The wait for Dragon’s Lair to arrive on Xbox 360 is finally over. Fans who envied Playstation 3 owners for receiving the game first will be pleased with the extras that were included in this release.
For starters, this version of DL supports Kinect. Using your body as a controller makes the game more accessible to gamers who struggled with the controls in previous versions. A Kinect tutorial is included to introduce the player to the gesture guide.
The gesture guide is a series of icons that appear on-screen when Dirk needs to avoid a dangerous situation. When one of these icons appear, the player must respond accordingly to increase their score and/or save Dirk from perishing.
Dragon’s Lair Kinect includes three game modes — Adventure, Quest, and Daring. Adventure mode is divided into rounds and Dirk the Daring cannot not die. The player is scored on how well they time their moves. When a gesture icon appears, the player must step in the appropriate direction or swing their arm to attack.
The actions are very basic and require the player to move either left, right, forward or back. Certain rooms like the Burning Ropes require the player to reach up to mimic grabbing a rope. The Mudmen Room is entirely different; you must run in place to finish the entire scene.
The game keeps track of your progress by monitoring your movements. For every move done correctly, the game will produce a green silhouette behind Dirk the Daring. For every move missed or timed incorrectly, a red silhouette will appear. The best way to avoid missing a move is to wait for the gesture icon to turn green.
Performing an action too early or missing it entirely will result in a lower score. When the round ends, you are graded on your overall performance. The game bases your score on the following criteria: perfect moves, good moves, and missed moves.
Quest Mode plays no different than Adventure mode, but Dirk can die if you miss too many moves. This mode is for intermediate players and should only be attempted after you feel comfortable with the play mechanics. Daring mode plays like the original coin-op; missing a single move will result in Dirk the Daring’s death.
This mode is not only strenuous on the body, but you must be 100% accurate with your timing. The biggest challenge is overcoming some of the bigger rooms. The Checkerboard Knight, the Trap Room and many others have you moving constantly. You can almost relate to how Dirk feels by the time you reach the eighth or ninth room.
Unique to the Kinect version is a co-op mode where two players can take turns playing the game. If one player dies, the other gets to play. This happens to be a lot of fun and it works surprisingly well. Plus, with the newly added photo feature, the game can take snaphots of you while playing. You don’t realize how ridiculous you look until you’ve seen the photographs. This feature is great for a laugh, especially when you’re playing with a friend.
Dragon’s Lair Kinect also includes 12 achievements, an online leader board, a feature to watch the game play itself, and the original attraction mode from the coin-op. There’s even an option to play the game with a controller.
Digital Leisure did a fantastic job on Dragon’s Lair Kinect. Gamers of all ages can now enjoy this classic without having to worry about the controls. If you’ve always wanted to play Dragon’s lair but was turned off by its difficulty, then this is the version to own. This is by far the best version of Dragon’s Lair available, bar none.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Xbox 360/Kinect (Available on Xbox Live Arcade)
Developer: Digital Leisure
Publisher: Digital Leisure
ESRB: E 10+ (Everyone 10+)
Price: 800 MSPoints
Dragon’s Lair Kinect Official Website
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Dirk has never looked better in HD. | |
| Sound | |
| Like previous version, the sound is arcade perfect. | |
| Gameplay | |
| The Kinect adds a new dimension of gameplay to Dragon's Lair | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| If you don't already own Dragon's Lair for another console system, this is the version to own. | |
