Are you into EXTREME sports and want to make your gaming more EXTREME too? Then Motionsports Adrenaline is probably not the title for you! Or anyone else. Ever.

The various sports you can compete in are:

· Windsurfing
· Mountain biking
· Wingsuit
· Mountain climbing
· Kayak
· Extreme Ski

In windsurfing mode, you tilt your fists to move around and collect coins, grind along rails and jump up ramps and then do tricks by imitating the little floating silhouettes. You get ADRENALINE from tricks and uh, coins, which you can use for an ADRENALINE BOOST. So that you can go faster and possibly miss the next ramp, because the controls are so unresponsive. And who windsurfs in a bikini? Really?

In the mountain biking mode, you tilt your fists to move around and collect coins, grind along rails and jump up ramps and… WAIT, I already played this game! Yes, you get to do the exact same thing again, but on a bike instead of windsurfing, or skiing or even while in a Kayak.

Wingsuit is slightly different, in that you don’t have to grind rails or jump over ramps, but you are still stuck collecting coins and avoiding large pillars of rock that want to slow your descent down. Also, you get to look like this guy in a squirrel suit. I am also trying to work out whether you’re not falling downwards, or if the world is a Discworld with trees jutting out at all angles.

Mountain climbing is completely different from all the other modes, but not refreshingly so. By holding your arms to your chest and grabbing above you, your character climbs up to very obvious hand-holds. Jump to make your character reach a farther away point. So in this mode you jump. A lot. You also get to watch your character do nothing when the Kinect doesn’t pick up where your hands are, because they have gone way above your head. Instead of climbing faster your ADRENALINE gives you a shield to avoid the rockfalls from damaging your addled brain.

As you complete an event, you gain score which counts not only to your medal, but also adds into a cumulative unlock pool that gives new outfits and upgrades. Each event has three tracks, set in different locations with varying levels of difficulty. Added to this is a competitive challenge mode, which automatically posts your good scores online. Your ghost will then appear in other players’ races, where they will attempt to beat your score or speed run. Beat a challenge for unlocks and extra score, or post a challenge that doesn’t get beaten for a week for the same rewards.

If all this didn’t slow you down, you can enter an event, which strings 10 of these events together. Yes, TEN, and your score doesn’t count if your drop out early. Get ready for a long, sweaty session as you jump, bounce and tilt your way through this marathon.

Then there’s the multiplayer. In some events, players take turns controlling a single character. To swap, players get prompted to simultaneously strike a pose. If done incorrectly, players suffer a speed penalty. In other events, players compete at the same time. If you don’t have quite enough space in your play area, this can lead to injury and a very confused Kinect sensor.

Scoring

Gameplay: 1/10

While it can be fun to try to jump and pose your arms, most gamers play games because they couldn’t become ballerinas, or extreme sports masters. Jumping up and down on the same spot should be reserved to skipping rope, and not being able to get a perfect score on a level due to the controls letting them down will infuriate most players. Overly repetitive moves become annoying instead of natural.

Design and Presentation: 3/10

Menus are slow and cumbersome to traverse. Environment graphics look like they come from an Xbox (i.e. they’re a whole generation behind), with obvious stutter and frame rate loss. Boring, generic characters with unimaginative outfits complete a package that just screams quick cash-in.

Value: 2/10

With less than 50 unlockables, this game has very little depth. Add to this several very similar game modes and this game will fade from your memory fast.

Overall: 2/10

After the original Motionsports was released around the same time as the Kinect, the response was ‘lacks polish and effort’ and ‘let down by bad controls’. If only Ubisoft had listened to the resounding roar of gamer mockery that was spewed across forums everywhere, and had produced a better sequel. Kinect gaming has grown in leaps and bounds since the launch of the voyeuristic device, and gamers expect a lot more from their Kinect games now.