At the time of launch Kinect does have a variety of games that are fun to play and do showcase the potential that Kinect will offer down the road. Unfortunately many of these games while fun for a few hours just don't have the depth to really have you using Kinect week after week. Outside of Dance Central many of these games are fun for parties but they can quickly be figured out and the replay value can feel somewhat limited. Another game that has the potential to last you longer than just a few hours is Your Shape: Fitness Evolved.

In some ways it is difficult to really call Your Shape: Fitness Evolved a game. It's more a collection of exercise classes that monitor your progress and use Kinect's technology to track your movements. Even as you are in the menu of Your Shape deciding what to do, Kinect is displaying your movement in real time. Your avatar stands in the middle of the screen surrounded by a very surreal environment of shapes and particles swirling around. I personally like the look and think it is a lot more fresh and interesting than the bland menu you would expect in most fitness games.

How well does Kinect work tracking your body movements?

This is the big question in every Kinect game. Your Shape requires you to not just match the positions but also you must be in sync with the on screen trainer. This definitely makes you focus on your routine and get the exercise nearly perfect. In some cases I feel like I have to exaggerate the movement more than I normally would, but as I got stronger in the exercise I noticed my accuracy improve. Keeping exactly in sync however does make things more challenging than they normally would for doing an exercise. Even being just a little bit off and you will lose points. There is a lot of incentive to get the exercise exactly right although it could be nice if there was a way where you didn't have to do it exactly in time with the trainer.

On a few movements now and then Kinect does seem more picky. Very similar to Dance Central though Kinect technology is very impressive and once you are solid on a routine, you easily score well. Sometimes even subtle body positioning can make a difference. One tip I would give to gamers giving this title a try is not to blame Kinect when you don't get it the first few times. You will soon find that most of the time you were a little late in the move or your arms were perhaps not quite bent the same way.

Many fitness and workout routines to choose from

The best part of Your Shape is it looks to have something for just about everyone. There are a variety of beginning routines as well as a full selection of harder cardio and strength training workouts. At the beginning the game asks you questions and puts together a profile to recommend specific training areas. One trainer offers a circuit that works your arms. Another has an entire exercise routine to work on the hips and legs. There is also even a Zen class that is great for warmups or warm downs in the evening. Some of the sessions remain locked until you complete the more basic sessions. At the same time you start out with more than enough variety of classes to keep you busy for many weeks. Some classes you will use dumb bells for the strength training segments. If anything seems a bit under-represented is straight forward abdominal workouts. I will say however it is possible because of how I filled out my goals that I did not receive some workouts that may have been more focused on abdominal training.

Overall Conclusion

You Shape: Fitness Evolved is a content rich game that has solid exercises and does a good job of using the Kinect technology. While it is true that many of these exercises you could probably get off websites and put together your own program, it is nice to have this great collection of structured workouts. Another appealing aspect of Your Shape is the diverse and deep content it offers. This is not a game you will finish in 10 hours. There are a wide variety of work outs that should have you using your Kinect everyday for months.