As it stands, I'm happy with what Kinect offers. Like many have said, it has good hardware. There weren't as many voice commands as I'd have liked but the ones that are there work like a charm. The novelty of telling Kinect to pause/fast forward/ play game/ tell me I'm pretty hasn't worn off, yet.
I'm hoping for some software that will really take advantage of it, soon. Maybe an updated Seaman port? I've played online with it connected and I've tried the video Kinect and the microphone picks up EVERYTHING. It's like I'm in the same room. I even tried having a video chat with my GF using Kinect in the living room and me using the Xbox Live Vision Camera from the game room. Worked flawlessly!
The hand gesturing worked well for me, too. I had to calibrate it with the little card that came with the system. I actually prefer using the hand gestures to control the menu more than I like using the controller. It takes a little more effort since I'm using my whole arm instead of just my thumbs but it feels cool. Again, this is probably a novelty thing. I'm also impressed by how the console logs me in automatically. Once, I logged in as my daughter and it still knew that it wasn't me. I guess I don't look like a little elementary school girl......
The only games I own are Kinect Adventures and Dance Central. Both of them work very well but I've been told that they do a pretty good job of masking any lag. Dance Central just feels right. Kinect Adventures does have so noticeable lag but once I got used to it, it was all good. AS long as i don't move at supersonic speed, it does what I need it to do. I tried the demos for Kinect Sports, Body and Brain Connection, and EA Sports Active and all of them felt great. I never considered myself the type of gamer to play a fitness game but EA's game is awfully tempting. My sis tried it and it worked like a charm. It even fooled her into thinking that it did an X-Ray of her body!
I'm not a casual gamer but at this point, I'm fully satisfied with Kinect having mostly casual games. I'd like to see a Punch-Out!! rip-off or something. I'm not really sold on the idea of playing a driving game with Kinect, either. I have tons of FPS games, RPG's, Platformers, and stuff in my library already. I never expected Kinect to replace the controller. I guess I was just looking for Kinect to provide something different and new. It may not be 100% original but for me, it works and it gives me what I need. M$ says that they've only just begun. I'm looking forward to E3 and seeing what new experiences they can come up with.
--Thanks to all who've posted in this thread with their opinions. It's been food for thought. Keep 'em coming!
