Kinect games have taught us to dance and to move our hands in the air like inflatable arm flailing tube men, but can they teach us the fluid and precise art of kung fu? Indie developer Kinesthetic Games thinks we can, and its upcoming game Kung Fu Superstar hopes to make us feel like action movie stars too.
Kung Fu Superstar follows the story of Danny Cheng, an up-and-coming martial artist, as he rises through the ranks of fame and stardom. “Aided by his trusted Sifu, Danny will discover the secrets of kung fu and become the most popular martial arts stuntman Hollywood has ever known.”
Using the Kinect, players will use their whole bodies to perform kung fu moves on-screen and take down various different opponents in distinct sets and environments. Past self-defense Kinect games like Ubisoft’s Training Camp just felt awkward because there isn’t another opponent in the same room as you, so it will be interesting to see how Kung Fu Superstar teaches you martial arts and also makes a game out of it without feeling too diluted in asynchronous motion controls. Not only that, but let’s hope the Kinect sensor can keep up with our lightning-fast reflexes.
Kinesthetic Games was founded by former Lionhead developer Kostas Zarifis and is made up of employees from other gaming studios including Codemasters, EA, and Climax.
Kung Fu Superstar is currently being marketed for just the Kinect, but its trailer also contains tags for Wii and PlayStation 3, so it looks like the game may be released on multiple platforms. With Jackie Chan having announced his retirement from the action film scene, who knows if this game will give us the next martial arts superstar.
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