Impulse Gamer


Deca Sports: Freedom

Author: Geoff Bloom
Publisher: Hudson
Machine: Xbox 360 (US Version)

Deca Sports: Freedom

Uh oh... it's very early for the shovelware on Kinect but here it is with Sports Island Freedom, or DECA Sports: Freedom in the US. Hudson attempts to target the casual "sports" game market, just like the Nintendo Wii, but unfortunately the gameplay and accuracy leave a lot to be desired.

Boasting ten different games that require you to use your body to play, the problem with Sports Island Freedom is that only a handful of the games are actually enjoyable. The rest are actually annoying to play due to the lack of accuracy within the game itself. Even though my Kinect was successfully configured, the sensitivity of the games just wasn't there. I tried to reconfigure my Kinect about five times just to be sure - but the end result was still the same.

So what about the games? In essence, they're just a collection of mini-games like Wii Sports and Wii Resort. Just like these two aforementioned titles, some of the games are good are some are bad. I really wanted to enjoy this collection - and yes, I do realise that they were targeting younger gamers - but even those little 'uns require a little bit of respect.

Game included in Sports Island Freedom:

  1. Tennis
  2. Beach Volleyball
  3. Archery
  4. Kendo
  5. Mogul Skiiing
  6. Figure Skating
  7. Dodgeball
  8. Snowboard Cross
  9. Boxing & Paintball

As mentioned - and I'll say it again like a broken record - the biggest problem with all of them is the Kinect controls. They just don't seem to work very well. Another issue with the controls is that they are quite simplistic, opposed to the very impressive Dance Evolution which really matches the movements of your body. And then you have the game Paintball -which is a total mind mess, and where you use your arm as a gun! (Has a sip of Scotch.)

The gameplay is like playing online when you are experiencing severe lag. And, when you're playing tennis in Sports Island Freedom, sometimes it's very hard to hit the ball or hit it where you want to. Dodgeball is another game that also suffers from poor sensitivity.

There were a couple of gems that somehow I did manage to enjoy - amongst them Kendo and Archery. But, once again, even those suffered from some control issues. Then you have a really frustrating menu system! Once again, a note to developers: Please ensure that your menus are basic because the frustration of navigating the menus translates back to the game. That's probably why I enjoyed boxing in this game... because at least I could work off some frustration!

For a game that is almost a clone of Wii Sports, it's curious that the title only supports two players locally or up to four payers online. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anyone to play the game online with. The local two-player mode was "ok" because as the old saying goes, misery loves company. But, still, it was quite uninspired!

Graphically, the title is reminiscent of a Nintendo Wii game with its basic characters and backgrounds. The music sounds way too third party for my liking and the sound effects don't exert any excitement either. Even your Avatar looks a little boring, especially when it's not moving in time with you in the real world. Oh the misery. (Sips more scotch.)

For some reason, I get deja vu while I'm playing this game because surely the developers - especially Hudson! - would have learnt by now that games like this are not acceptable on the Nintendo Wii, let alone on the infinitely-more-powerful XBox 360. Oh well, just like the Move for the PlayStation 3, at least 360 owners can finally enjoy shovelware now, just like all the other console owners can.

Geoff Bloom