Kinectimals review: Virtually Cuddly

Well, it was only a matter of time before there had to be something for the ankle-biters. With games like Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures and Dance Central being aimed at an older audience, who’s to say that preschoolers should be left out?

Kinectimals is most definitely for a much younger audience. My bets are on ages six and under. The game play is fairly simple, uses a great deal of repetition, a really basic storyline, and a big focus on interacting with a virtual cub. The appeal is that these cubs are one of several rather dangerous cats, and of course, there’s no way that Mom would let you keep a Black Panther cub in the house. So rather that he be virtual. (It’s actually interesting that the game consistently refers to one’s chosen cub as “it.”)

Overall aesthetics in this game are quite dazzling to say the least. Apart from the bright colour palette that seems to instantly brighten the room with jungle and island scenes, there’s a certain fluidity to the animation that works really well. When starting out, one can’t help but notice the well-crafted sequences in which the cubs play with each other, and more-realistic-than-not water movement later on in the game. Load screens are beautiful illustrations that deserve that forced wait in order to appreciate the artwork.

But five-year-olds don’t really care about that sort of thing. Just that it looks cool. And it does.

Despite being way older than a delightful preschooler, I pride myself on easily getting into their headspace. I like naps, I like snacks, and I like a good episode of Charlie and Lola every now and then.

If there’s one thing about Kinectimals that really bugs me, it’s the inordinately long travel sequence cinematics where you can’t actually navigate by yourself. Getting the game started just seemed to drag on, and my inner preschooler was starting to think, “When the hell am I gonna get to play, you jerks?”

When the game finally does start up, your character has landed in Lemuria. A butterfly/lemur/mouse hybrid creature called Bumble acts as a tour guide and explains that Captain Abel was once the pirate leader of this joint. Apparently, he’s gone MIA and left all sorts of stuff on the island. Your mission is to explore the island and find the stuff, accompanied by the chosen cub, one of five available from Lion, Royal Bengal Tiger, Cheetah, Leopard and Black Panther.

There are a number of activities to do with your cub, whether it be “exploring” (with forced forward navigation), feeding, brushing/petting, hunting for treasure, running the obstacles (a simplified version of Kinect Adventures obstacles), playing with various toys, or teaching your cub some new tricks. I quickly discovered that “cub tricks” is the secret to moving the storyline along, and quite brilliantly thought out.

To perform tricks, Bumble gives you the hint on what actions to do, like physically jumping, kneeling, clapping, or saying the command out loud. The cub then responds for a variety of functions, like “jump,” “star jump”, “sit”, “lie down,” “beg,” moving up to the most awesome laugh out loud moves, like “play dead,” “back flip,” “hind legs” to “ballerina,” “cyclist”, “roll forward” and “barrel roll.”

He’s a surprisingly agile little pet, with phenomenal reflexes in soccer and volleyball that he’ll keep the ball in the air with you. He’ll “jump on you”, lick you and even fog up the screen with his virtual lion spit. And the best part is that you don’t have to clean up after him.

I have to admit that I was skeptical going in. I mean, playing with an animal that you can’t actually touch? And how about the bigger question: can little kids be trusted to keep their hands away from the TV screen? I’ve seen a two year-old launch himself into the TV, a three year-old trying to play Dance Central while moving ever closer, and a four year-old picking her nose while playing on an iPhone. Wise parents should be advised that Kinectimals might not be the greatest babysitter as your kid inches closer and closer to the monitor, ready to high-five that Panther. The game is also a little spotty with recognizing where you are in relation to the TV, and I’ve seen a relatively well-educated 45-year-old not register that “move backward” warning sign.

From the spectator side, the game is a little slow and could do with a great deal more adult pop culture references to keep things funny and moving (like a feature film in which parents have to sit with their children). The dazzling animation isn’t as cool after a while when you realize that the mechanics of beach volleyball is the same as volleyball and the same as soccer. There are a few games that are super fun though, like using the fire hose and throwing boots at crabs! No worries for PETA though, that was only me providing the soundtrack for the pelican chase sequence, yelling, “Get him! Eat him!”

Overall I’d say that Kinectimals certainly does provide entertainment value for the dollar. There’s a great deal of watching the game with the long cinematics, but your little one can be entertained for a good chunk of time, trying to teach Simba some new tricks and playing the games that big sister and brother are killing each other over in Kinect Adventures/Kinect Sports.

I’m curious to see what a sequel brings.  Will you be able to play with monkeys and primates next time around?

A solid 4 out of 5.