You might watch this trailer for Michael Phelps: Push the Limit on Kinect and wince. At the awful acting, the uncomfortable hand gestures, at the sight of a man in speedos bending over more than once.
You might then, and this is entirely reasonable, decide never to watch it again. But then you’d be missing out.
The game’s developers didn’t want to make a game like this. They make the game their studio tells them to make, because like the rest of us they need to eat, pay the rent and buy shoes.
Bearing that in mind, look at the small details where they’ve said “stuff it, let’s try and make the most of this”. Like those enormous stadiums, the fireworks, the fancy visual effects spinning around the swimmers as they stand on the block. The way they captured footage of Phelps looking equal parts bemused and disinterested and used the footage anyway. Because it’s awesome.
Basically, they’ve tried to make the uncoolest game on Kinect slightly cool, and I think they’ve succeeded.
Shame they couldn’t do anything about the fact the game looks both awful and tiring, but hey, whaddyagonnado.
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