Hollywood screenwriter James Gunn has been playtesting Project Natal - and putting his thoughts about it on the internet.
In a post on his blog Gunn wrote, "First I played a game kicking and whacking balls into targets... I was really struck by the amount of physical exertion it took. It’s amazing exercise and, because of that, I think it’s going to be a much better device for people’s health in general. As hyperbolic as it may sound, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years we see a decrease in childhood obesity simply because of the system."
Sounds like Gunn was playing Ricochet, a dodgeball-inspired game Microsoft has been using to demo Natal for ages now. But he also got to play something called River Rush, which doesn't appear to have been shown before.
"It’s a game where you stand side by side in a river raft, so it’s two people playing at once," said Gunn. Apparently you step right and left to steer the raft, and jump to reach floating stars as you sail down the rapids.
"This game was even more exhilarating than the kicking one, and even more aerobically challenging. In fact, I’d say the ONLY drawback to the Natal some people may have is that you have to get up off your ass to play it. But, for me, a person who likes exercise and gaming, it's sort of a dream come true. An hour of playing Natal every night will definitely burn calories."
Gunn concluded, "The Natal was an amazing piece of technology and I’ll be the first one in line to buy one when they come out during the holidays... I really, really can’t wait to shoot someone on that f***ing thing."
Project Natal will be released, as Gunn said, this holidays.
Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/natal-game-river-rush-revealed
“It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it.”
- George Orwell, ‘1984’
