So, I played a bit of Dragon Ball Z Kinect yesterday and (*surprise!* ) I didn’t hate it at all. It looks great (well, for a DBZ game), the controls are simple enough to understand (I’d say most fans will appreciate them more than non-fans) and yes, there’s a good workout in there with all that punching, ducking and occasional jumping you’ll be doing.I didn’t ask if there was a calorie counter option, but they will definitely be burned as this game is played…

That’s a good thing, although I’d bet once it hit stores, more kids will enjoy the game than adults. I was about to keel over like a fallen oak tree after one fight. Maybe Namco Bandai is planning some sort of revenge on jaded, out of shape games journalists who keep knocking them when they try to do something different. Then again, I’m not jaded, just really out of shape. The amount of physical exertion needed to play DBZ keeps it from really being a “casual” game experience and it looks as if families with a Kinect in the living room will be getting another game to keep them occupied (and relocating furniture before a foot goes through it).

That said, I’m wondering about the future of Kinect as far as games go, because even something as no-brainer instant hit friendly as Dance Central seems to have lost its way. The upcoming sequel features an unnecessary and intentionally bad story mode that, while not EVEN meant to be taken seriously, shows too much over-thinking in its concept. It’s also a lot less trusting of the person playing the game who just wants to get down. Well, whatever. I’m most likely wrong and it’ll probably sell a ton of copies despite the stupid story mode…  but I’m just sayin’. Ubioft has sold millions of copies of the Just Dance games by Just letting users Dance.

Ever since its launch, it’s been a pretty bumpy ride for Microsoft’s peripheral despite the initial success the unit had among what seems to be a more casual user base. While there have been (and still are) some interesting and fun games for Kinect, what stands out to critics and message board trolls are the not so good games.  Fighters Uncaged, Rise of Nightmares and most recently, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor have not exactly been blowing people away, but then again, if you’re a dedicated Kinect supporter, you’re taking the good with the bad just like anyone who plays games on any console does.

While Kinect does have some decent non-gaming applications and a handful of really fun games such as Wreckateer, Child of Eden (which isn’t an exclusive) and The Gunstringer (one of a small but growing number of title that’s a must-buy), I don’t think controller-free gameplay will be taking over the living room for a while. That said, Double Fine Happy Action Theater should be the pack in forever (well, as long as Kinect is part of Microsoft’s game plans) and Microsoft needs to get a few really solid games published in a row that are good enough for even the most jaded motion control haters out there to give the thumbs up to even if they won’t be buying. Eh, again – we’ll see what the future holds. MS is more than committed to Kinect, so it’s not going anywhere soon, that’s for sure.