MotionSports for Kinect is a collection of six different sporting events, most of which can be enjoyed by families with kids of nearly every age.

Families will be able to use their bodies via Microsoft’s Kinect controller for Xbox 360 to participate in Horseback Riding, Skiing, American Footall, Hang Gliding, Boxing and Soccer.  Each one requires slightly different movements to control it, and each sport contains a number of different levels and styles that make the game feel like it contains more than just six different games to choose from.

The initial set up for Motionsports is very simple, with players performing a quick calibration by placing their hands in certain squares of the screen.  Instead of a hovering hand like many Kinect selections, the game asks players to swipe their right hand along the bottom of the screen in order to continue on.

The overall point of Motionsports is for players to earn as many points as possible in the various sports and events in order to increase their fame.  Players start as local celebrities, and can work their way up to becoming national and even world stars. 

One cool thing that the game does is utilize the pictures that are taken both during set up and in gameplay and uses them as billboards throughout the game.  There are also times when playing events that you can see a giant scoreboard with a jumbotron in the stadium, and the image is that of a live look at the point of the view of the Kinect camera.

Even though families can access all six of the different sports right away, there is only way to play each event right from the beginning.  All of the other different play modes are locked, and can only be unlocked by playing through the other levels successfully.  For example, in Soccer you must complete the Penalty Kick event before you’re able to unlock other ways to play, such as Midfield kicks or Rewrite History.

One other thing that we really noticed in Motionsports is the very long load times between selecting a sporting event and being able to play.  The game does offer gameplay tips while you’re waiting, but sometimes you’ll be able to read six or more of them while waiting for your game to load up.

Motionsports does also provide a lot of opportunity for multiplayer gameplay.  All the mini-games are either two- or four-player, and this is clearly visible from the selection screen.   Two player games are able to be played simultaneously, while the games that support  up to four players require players to take turns.

There are times when Motionsports makes controlling the action feel very easy and natural, such as in soccer or hang gliding.  But other times, the controls seem either unresponsive or overly sensitive.  And when you do make mistakes on the course, the game’s commentator lets you know about it.  In fact, it seems like he has only two types of phrases – extremely positive priaise and overly critical commentary.  So you may find yourself hearing things like how badly you are skiing when you go off course or miss a gate, but then immediately hear how you are having a perfect run if you follow that up with a good jump. 

As far as the actual gameplay, each event has at least six different ways to play it.  Here’s a brief description of the different sports and events:

Horseback Riding – Players control their horses by pretending to hold the reins, and can jump over obstacles while steering.  The game offers a Beginner Course, Short Race, Novice Course, Intermediate Course, Advanced Course and Deluxe Course.

Skiing  - Players lean forward to go fast, and lean from side to side to steer.  We found that the controls were very sensitive, and in order to have success you need to make very slight movements.  The Super G varieties of skiing ask players to go downhill as fast as you can, while in Ski Cross players are racing against other competitors.  The Skiing events are Bounty Super G, Ski Cross, Bounty Ski Cross, Ski Jump, Super G, Super G Extreme and Ski Cross Extreme

Football – American Football in Motionsports combines action as a running back, jumping and crouching over obstacle with the ability to play as quarterback trying to accurately throw passes at targets.  There’s even a kicking mode of the game.  The Football options are Vertical Run, Lateral Run, Running Back, Quarterback, Kicker, Standing Target Throw and Moving Target Throw

Hang Gliding – This in our opinion was one of the coolest and most unique Kinect experiences that Motionsports had to offer.  Players need to hold arms out to simulate flying, lean back and lift up arms to gain altitude.  Leaning back makes you go slower and leaning down makes you go faster, but you’l l need to use that speed to glide as far as you can and hit “thermals” to regain altitude.  Different mini-game modes ask players to fly through different parts of the world, from Leaving the Nest and As the Crow Flies to Rising High, The Stone Labyrinth, Summer Skyline, Cave Gliding, Rendezvous Point, and Freedom.

Boxing – Although probably the best workout in Motionsports, this game was also our most frustrating.  Players can block, jab, hook and uppercut, but we found it kind of difficult to tell when we were landing hits and getting hit, because even though you are viewing the action from the perspective of the boxer, and your arms do not swing onscreen.  Also, at times it felt like our punches weren’t doing anything.  This was our least favorite of the mini-games, and being that based on fighting, is the least family friendly.  So we’d say that we still like and recommend Motionsports despite this mode.  Each level in Boxing is named after the fighter you take on, and they are The Amazonian Devil, Professor Pound, Suleiman, El Chupacabra, Midnight Express and The Czar.

Soccer – Soccer is one of the most satisfying and fun parts of Motionsports, and is perfect for two player competitive play.  You’ll need to pretend to set the ball down, and then step back and control your kicks as you try and get past the goalkeeper.  In both the one and two player modes, you’ll also play the goalie, working to block kicks from the opposing team.  After starting with the Penalty Shootout, you can unlock other modes such as Scoring Zone, Midfield Kick and Target Shooting.  There are also modes based on real-life games called Rewrite History, which ask you to take some re-created famous soccer kicks.

Overall we think Motionsports is a nice collection of different games which will get families moving around and competing in lots of different ways.  Soccer, Football and Hang Gliding were our definitely highlights, but we did find some modes to be more difficult than others, like Skiing.  Also, we think the boxing mode is worth skipping entirely for families.  Ubisoft’s Motionsports for Kinect offers enough fun and engaging gameplay highlights for us to recommend it for families who wants engage in some active gameplay to see who’s the best.

*FamilyFriendlyVideoGames.com Favorite* - This was one of our favorite family-friendly video games we saw at the E3 video game trade show in Los Angeles in June.