PM Takes Project Natal For A Test Drive (With Video!)

• Microsoft
• Xbox360
• breakthrough awards
• gaming

Microsoft’s Project Natal is here today. At least it’s here in PM’s offices.

Microsoft's next-generation, controller-free video game interface has only been shown in public a couple of times—and never before on the East Coast. Tonight, attendees at PM's Breakthrough Awards ceremony will get the chance to play with it. Of course, as we set up the event, we couldn't resist taking the ridiculously anticipated system for a test drive.

The verdict: Holy cow. There has been a lot of hype surrounding Natal ever since it was first shown off at E3, and I had been skeptical, considering how much Microsoft has limited access to the system since then. But actually being up close with it is a transformative experience—I am reminded of the first time I played the Nintendo Entertainment System, 20 years ago. As I played, my mind was racing with future possibilities for the platform. Hide behind cabinets to take cover in Halo: ODST! Hold the air to Tango with a virtual dance partner halfway across the world! Lets just put it this way: I want this. And if you thought the Wii did a good job of getting casual gamers out of the woodwork, this thing is going to blow it away.

I got to try out two games: a driving game and a full-body Breakout-like game. Both were great (the Breakout-like game being the better of the two), but the real fun was simply playing around with the body mapping. In the Breakout-like game, a full-body silhouette is projected onto the screen. As you move, it mimics your movements—with startling accuracy. To test its mettle, I broke out some dance moves—moonwalking and sliding across the floor. No matter how fast or furious my movements were, the system kept up pitch-perfect body mapping. Hands disappearing behind my back? No problem. Body entering a rapid-fire 360 spin? Cake.

Of course, the real challenge will be creating games that are still fun, even after the novelty wears out. There's also the issue of fatigue—jumping around a room can be tiring, especially if it forces people to walk or jump around a room in order to convey simple controls such as moving a character. This is something Natal's engineers are very aware of. "A lot of the human factors we put into it are aimed at keeping people from fatiguing," Alex Kipman, one of Natal's inventors, told me. So even if you like breaking a sweat when you play your games, you thankfully won't be forced to.

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