. She grasped the general concept and did pretty well but completely forgot that she had a left hand. She tried to play it with just her right which lead to many mistakes, but she just simply laughed because she was having such a good time on it.
Review code authorized and provided by Virtual Air Guitar Company.
Boom Ball is a lighthearted, full-body Kinect game that mixes tennis, Breakout, and gratuitous explosions. Throw and bounce balls to smash all the cubes and blow up all the bombs in 55 different levels. Guest starring: Explosions! Portals! Multiballs! More explosions! Ducks! Join the fun and go ballistic with Boom Ball for Kinect!
Squid Hero saves the planet from a new ice age, in this cheery and colorful adventure for all ages, using the power of Kinect to smash thousands of encroaching chunks of ice.
I’d definitely recommend this bundle to any Xbox One owner with Kinect, especially parents with young children. Just prepare yourself for the possibility that your children may be able to out play you on these titles.
Dave is somewhat of a reclusive creature who predominantly resides in what has come to be known as 'The Man Cave'. Self-proclaimed nemesis to the Sun and its warm embrace, he relies heavily on background radiation and tea for sustenance to fuel his insatiable lust for gaming.
The time has come to dig up and dust off our Kinect sensor bar so that we rock out with air guitars to become legend, as an Air Guitar Warrior! Developed by Virtual Air Guitar Company who has always and continues to support the Kinect – I for one could not wait to see what their latest title had in store.
We talk to Founder and Lead Designer of Virtual Air Guitar Company, Aki Kanerva, about the studios history, their future and upcoming game – Beatsplosion.