Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure for Xbox 360 Reviews & Ratings by IGN

Last year's Disneyland: Kinect Adventures was an unexpectedly fun take on both Disney properties and Kinect, offering a detail-rich presentation and fun mini-games that Disney fans would undoubtedly love. Kinect Rush looks to capitalize on a similar experience. However, instead of delving into Disney's theme parks again, Kinect Rush presents a world connecting the films of Pixar, the acclaimed animation studio behind Toy Story, Up!, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and others.



Kinect Rush bears more than a passing semblance to Disneyland Kinect Adventures, as both games stick you in a central hub and allow you to explore a variety of fully-fledged worlds. However, Kinect Rush offers more of an action-adventure take, where most levels unfold in third-person action style gameplay focused on collecting coins, performing specific goals, and getting a high score at the end.

Kinect Rush Gameplay

At the start, Kinect can scan your face and create an avatar based on your appearance. Conceptually, you only need to stand in the right position and Kinect Rush will do the rest. In my case I had trouble getting the game to register my position and create an accurate likeness of me. But considering I'm taller than the game's target demographic, I figured I'd let it slide.



Kinect Rush takes five familiar Pixar films (Up!, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Cars, and Toy Story) and divvies them up into a set of missions. You'll team up with characters from established films, like Remy, Buzz Lightyear, Lightning McQueen, and others. You even gain control over a few of them and unlock them as playable characters so you can live out your Pixar fantasies.



The game's central hub area, Pixar Park, is where you'll spend time interacting with other children and making your way to areas throughout the park. As you meet Pixar Park's other denizens, you'll embark on imaginative adventures with them, completing missions and gaining unlocks through the game's themed environments. Pixar Park lacks the exploration element of Disneyland Kinect Adventures, so there not much to do between missions.





The simple act of getting around is where Kinect Rush hits a major stumbling block. To move your character forward, you have to swing your arms as though you're running in place. Changing your direction is done by turning your shoulders in the direction that you'd like your character to go. Trying to control your character isn't very intuitive, and considering it occasionally registers sidesteps instead of turns, it leads to some frustrating control moments. Couple that with unregistered and laggy motions like jumping or climbing, and the on-foot sequences feel broken.



It wouldn't be a huge deal were it not for the fact that many levels rely on platforming sequences. The way the scoring system is divided, you'll be ranked on how many coins you collect as well as how fast you complete each stage. However, when simply getting your character around in the levels is such an obstacle, reaching for that gold medal is frustrating at times.





In the stages that don't require you to walk your avatar around, the game does a fine job of blending diverse gameplay and fun controls. The Cars driving levels handle well, with responsive and intuitive hands-free controls. Holding out your arms and pretending you're holding a steering wheel feels as natural as it could, and steering was responsive and fun. Unfortunately, these driving sequences greatly outnumbered the lackluster on-foot missions.



Kinect Rush's look fares quite a bit better. The characters boast a nice detailed look that does a fine job of mirroring their movie counterparts. Also, the environments are nicely detailed and capture the spirit of the films. The sound effects are also well done, although there is quite a bit of repetition in the dialogue, particularly when your co-op buddies dole out the same hints seconds apart like broken records.

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