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Child of Eden Preview Xbox Kinect

Child of Eden Preview

I very very rarely use the word “beautiful” to describe much in this world. To date, there are only 3 things that I can consider to describe that way. First and foremost, is my loving girlfriend: Grace. (Who I know reads this <3) Secondly, the charitable spirit of humanity when some huge disaster shakes the foundations of our society and planet. And third, media that is able to deliver visuals that are so stunning, so breath taking, they leave a lasting impression on you for a long time to come. There is no other way I can really describe the visual spectacle that is ‘Child of Eden’, besides beautiful. But then again, what else would you expect from Leader Director Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the same creative mind behind Sega Rally, Space Channel 5, and most significantly: Lumines.The premise of the game is remarkably simple, and yet complex. The “system” that holds and dictates all of Earth’s natural beauty is corrupted.  As you play through each stage, your goal is to cleanse the system of the corruption and restore beauty to the world. Using only your hands, your objective to neutralise the corrupted “data” within a system. As players do so, they are offered a visual feast of digital shapes bending, moving, reshaping into visually stunning effects and beings, whilst accompanied by a cacophony of music that can really drive the emotional response of the player. This is especially true due to the use of the Kinect system, where the player feels like they are at one with the world they are playing in.

Basically, gameplay involved using our hands to aim and lock-on to targets that represented the corrupted data in the Matrix system. Up to eight targets could be targetted at once, with the game letting us know we’ve reached the lock-on limit by chaning the opacity of the targetting crosshair. Once targets were lock-on to, a quick forwards thrust of the hand sends blue bolts of energy flying out to purify the targetted bits and bytes. At the point where targets have been acquired, the player may also feel the sudden urge to yell out a particular catchphrase they’ve learned from popular culture. For me, it had to be “Targetted and Firing” -Lockon Stratos of Gundam 00. But I digress… In addition to the lock-on targetting system, a quick clap of your hands will change your armament to the tracer beam. This weapon would primarily be used defensively to shred apart any corruption attacks any enemies may fling at you. Just as with any shooter stlye game, yes, you do have a health bar. Finally, you are also able to utilise the power of power-ups that you can find in the feild. The most significant of which are the “happy bomb” and “healing sphere” which can both destroy and create at the same time. All the while, playing through this, the player is treated to a wild, and yet calming experience, made all the more satifying through movement control.

Essentially, the game is an on-the-rails shooter that has a very cyber punk feels to it. I couldn’t help but make the combination in my mind of this game being a combined product of Starfox, Geometry wars, Just Dance and a little bit of Star Wars.  The game will also be available for compatibility with the Playsation Move for PS3. Additionally, it should be noted that Child of Eden CAN be played without motion sensors, and is completely playable with the use of a controller. However, from my experience with it, every gamer should take the opportunity to experience the movement flow for yourself. Described as a Rhythm Action game for the Kinect, regardless of what sort of gamer you are, I can only say that you will be missing on a something truly amazing if you don’t give this a try.

Michael Marr
Michael Marr
I'm one of your typical Generation Y gamers who began my lifelong obsession with video games at the age of 3. I'm currently a university student living in Sydney Australia with the hopes of pursuing a career in a creative media, whether that be writing, publishing, artistic, or any of the like.Favourite game series': Sonic/Halo/Left 4 Dead Favourite anime: Gundam Favoutire Console: Xbox360 Favourite TV show: Firefly Favourite Pokemon: Jolteon