Mars Rover Landing for Xbox 360 Kinect is an interactive way for families and kids to help guide the Mars Rover through three different phases of the craft’s landing, which in real life occurs on August 5, 2012. You’ll need to have a Kinect already in order to play it, but if you do simply download the free app from the Xbox 360 dashboard and prepare to feel like part of history.
The game can be a bit challenging for those under 7, as you need to maneuver your body to steer the Rover through the atmosphere, quickly react to activate boost charges and then gently throttle the craft to a nice soft landing on the Martian surface. But it’s all great fun, and even if it’s too hard for kids they’ll love to watch.
Mars Rover Landing for Kinect also has presentations detailing different parts of the craft’s history, assembly as well as information on its missions.
Many educators hail the potential of video games as way to provide kids with “connected” learning experiences, helping them learn while engaging them in activities they enjoy. Mars Rover Landing is a perfect illustration of the potential of connected learning, and even after the craft lands in real life is still a great free download that every family should check out.
As an even cooler educational and newsworthy collaboration, Xbox Live users are able to stream footage of the actual Mars Rover Landing as it occurs in August 2012.
Mars Rover Landing is one of the coolest game experiences we can imagine, and is the perfect family-friendly title. Mirroring the real-life Mars Rover Landing in August 2012, the Xbox 360 version for Kinect blends current events, real-life science and, best of all, is free.
INFORMATION FROM COMPANY FACT SHEET
How hard is it to land on Mars? Test your skills! Your mission: guide NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity to its landing site safely and on target. Use your body to direct the craft and control thrusters as you descend. Gain avatar gear and achievements for a safe landing. The rover’s success depends on you! The Games on Demand version supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese. This game requires a Kinect™ Sensor.