Kinect Sports Rivals

Kids will learn about exercise and healthy competition in this motion-controlled sports compilation. The game requires kids to physically mimic movements in each event, making realistic swings to hit a ball in tennis and stretching and reaching for handholds in rock climbing. It can make for a surprisingly intense cardiovascular workout. Plus, kids will get to know the basics about various sports and even get to engage in some healthy social competition, both locally and online. Kinect Sports Rivals gets kids off the couch and lets them learn a little more about half a dozen sports.

Kids become the star of the game, thanks to a neat trick in which the Kinect sensor scans the player's face to create a digital likeness. Plus, kids' movements in front of the sensor are captured and replicated onscreen. Animations between games in which the computer takes control of the player's character makes him or her appear to be competitive but positive. 

A rock climbing mini-game lets players pull rivals off a mountain face. Yanked characters dissolve into pixels as they fall. They reappear on the cliff a few seconds later. Climbers can also get a jolt of electricity if they touch an obstacle, resulting in short shriek of pain and another fall. Another event has players firing fake guns by pointing their fingers at the screen. However, the targets are discs rather than other characters. A jet-ski game includes mines in the water that explode if riders come near, causing the player's character to disappear and respawn.