We have had our Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle for long enough and it is time to review it. If you don’t already know, the Kinect addon is a little elongated camera looking thing that sits above or below your TV. The device allows you to play special games without a controller. A lot of my friends didn’t believe me when I told them how it worked. They actually thought that I had something in my hand like a remote or something.

Using it goes like this… Stand in front of your TV and wave your hand. navigate the menus with your hands, start your game, and now you start playing. If you’re playing a ball dodging game, all you do is move your body like you would naturally. There really isn’t any learning curve to this device. We own the Wii also and it’s way easier to use – and 1000 times more responsive than the Wii.

Cool Features That We Use Most:

The Kinect also has some addon features. These let you do things like play movies or little free mini games. Here are some of the ones that we use a lot…

Voice Commands For Movies:

This is probably the best feature in my opinion. They didn’t immediately release this feature, but it is now out for Netflix and movies that you watch through Zune marketplace. I can’t remember if they have it for DVD movies, but I’m sure they must.

This feature basically gives you the ability to control you movies with voice commands. Some of the commands I use on a regular basis are used like this:

• “Xbox stop” – makes the movie stop
• “Xbox play” – makes your movies play
• “Xbox pause” – makes your movie pause
• I think you get the point

Gesture “Hand” Commands for Menus:

I don’t use this too much, but it’s fun to control different menus with your hands. It reminds me of that Minority report movie where Tom Cruise is surfing around just by waving his hands in the air.

Kinect Gadgets: Fun Labs:

I noticed this feature last week and we played around with it for an hour or two. This is a section of cool little gadgets that let you do crazy stuff. One of them lets you turn yourself into a bobble head that you can control. Another one lets you take a picture of an object (i.e.: teddy bear) and then you can control it by moving around in front of your Kinect sensor.

Anything Bad About It?

The only downside is actually when we first got it. Back then, there were not a lot of games for the Kinect. But after 6 months or however long it has been, some really neat games have been released. We love the dancing games and some of the other ones where you play with the animals. In a few days we are going to check out that Children of Eden game which looks awesome!

Our Favorite Game:

Kinect Adventures game

This is our top game. It comes with the connect so you don’t have to pay extra for it. In this game, you can do stuff like: water rafting, space bubble popping, wall ball, etc… The game responds really well to everything you do. You can even tilt your head a little left or right and the character in the game will mirror that movement. Before I move on, I should also add that one of my friend’s favorite mini-games on this is the roller coaster.

I would review some more games, but I’m not really reviewing games right now. Actually, if you’re buying this today then I recommend that you don’t buy any extra games. Try out the Adventure game and maybe go rent a few. Some of the sports games are fun.

The Best Place To Buy:

Without a doubt, Amazon.com has the best deal on the Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle. But that’s not surprising considering that they usually beat the prices at game stores and Walmart. I actually bought through a game store when these were selling out and have to kick myself because of the money I wasted.

When you buy it, you’ve got a few options. Your decision is going to come down to how much you play with the Kinect.

Option 1 – 4GB of hard drive space:

Choose this if you are just a casual gamer who will only use the Kinect. If you want to upgrade your space later on, then you’ll have to buy a larger hard drive. That will set you back about $100 – which in the end, totals the cost of the second option.

Option 2 – 250GB of hard drive space:

We bought the 250GB and we are glad we did. Get this if you plan on playing lots of games, downloading demos, and downloading movies. You would be surprised how quickly you go through 4GB of space (trust me).

Hope that you enjoyed this review. Here is to your family having fun with the Kinect like ours is!

The Best Time To Get The Kinect

So like I said, this is the best time to get on of these game systems. I’m betting that in two months, they will all sell out and not be available until after Christmas. That is usually how it works in the world of electronics and games. Just a heads up for any families or parents looking for gifts.