Today we bring you a new commercial touting the capabilities of the Xbox 360's Kinect motion control peripheral in Mass Effect 3. The Kinect has been a whipping boy for many gamers since it's announcement, and this video is probably not going to change that. At all. As a semi-proud owner of the device, I can definitively say, "It's okay, I guess."
The new video displays some very cool commands. I can appreciate what they're trying to do, but I'd rather tap a button than say "Shotgun," especially if I'm trying to down a triple Baconator while I play. If the VC work well this may really change the way people game. A lot of my friends already scream at their TV's when gaming, so this seems like a natural progression. Fair warning, if I walk into a room and hear you yelling "Carnage," and "Liara - Move," I will take it upon myself to constantly work the word "frag grenade" into the conversation. God help you if ME3 will let me pause/unpause your game.
I know I can use my Kinect to run my Xbox 360 dashboard, either through motion controls or with my voice. It works very well, but after about two minutes I went back to using the controller. I have not played Mass Effect 3 with the Kinect, so I can't attest to the accuracy of the voice commands. If they're anything like the voice commands in my car, I expect to be making calls to my Grandma whenever I really want to throw a grenade.
Of course, all of this is fine and dandy, until I have to hear you issue voice commands on the other end of the mic. If I ask you to use your shotgun, will I switch to my shotgun? How exactly is this going to work with co-op? Easy answer: It won't. There won't be any Kinect voice commands in Mass Effect 3's co-op mode. Logistically, it makes sense.
What do you think, folks? Do you enjoy verbally ordering characters around, or would you rather use your tried and true controller? Do PS3, PC, and Kinect-less 360 owners feel slighted? Let the Kinect love/hate fest begin!
Mass Effect 3 will launch on March 6th for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3. It supports four player online co-op.