Just when you wonder what can a company bring out, to make the Kinect just as fresh as when it started months ago…something comes along that you just can’t seem to get enough of.  Because face it, in this industry things get old fast. Thankfully there are a few companies out there willing to take that creative leap into something and mesh together a game that is oh so silly but oh so darned fun.  Reminding me once again why the Kinect is my favorite piece of entertainment equipment.

It’s an interactive romp that brings two of my favorite things together, gaming and comic books, and better yet places YOU the player right in the middle of it all.  Kung Fu High Impact places a unique spin on things by going old school with a hip and now spin on things.

Rather than controlling an avatar that has been created for the game, the Kinect scans YOU the player and places YOU in the game itself. The player becomes the hero in their very own scifi/kung fu hybrid adventure.

Better yet there is no lag time with movements that I can detect. While the game has certain moves that can in fact be for effective than just throwing a punch or low kick, any swing can cause damage to your enemy.  So let’s say you do in fact know some martial arts, in kung fu we do something like a rolling punch, I performed several of these and the virtual self-did so too.  There is nothing quit as giddy as starring in your own game and smacking the crap out of virtual enemies and watching them fly across the screen from your hits. (Be careful DO NOT to do anything off the wall crazy…unlike your virtual self, YOU can get hurt if you’re really stupid and try something you should not.)

While the games fighting controls are pretty responsive, there are times if you are outnumbered and let yourself get surrounded that you’re going to pay for it. If an enemy is hitting you, it will negate the move you are trying to do. Trying to flip over or attack an enemy will fail if the enemy hits you first. One of those slightly annoying instances can happen when you’re surrounded and you want to try to flip away from the danger, the player unfortunately gets stuck as the blows rain in and the health meter goes down to nothing.

Now on the other side of it, it is pretty awesome to have your character leap and flip up and over enemies, and even perform a jump up and a super human like move, to come down and pound the ground causing the virtual world to shake from the impact.  Doing some moves will cause your character to zip across the screen to deliver a double power punch and knocking down most of the lower level enemies easily. Players can also get special abilities such as shooting lighting; this is not an endless power and should be used sparingly for when you really need it.

As we tested the game, Donna Millheim, fellow writer and Impulse Gamer United States Office Photographer and videographer laughed at not only my in game antics, but my real world antics as well.

In the heat of the battle that rages in Kung Fu High Impact, there are times when you will need to smash a box or other item to find items like health, comes in real handy when your health meter is low. Let me tell you, when you are getting close to that boss battle, you better find some health ricky tick if you’re running low.

Getting around this gaming world is very cool, and oh so reminds me of the first few Mortal Kombat games.  In Kung Fu High Impact, most every kick or punch moves the player forward to whichever way they are facing and or attacking.  My favorite is the power punch, this move dashes you across the screen and is a good long range attack, because it gets you across the screen and scores a hit. Just be careful to judge the distances, because if you attack too soon, you may attack short and miss the enemy and they will get a hit in on you.

The levels are varied from a small area like inside environments, basements and such to large outdoor areas with multiple levels. Here again, the game puts some fun in movement and plat forming thanks to its integration and use of the Kinect sensor.

Players can leap or fly to different levels and platforms by performing a flip, or using a special flying move.  Leaping and moving about is integrated very well, although as with many Kinect games, you will be getting a workout, so make sure your up for it health wise.

The games pacing goes at a nice enough clip so that there are short breathers here and there, while not bogging down the action to the next scenario.

Integrating the player into the game is done nicely. The Kinect sensor scans the player just before the next level, showing several poses to try to take and it snaps in the players picture…. For best results the player will want to do their best to get their hands about the same position as the suggested poses and expressions on screen. This way when the comic book panels are shown and the player is input into the story, they are actually IN the comic, and holding and performing an action in the story panel. 

The game has two difficulty levels, normal and hard. On the harder level enemies tend to block more and of course make the player work that much harder to get past a level in the game. So there is replay ability here thanks to the feature and content of the game. Want a silly work out? Play this game, because by proxy you are going to get a work out.

Kung Fu High Impact is an over the top humorous side scrolling brawler, one of the most entertaining titles to come to the Xbox 360 Kinect.

Have fun, play games

Edwin Millheim