New titles expanding on Kinect's abilities

Here is a reason to be glad you invested in a Kinect.

When Microsoft launched Kinect last year, the accompanying software lineup included plenty of dance games, exercise games and other titles aimed squarely at attracting the casual crowd. Yet while many of those first-generation games were fun, they did little to sell Kinect to Microsoft's core gaming audience.

That fact hasn't been lost on Microsoft, which used its E3 press briefing earlier this year to spotlight Kinect and showcase its potential to the hardcore crowd. The first wave of those titles geared toward core gamers has finally arrived. And while the overall results are mixed, the unique ways in which they utilize Kinect's motion-tracking capabilities reveal just how much potential the system truly has.

Not that I'm a serious gamer by any means. But without gamer-style games, you end up with a product that won't have the people who are spending the most money and passion on games paying attention to the Kinect. Chumps like me need these folks to drive investment and innovation in a product we like.

At the same time, I get sad when I read about the possible death of dance titles. I also get confused when I hear that a title like this is going to change the face of dance titles.

Boom Boom Dance will not ask players to mirror complicated dance routines performed by pre-animated on-screen dancers.

Instead, as shown in the debut trailer, players will directly control an on-screen avatar, performing freestyle dance moves in an attempt to hit on-screen balls in time with the music.

I'm not sure how "freestyle dance moves while hitting marks" does not equal a marks-hitting game that can be done sans-dancing. But I love surprises.

It looks like a decent way to get a workout, assuming you like the music, though.