Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 250GB Console with Kinect

5 star:		(185)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I have owned numerous xbox 360's since they came out. I Started with the original 20 gig, and after having some issues with some accessories with it (the intercooler i bought literally melted into the back of my 360) so i upgraded to the Elite. I loved the console, and never once had an issue with it. but there were always some negative things about it, including the noise, the size of the power brick, and how hot the games would get at times while playing. I only bought this at midnight but I can say its great so far, and you save 50 bucks by getting this bundle.

What i love so far:

- love the new look. my elite was black, but the console was bulky. the new one has a sleek design and is more compact.

- The touch sensitive buttons are cool, you don't even have to press.

- The power brick is much smaller, and leaves way more room.

- The xbox is much more quiet

- 3 USB hookups is great

- 250 gig hard drive is all i will ever need.

- The kinect is just amazing. works extremely well, recognized my every movement and voice command. the is definitely next gen gaming. Its just awesome. already used video chat, and the camera actually follows you around, whether you go up or down or anywhere. i cannot wait to use it more

I got the Kinect today along with 2 additional games, Dance Central and Your Shape Fitness Evolved. I was a little skeptical about the interface but after using it for a couple of hours I am convinced. Being a fit person I did not expect the physical aspect to be that challenging but I was wrong. Everything you do in the games involves movement, even making menu selections consumes calories.

I was surprised by how well the Kinect tracked my movements but I'm guessing it varies from game to game. One workout with Your Shape Fitness had my legs burning and that is without using weights.

Honestly, even though I was having fun, I had to stop playing because I was too tuckered out. This is definitely an incentive to get in shape.

I purchased this system to replace my ailing XBOX 360 Premium and to get the Kinect along with it. I was skeptical of the Kinect technology at first, but after using it I can safely say that it's fun to use, but it has a few downsides which I'll explain below. Now, I'm going to talk about the three different parts of this bundle separately.

1) The XBox 360 S

Nothing much new here--it's an XBox 360, but smaller. Still, I should mention that, in the short time that I've owned the system, I haven't yet experienced any of the issues that plagued my previous 360 systems, such as lockups and the dreaded red ring of death (which is now a Red Eye of Doom on the XBox 360 S). There are also a few minor differences. The air vent is located on the side (or the top, if you mount it horizontally), the buttons are touch-sensitive and don't have to be pressed in, the system makes pleasant ringtone-like sounds when you turn it on and off or you eject discs, there's no faceplate to change out, the hard drive has plenty of room, and the system has a spiffy, shiny black finish. And of course, it has a specialized port in the back reserved exclusively for the Kinect sensor. There's really not much else to say, and certainly nothing to complain about.

2) The Kinect Sensor

This is probably the most significant part of the review, and for obvious reasons. Microsoft is betting a ton of money that Kinect will take off like a rocket and be supremely popular on the marketplace, but how good is it really? Well, it's a fairly large device for starters, and it's strongly suggested that you not mess with it very much whether it's on or off. The reason for this is that the Kinect has a little motor in it that gives it the ability to tilt and up down, and if the user attempts to tilt it himself he might damage that motor. You should also place it in a stable location, and I certainly wouldn't recommend mounting it on top of your TV unless you have a special mount for it. Finally, make sure your playing area has plenty of space because you're going to need it.

Anyhow, enough of the safety PSA's. How well does it work? Well, the Kinect, from what I've read, basically projects thousands of little infrared dots all over your room, and uses their points of impact along with the camera to determine your position in the room and what you're doing. It usually works fairly well, I found. Characters would follow my own movements (at least to the degree allowed by the game), which was neat to watch, and despite my concerns about the Kinect lagging behind my movements it wasn't really noticeable. There are issues, though. The tracking was not as accurate as it could have been, and with some games I've been having trouble getting the Kinect to accurately interpret my movements. For instance, sometimes on Dance Central I could swear I'm doing a dance move in exactly the same way as the onscreen character, but for some reason the game just doesn't recognize it. Another example would be on Sonic Free Riders, where a certain move called a "Kick-Off," which gives you a temporary boost of speed, seems to go off on its own whether or not I actually wanted it to. It's not as bad as I might be making it sound, though. Most games should work really well with the Kinect.

The Kinect can also be used to navigate the XBox Live menu, but personally, I preferred to just use the controller because it's quicker and easier. Manipulating the menu by gesture is slow, owing to the fact that your hand must hover over your selections for about a second, and even with voice commands you may find that the Kinect doesn't always interpret what you say correctly.

Finally, you might be wondering what kinds of games you can play on this. Well, thus far there's racing games, pet-raising games, exercise games, and mini-game collections (like Kinect Adventures, see below). At this time, however, I'm really wondering if that's all the Kinect is capable of doing. I mean, you stand in front of the sensor, you move your arms and legs around, and that's it. It's not very complicated, but there also isn't a lot you can do with it. Would a hardcore game like God of War or Halo, which require complex commands and a high degree of precision, even be possible with the Kinect? If that doesn't bother you and you aren't interested in those kinds of games anyway, more power to you. You'll likely have a lot of fun with the system in spite of everything, it's great for motivating yourself to exercise.

Oh, and before I end this part of the review, I'll just mention that some future Kinect games may use the Xbox 360 controller, though at this time I have no idea how well that will work.

3) Kinect Adventures

I have to wonder why they didn't pack Kinect Sports in with the Kinect rather than this game. I thought including a sports mini-game compilation was a motion control tradition or something! But seriously, Kinect Adventures is a fun game and it makes for a pretty good tech demo for the Kinect, which is the most you could ask for when it comes to a game like this. Most of the issues with the Kinect that I mentioned earlier don't have much impact on this game, as the body-tracking seems accurate enough to play all of the mini-games without any issues--well, except for one particular game, where I had trouble using my hands to reach out to block some water leaks appearing to either side of me. That's it, though. Aside from that, the biggest problem with Kinect Adventures is probably that it doesn't have very many mini-games on it, and there's only so many times you can play them before you get bored. So, just as a suggestion, if you go to pick up the Kinect or a 360 bundle with the Kinect in it, go pick up at least one other game for the system so that you have more variety.


To wrap things up, if all you want is to play some casual games and you don't want to worry about complex controls, the Kinect is a good choice. The Kinect sensor's pretty intuitive and easy to use and the launch line-up is pretty strong. While it's not anywhere near as accurate as Sony's Move controller, it does do full-body motion control much better and it's probably a better choice for the casual gamer. Now let's just hope Microsoft can follow through on this strong debut and keep putting out quality titles for the Kinect!

I only found out about Kinect a couple of weeks ago. After reading some of the preliminary reviews, I was intrigued enough that I pre-ordered it almost immediately. Being a gadget nerd, I ordered this bundle despite already having an Xbox360, because I wanted the larger hard drive, the quietness of the new console (whisper quiet!!!!!), and the built-in wireless. The new design is pretty sweet too. Overall a fantastic console. I'd recommend upgrading.

Kinect? ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!!! I have read countless reviews on Kinect. And the more I read the more leery I was getting about my pre-order. Most of the reviews complained about lag, or the space requirement, or that the games were nothing more than regurgitated Wii games, and how every game title ever developed wasn't re-developed for Kinect on launch day. WTF?

Unplugged the old Xbox360, plugged in the power supply to the new 360, plugged in the HDMI cable (no more adapter required), plugged in the digital audio cable, set the Kinect under my tv, plugged it into the Xbox, turned it on and it's go time. A few minutes of setup was all it took, setting up the wireless connection, entering your Xbox Live info, and a few update downloads. Very painless process.

We moved the coffee table out of the way and moved the couch back a couple of feet. Sorry, if you're living in a $2,000 a month, 400 sq. ft. NY studio, this isn't the game for you. But fortunately for Microsoft, most people think having to use your kitchen sink as your nightstand isn't acceptable living conditions, so I completely dismiss the space requirement "problem". The front of the couch is normally right at 8 feet from the TV, but because two of us were going to be playing, we moved it back a couple of more feet so that we would be standing at the 8 foot mark. It worked perfectly, and actually for some of the games we played we moved as close as maybe 3-4 feet from the TV. So I think you could easily cut the 8 feet down to 6. 6-8 feet is recommended in the documentation.

We played Kinect Adventures first, the game that comes in the box. Wii-like? Yes. Fun? Soooooo much more fun than any Wii game I've played. That Kinect can track your every move -- your hands, head, arms, feet, hips, EVERYTHING -- is just amazing. No controller can detect whether you're moving side-to-side, or backwards and forwards, or squatting or jumping while at the same time moving your arms. It's just brilliant how well Kinect works.

One game in particular really shows the potential of this thing. You're in an underwater tank and crazy fish keep poking holes in the glass. You have to plug these holes to keep the water from coming in. In some cases I had to use both hands, both feet, and my head to plug all of the holes...yes, all at the same time. The girlfriend and I had a blast with it. The other games were just as fun.

I think Your Shape best highlighted what Kinect is capable of. You are an infrared replication of yourself on the screen. The shape of my body was precise (unfortunately) and it even picked up the logo on the t-shirt I was wearing. There are numerous exercises you can do and you follow along with an instructor. You have to stay in sync with the intructor to earn points and advance to higher levels and the Kinect does an amazing job of following your every movement and comparing it to the instructor. Not spreading your feet far enough apart? It'll tell you. Not keeping the right rhythm? It'll tell you. It is so much more immersive than anything I've played on the Wii and I can now actually see myself doing Your Shape instead of going to the gym. It's really fantastic.

A lot of the reviews complained about lag, meaning it takes a bit for the Kinect to detect your movements and get them on the screen. Is there lag? Yes, as measured in fractions of a second. Is it noticeable? Only if you're specifically focusing on it. But it's not noticeable during actual game play because you're focusing on the game. And just like with the Wii, you quickly learn to compensate for that fraction of a second difference. It's an absolute non-issue!!!!!

All-in-all, having played three titles (Kinect Adventures, Kinect Sports, and Your Shape) over a span of a couple of hours, the girlfriend and I were exhausted, exhillarated, and amazed at the experience. My girlfriend, being a typical girl, whose life isn't defined by gadgets, even posted on FB that the Kinect really is AMAZING! It more than exceeded our expectations and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. And I am absolutely ecstatic about what Kinect means for the future of gaming. Fully immersive Call of Duty? Yeah, it's coming!

Having been gaming since the days of the Atari 2600, the Xbox with the Xbox Kinect are without a doubt the coolest advancement in video games ever. My whole family, from kids to grandparents, are able to play the games and enjoy them, being able to play and watch movies without digging for the remote is awesome and we really like the playing together. Setup was really simple and straight-forward and we were playing games in just a few minutes.

We own a Wii, and while it is okay, the level of involvement and engagement just can't compare to the Xbox Kinect. Since there is no remote for Kinect - you never have to worry about whether or not the batteries are charged. More importantly the games are definitely more fun and addictive. Get the Xbox and Kinect - you'll be glad you did.

I ordered this system a couple of days ago and was beginning to get some buyers remorse after reading some of the early reviews. So, I took my 3yr old over to Best Buy to play on their demo.

I am not a serious gamer by any means, but i thought my kids (5,3,1) would enjoy this system. I was not completely sold on the wii, because it seemed like it required the same flick of the wrist for just about every game. I am hesitant to buy any system, for fear it may be all my kids want to do. However, my thought was that if they are going to play games, at least they could be up and moving with the Kinect.

After playing the demo, it is clear that they will be getting a workout! First off, it was really cool to see the guy on the screen replicating my movements almost perfectly. We played Sports as well as Adventures. My 3 year old got the hang of it pretty quickly and we had a blast!

Was everything perfect? Nope. Most of the games seem pretty simple, and the soccer game was pretty boring because all you could do was kick the ball, not make your man move up and down the field. My son's movements didn't seem to register as well as mine during the track and field game. I assume that had to do with his size, or that he didn't stand still while the Kinect was scanning him. But, all-in all, the games we played were very entertaining.

I think this will be a great system for my kids and to bring out when we have company. It is an experience unlike any other when it comes to gaming; you are truly connected to your character. My buyers remorse is gone & I can't wait to give this to the kids on Christmas!

Our wii was on the blink and we knew it was only a matter of time until it needed to be replaced. This looked like the perfect replacement, an upgrade even. The idea of being able to play games without the wii controllers seemed to good to be true and it was....

I made this purchase based on the the rave reviews and after trying it out, I am confused over the accolades. Those used to wii will be less then impressed with the results. Sure the wii controller can be a hassle with certain work out games but having a pocket to place it in solves all. The wii controller allows your movements to be recorded almost instantly as it communicates wireless with the sensor bar thanks to accelerometers in the remotes. Xbox Kinect uses a camera to record your movements and then sends them to the console. There is a noticeable time delay as the console plots your movements from the information received from the camera and they are not always accurate. Having your movements tracked a few beats after you make them, threw me off. Perhaps this is not as noticeable if you haven't used the wii. Also, there is also the issue of the limited number of motion games made available; hopefully, this will change and more games will be developed.

Also, please note that Xbox Live, being able to access Netflix, and other things cost extra. Yes, you read correctly - there is a fee just to access Netflix on the Xbox. Seriously? You want to change your user name on Xbox? There's a nominal fee for that..... Like the Xbox console with Kinect didn't cost enough?

I was really looking forward to the Xbox Kinect after reading all the raves but ended up disappointed. I know my husband was even more disappointed because he wanted to be able to play the more mature games available on the Xbox platform over the more family oriented wii. We returned it. I am hoping that Xbox will continue to work on Kinect technology since the idea of it is great!

This is the first time I have written a review, but feel that this device deserves the effort. To put it simply this device deserves 6 stars.

We are a Wii owner and have had it since it first came out. We have about 8 games on the Wii and had used it regularly. I liked it because it actually involved my kids moving and I felt they got some exercies. All of my 4 kids 13-6 and half boys/girls are very active and very athletic, so video games are not something they spend a ton of time doing. This device might change this. I always wondered why Microsoft did not release a motion controller for the xbox, it seamed like such a simple thing to do. Sony just did this and it is an incremental improvement over the Wii. When I first heard about the kinect I was somewhat skeptical. Now I know why Microsoft did not release a me to product, the Kinect is at least a generation ahead of the Wii and Sony and will give them dominance in this market for several years to come.

I have seen this type of technology approach before, and it was very tempermental and normally did not work. I am a technical person and have researched the technology behind this and it is simply mind boggling. There are 2 cameras, 1 IR emmitter, 4 microphones and a motor, not to mention the software that is behind this. The fact they are able to bundle all of this technology into a $149, $100 when bundled, priced device is amazing. I was somewhat worried that it would be hard to set up, nothing could be further from the truth. I basically plugged it in and then it downloaded several updates and I was good to go. The games provide brief instructions on how to interact, but basically you just do what would come natually. It is trully amazing technology and the usability is impressive.

The physical exercise that you get is significant compared to the othe devices out there. You do not have to hold anything and the kicking and jumping that you do really involves you legs. The other devices simply cannot use the legs effectively. The kids have to stop periodically to rest, so you do not have the long periods of them just staring at the TV and pushing buttons.

A couple of suggestions. If you have a hard floor, make sure to wear tennis shoes or something to lessen the impact when jumping. It is kind of like trying to play tennis barefoot, you need something to cushion the impact. We have a room fully of windows and it has been working fine, although it does mention you should try to limit the light in the room. I think this is due to the IR emmitter getting confused with the IR that is natual in sunlight. We are doing it in a smaller room right now, but will probably move it up to our game room, since some of the games allow 4 people and we simply do not have enough room in the room for four people to interact at the same time.

This is a great device and I strongly believe that Microsoft has a hit here. I feel sorry for Sony and Nitendo, since this will become the game of choice. I just hope that they begin to embed this technology into their computers, so we can get more interaction during our work week...

This is my 3rd XBox 360 - all upgrade choices, no problems. I started with the original 360, then went with the Elite... and now this.

System-wise, it's pretty much the same. If you already have a 360 elite or similar (even with 250GB HD), you're not getting anything really different here - it's not a NEW system. I say that to say, if you're not having any issues with your older 360 and aren't one of those ones who has to have the newest version, it may not be a must-buy for you. I, however, AM one of those ones.

Some key upgrades include the overall size, which is much smaller than the original 360s. It is ridiculously quiet - worth the price alone as far as I'm concerned - and the gloss black finish is absolutely beautiful, if not a magnet for fingerprints. Fortunately, there isn't much touching necessary as the buttons themselves are touch-sensitive.

Built-in Wireless N adapter, multiple USB ports, HDMI input, smaller power-brick, dedicated port for Kinect... these are the key changes that many may not even utilize or care about, yet others welcome with open arms. This version of the 360 is simply the sleekest and sexiest version, period.

So that's the system itself...

The Kinect sensor is... well... it's a really neat idea. It's a sensitive little thing, with decisions as seemingly insignificant as your clothing and room lighting directly affecting your gaming experience - or ability at all. Setup doesn't take long, though you may find it necessary to perform tuning multiple times a day in various lighting situations. Also - ROOM. You need ROOM! We have an 83" TV, so fortunately our living room is huge, just to be able to watch that thing. You need a good 8-10 feet of distance from the sensor if you plan on playing with more than one person - a bit less if you're playing by yourself. Taller players require more room as well, so if you're well over 6' tall you may still need to stand back in the "two or more player" zone just to be able to seen completely by the sensor. Also, make sure there's enough room in the area for anyone NOT playing to be able to sit to the side, or enter/leave the room without wandering into the playing area, as the Kinect will enter them into the game - usually messing up the game you're playing. So if you have one of those completely bare living rooms that are shown in most of the Kinect commercials (ha) you're good to go.

Motion capture is hardly new or groundbreaking (I've been gaming since the early 80's), but has received a recent resurgence of sorts - much like 3D in the movie industry. The Kinect is a very fun and interesting way to play games, without a doubt, but it is hardly the major leap forward from the Wii that, say, the Wii was from the NES Power Glove. Anyone considering purchasing this with thoughts of Tony Stark-esque motion-capture accuracy will be seriously disappointed.

Here's why: (It IS important to remember that this sensor is new, and will undoubtedly receive numerous updates and enhancements, as well as better implementation via newer and more intuitive games.)

Along with this setup comes the Kinect Adventures game/setup disc. I also decided to get Kinect Sports because, let's face it, Wii Sports was some of the most fun you could have with a group of friends on a single console. Without reviewing these games themselves, I can tell you that with just these two discs, you can get a real since of the Kinect sensor's strengths and weaknesses. I can definitely understand why Microsoft chose to bundle KA with this setup, rather than Kinect Sports. Adventures gets you used to basic controls and movements - since this is probably the first exposure most gamers will have with playing without any sort of handheld controller, this is welcome and pretty intelligent. Simple sidestepping, arm-flapping, jumping, turning, swiping motions... that's pretty much all that's needed in this game. And the Kinnect handles this pretty seamlessly.

Pop in the Kinect Sports or Game Party in Motion disc, and it becomes clear that this technology could use some tweaking. Specifically with the more precise movements that are required in the games being simulated. Take Bowling... a fan favorite on the Wii. The controls are just not refined enough - more times than not you'll end up releasing the ball when you don't intend to, since there is no way to manually decide when your character releases the ball. Basketball is the same thing, whereas you try to mimic a realistic shooting motion, only to have the ball released entirely too early - you end up shooting underhand to have any shot at getting a ball to reach the rim. Darts is another - you'll swear you used the exact same motion on two throws, yet one fell harmlessly to the floor, while the other - after two unsuccessful attempts to throw at all - sails forcefully over the entire dart board.

Having said all that, you'd probably wonder why I rate it 5 stars... well, it's because I'm a realist and knew what I was getting when I got it. And what I got was a great system with a fun new peripheral that allows for some truly fun family gaming moments. Some of the best include the rollercoaster-like video and pictures taking throughout your playing times. (you really don't know how idiotic you look running in place until you have it played back to you) The new 360 is a beast in itself, and the Kinect games are just fun - occasional annoyances aside.

All in all, I'd break it down like this:

XBox 360S (A+) - outstanding; nothing but improvements to the best system out there, in my opinion (and I own them all); sleek and powerful... and QUIET

Kinect sensor (B) - unique gaming experience; family fun; much room for improvement, particularly with precision and sensitivity

Kinect Adventures Disc (A) - solid title to get you up and running with the new Kinect world; not the "replay value" of, say, Wii Sports but the best overall user experience they could pack in with the device; fun minigames

I'm in my late 30's and I'm a dedicated gamer, love first person military style shooters, blood and guts video game, etc. I had no intentions of buying the Kinect and jumping around like a fool, normal controller worked just fine for me. But all it took was one demo at a store and I was sold. I should mentioned that my wife and kids were with me, and while they liked what they were seeing, it was me who couldn't get the Kinect out of my mind. Needless to say i bought it later that evening and the following day the entire family gamed for 3 hours. Gaming together has never happened in the 7 years since having my oldest daughter. While I was tired from jumping around, the simple ease of the system made it fun for everyone. Don't think about it, just get it and enjoy it. Just make sure to clear enough room in the house because you do need the space.