Reader Raffi sent us this video he shot from a holiday party where a developer for Natal was playing Geometry Wars with just hand gestures. We can't say for sure if this is really a Natal powered game of Geometry Wars until Microsoft says it is, but it's no secret that Natal developers are experimenting to incorporate Natal controls into a wide assortment of games.
This doesn't confirm that a Geometry Wars powered Natal game will ever come out, but it does show us that even twin stick shooters are potentially possible on Natal. Using motion controls to play any sort of shoot 'em up, however, doesn't sound like such a good idea.
By the way, if you like the song in the video, you can download it from here for free.
If they do decide to release Natal-powered versions of games like Geometry Wars and other Arcade titles that are already out, I really hope it just comes as a free update for the original game. Of course, I can definitely see Microsoft cashing in on a Wiimake-esque mentality with a re-releases of Arcade games that cost 1.5 times as much as the original game.
Hmm I can see the apparent lag that developers are talking about, let's hope they get rid of that by the time they launch it, otherwise: Broken controls = no purpose.
The lag here doesn't look that bad, to be honest. Everyone complains about a ~1 second lag, but did that stop the Wii from dominating motion controlled gaming for so many years? The addition of the motion plus just now resolved that issue, and only 2 or 3 games support it. Motion controlled game was never supposed to be more accurate, it's supposed to be immersive. Let's face it, controlling anything with motion is not as accurate as a proper controller on any system. I'm more interested in things like Lionhead's Milo (is that his name?), things that break the barrier between reality and virtual reality.
One step closer to Japan's ultimate goal of the ultimate virtual girlfriend, am I right? I fully support that.
That big lag between hand movement and character movement is a gamebreaker. There's no way you could play Geo Wars in the higher levels with those unresponsive controls.
Project natal works so well that who ever was playing didn't feel comfortable enough to actually shoot in anymore than one direction. If you cant tell im skeptical.
I don't guess I'll ever be able to wrap my brain around why they are showing off this new technology using games that were built with a controller in mind. If I were to buy Natal, I would be just little bit more interested in what it could do that a controller can't. I don't care to have my hand movement be a cheap replica of a button push.
I guess I just don't understand a lot of stuff. I don't get why waving my hand to move a dashboard slider is somehow cooler than being able to do it with a flick of a my thumb. I don't get why pretending to hold and turn a steering wheel is revolutionary. I don't get why talking to little boys and being an all around pedo is supposed to be anything more than the most boring thing in the world.
It's an awesome piece of technology to be sure, but the controller is just a means to an end. If you can't make a game that can't stand on it's own without this controller, well I can't think of a better definition for the word gimmick.
I don't see what everyone's problem is. If you don't like it, ignore it. Will I shell out cash money for Natal-functional versions of games that have already been released? Probably not. But I for one would love just to screw around with the technology. Just because you don't think it's efficient doesn't mean that Natal shouldn't exist. If nothing else it is a pioneer of new consumer technology.
As we know with Microsoft, the first is the worst. I can only imagine how technology like this will advance just as the Xbox turned into the Xbox 360. Leaps and bounds.
worst, idea, ever. Next they'll be "natal trials hd" where you have to hop around like a jack ass for the web cam to try to translate your strange hopping and wiggling into actual gameplay.
Good fucking Christ people. The lag, as RenegadePanda has pointed out, is not that bad. Certainly not game breaking.
Look I know you guys are "hardcore" and you absolutely need to find a reson to bitch about non-traditional controls but all you have to do is say you don't want to use a camera to play your games. It's that simple. We'll all understand. You don't need to pull pointless complaints out of your ass just to make Natal look like shit just because you don't like the concept.
That said, I'm still not sold. Interested but not sold.
i couldn't see anything in that video to make me believe it really was a natal demo.
#1 the tripod holding what looked like a camera, but not the natal camera. #2 he's wearing some kind of helmet with headphones. #3 he's wearing a business type outfit with a weird vest.
maybe it is natal in action. but i don't think it is.
also, why is it up to microsoft to say a natal patch can't be done for past games? that should lay directly on the developers to pursue if they want, microsoft should be trying to gain as much support as possible for it with devs. camera controls can't be that hard to implement, unless......
Completely pointless. Geometry Wars is already on the XBox 360 (and the Wii) and I'm sure it plays better with either system's native controller.
With respect to Natal, just look at the limitations on the ship's firing directions and you'll see that "Up" seems to be the flavour of the day. Is this the player's style, or is it down to his inability to rotate and contort his arms a full 360 degrees horizontally? Also, while some people may have 200 inch displays that they're happy to stand indefinitely and painfully in front of, the majority in 2010 will not.
That doesn't look remotely fun at all. I hope Microsoft's ability to push a broken console by throwing tons of cash at it isn't transferable to gimmicky gesture-based "gameplay." Got to hand it to them though, they're using really interesting technology to make gameplay that is less interesting than the Wii.
Well that didnt look good at all. The guy was trying to act like it requires no effort but the ship was flailing and randomly shooting. Natal just looks this much worse in my eyes.
Aww, look at the widdle PS3 fanboys getting upset.
Throwing tons of cash at it, really HPV? Are you aware that Sony has lost at least 5 billion dollars so far propping up PS3 in order to gain a Blu Ray monopoly? Thats more than Microsoft lost on the original Xbox by a good margin, already.
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I'm currently lol'ing at the fact that the majority of the comments is "wtf 10/10 thats impossible especially from Nintendo bs"
At this point people are inspecting the littlest details to point out as a flaw so it could get a 9.5/10 or whatever just so it isn't a 10. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. It's just a score given by a reviewer who is human. This human has a opinion, like many of us do. This opinions fluctuates depending on what the topic is.
To me, Dale simply gave it a 10/10 because it was a fun game to play, especially to him. It reminded him of earlier enjoyments from when he was playing what he considered the best Mario game and reminded him of the reasons why that game was considered the best. Recognizing that these reasons were fully present in the new game, SMG2 was just as good if not better than SMW. Or at least, that is just what I'm getting at.
Nonetheless, I need to go pick this up soon and hook my Wii up to a new TV since the old one broke (manufacturer's fault). I really enjoyed SMG and hope to get more difficulty from this game - hopefully not as hard as Luigi's 100 Purple coins. I hated that.
Also, as a closing comment to all the 360 and PS3 fans who are complaining about this 10/10 score, u mad. (im not saying all of you, just those guys who find it incomprehensible that a system like the Wii could hold such an awesome game).
I'm currently lol'ing at the fact that the majority of the comments is "wtf 10/10 thats impossible especially from Nintendo bs"
Even in the new "5 for average" scale, I can't see giving this game less than an 8.5(I personally would give it a 9.5, as it is the funnest game I have played in a while). At this point people are inspecting the littlest details to point out as a flaw so it could get a 9.5/10 or whatever just so it isn't a 10. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. It's just a score given by a reviewer who is human. This human has a opinion, like many of us do. This opinions fluctuates depending on what the topic is.
To me, Dale simply gave it a 10/10 because it was a fun game to play, especially to him. It reminded him of earlier enjoyments from when he was playing what he considered the best Mario game and reminded him of the reasons why that game was considered the best. Recognizing that these reasons were fully present in the new game, SMG2 was just as good if not better than SMW. Or at least, that is just what I'm getting at.
Nonetheless, I need to go pick this up soon and hook my PC up to a new TV since the old one broke (manufacturer's fault). I really enjoyed SMG and hope to get more difficulty from this game - hopefully not as hard as Luigi's 100 Purple coins. I hated that.
Also, as a closing comment to all the 360 and PS3 fans who are complaining about this 10/10 score, u mad. (im not saying all of you, just those guys who find it incomprehensible that a system like the Wii could hold such an awesome game).
I'm currently lol'ing at the fact that the majority of the comments is "wtf 10/10 thats impossible especially from Nintendo bs"
Even in the new "5 for average" scale, I can't see giving this game less than an 8.5(I personally would give it a 9.5, as it is the funnest game I have played in a while). At this point people are inspecting the littlest details to point out as a flaw so it could get a 9.5/10 or whatever just so it isn't a 10. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be. It's just a score given by a reviewer who is human. This human has a opinion, like many of us do. This opinions fluctuates depending on what the topic is.
To me, Dale simply gave it a 10/10 because it was a fun game to play, especially to him. It reminded him of earlier enjoyments from when he was playing what he considered the best Mario game and reminded him of the reasons why that game was considered the best. Recognizing that these reasons were fully present in the new game, SMG2 was just as good if not better than SMW. Or at least, that is just what I'm getting at.
Nonetheless, I need to go pick this up soon and hook my PC up to a new TV since the old one broke (manufacturer's fault). I really enjoyed SMG and hope to get more difficulty from this game - hopefully not as hard as Luigi's 100 Purple coins. I hated that.
Also, as a closing comment to all the 360 and PS3 fans who are complaining about this 10/10 score, u mad. (im not saying all of you, just those guys who find it incomprehensible that a system like the Wii could hold such an awesome game).
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