Microsoft Unveils Two Natal Games Early

[Tom Goldman]

Microsoft Unveils Two Natal Games Early

If you're dying to know what games Microsoft will bring to Natal's table, now we know about two more.

Microsoft has been fairly tight-lipped on the kinds of Natal games/experiences that it'll be showing off at E3, aside from Ricochet, a ball blocking Pong-style game, and LA Times [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100101-River-Rush-is-Natal-Rafting-and-Molesting-Game], a couple more have shaken from the MicroTree.

The games were shown off to a "handful" of journalists in Redmond, Washington. Get ready, because their concepts are going to blow your not-currently-able-to-understand Natal mind!

First up, we have Living Statue. This game records players' movements through Natal and translates them to their Xbox Live avatars. Finally, some life will be breathed into those little guys. Players can also sing along with their dancing or whatever movements they choose to make, and when finished will be able to email the disaster/masterpiece to their friends. This is supposedly a way to get Natal players involved with Xbox Live. Hm, I wonder if Living Statue will be misused somehow. Nah.

The second new Natal game is called Obstacle Course. The LA Times says it will have players "pull, dodge and jump" their way through, well, an obstacle course. I'm expecting to at least have to step through tires, jump over hurdles, and maybe a rope climb. Microsoft should definitely take this idea to the next level and bring Double Dare [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dare_%281986_game_show%29] to Natal. I would be all over it if I could pick a flag out of the fake boogers of a giant nose.

Living Statue, Obstacle Course, Ricochet, and River Rush are most likely pack-ins with the purchase of Natal. The Times also says that about a dozen more Natal-licensed games by other developers will be shown off at E3 2010, which is next week.

Source: LA Times [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-microsoft-20100613,0,5750062.story]


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[Cabisco]

You know I really do like the idea of Natal but with each and every game that I hear about makes me wonder if it's at all worth it. Especially if the rumours are true and it's more like £150 rather than £50.

 

[Jared]

Sounds like gimmick games so far...lets hope its not the trend...

 

[StriderShinryu]

Nothing really shocking here though the Living Statue (what's with that terrible name, btw?) is interesting. It'll be nice to see how your motions translate to your Avatar.. assuming it works well.

 

[Delusibeta]

Sounds more like tech demos than actual games. Although Wii Play demonstrated you can sell tech demos if the sweeteners are good enough.

 

[TheZapper]

They seem to be doing a pretty good job of making Natal look as gimmicky and uninteresting as possible, don't they?

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Wow. Way to shake things up Microsoft. Living statue isn't even a game! They better show off some good titles soon that the Wii can't do.

 

[RobCoxxy]

Wii Sports was a fun release game for Wii. Thes just sound like the tacky third party shit games for the Wii you find EVERRRRRYWHHEEEEEERE.

 

[luvd1]

Woo hoo. Now those are what I've been waiting my whole 32 years of gaming for. This is the future of gaming. Charades for the unimaginative. So we've to play games people used to play before they invented computers. And they want us to pay them money to do this? Clever.

 

[Digikid]

Forget the games...I just wanna know when Natal will be available to purchase.

 

[Trivun]

The second new Natal game is called Obstacle Course. The LA Times says it will have players "pull, dodge and jump" their way through, well, an obstacle course. I'm expecting to at least have to step through tires, jump over hurdles, and maybe a rope climb. Microsoft should definitely take this idea to the next level and bring Double Dare [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Dare_%281986_game_show%29] to Natal. I would be all over it if I could pick a flag out of the fake boogers of a giant nose.

This might sound odd, but I'd personally love to see Ninja Warrior turned into a Natal game. Of course, it'd be nowhere near the strenuous and difficult challenges of the actual show, but as a game it'd be pretty interesting, and definitely fun. Failing that, Total Wipeout (just 'Wipeout' to you folks in the USA...). See if I can get past the Big Red Balls myself, or fail miserably...

To be honest, I'm really looking forward to Natal, whether the games for it are all casual titles or not. I doubt Microsoft will do what Nintendo did and just move to making mostly casual games, since they have too big a 'hardcore' fanbase (we're talking about the guys behind Halo, after all...). So I fully expect at least one, if not more, of the E3 announcements to be Natal-capabilities for hardcore titles, and by the end of the year several other hardcore games released or announced that will be Natal-compatible. And Fable 3 has been rumoured to possibly utilise Natal as an optional thing to some degree, sine we already know Peter Molyneux is on board for it. I think everyone complaining about Natal is pretty much jumping on the bandwagon, because Anoia forbid we should ever change the existing system and experiment a little. Ah well, we'll see if E3 changes any minds, for better or worse.

Although I am concerned about the apparent price tag. I highly doubt it will cost in the hundreds of pounds/dollars/euros/whatever, but I can't see it being cheap. My guess is that the price will be somewhere between the current massive estimates and the original idea of £20-£30. Possibly perhaps £60-£70, or equivalent. That's just what I think though, again, we'll have to wait and see. Maybe there'll be a price announcement at E3 as well, but I doubt it.

 

[StayPuff]

sweet more gimmick games like the wii but with out the controller

seriously anyone else remember the epic fail that was the eye toy?

 

[subtlefuge]

You can't get people's hopes up like that with Ricochet. I immediately thought the old HL mod, and my heart jumped. Now no matter what they release I'll think of it as lame.

 

[CyberKnight]

Double Dare? You really think that would be a good idea? I don't know...