XBox 360's Kinect and Cirque du Soleil Project Natal

The fun started at Loft 7 where a select number of guests sampled the new Xbox 360 games Kinect Sports, Kinectimals and Kinect Joy Ride. The cool thing about these video games is that you are the controller. That's right! So if you want to hit, kick or grab something go ahead and do it because Kinect uses a sensor to pick up the player's movement and it works with any Xbox 360. My niece loves to play video games so I brought her along to preview Kinect from XBox 360, formerly known as Project Natal.




Some of the new Kinect games we got to preview.
I had a blast shaking my tail feather while playing Dance Central. If you like dancing in your own living room to tunes like Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" or doing the John Travolta finger point to "Funky Town" then this is the game for you! The goal is to mimic the steps and keep up with the dancer on the screen. The better you dance the more points you get. Needless to say crowds gathered and cheered for each dancer as they showed off their moves. XBox also has a new console available with a 250GB hard drive with built in Wi-Fi which retails for $299.99. This game is definitely on my list to Santa this holiday season.


Feelin' the beat during Dance Central!


My hubby and niece playing Kinect Adventures.

Daddy and baby enjoying the XBox 360 event at Loft 7.

My niece getting her first tattoo from Mr. Hoodbrush.
The fun didn't stop there! After sampling all the games we moved on the Galen Center where we got to preview a live performance by Cirque du Soleil which incorporated all the awesome features of Kinect. Upon arrival we were given shoulder-padded ponchos which made the entire audience glow inside the theater. There were a lot of mystical characters floating about that urged us to interact and be part of the performance.


Cirque du Soleil performers.

Me and my niece wearing our ponchos.

The glowing ponchos during the performance.
Words simply couldn't do this show justice so here is a link to a preview on YouTube. At the beginning of the show we witnessed a life-sized elephant with built in video monitors on its side, a couple on a couch hovering above the audience and a family of four who played the new Kinect games as their platform rotated 360 degrees. I think the highlight for me was when the father played "Star Wars" using a light-saber to defeat the dark side. The combination of the electronic elements and live actors made for an awesome show.

Thank you to XBox 360 for making me the coolest aunt on the universe!