You might have seen the Kung Fu Live! demo sitting there in the Playstation Network Store. Or, you might have missed it like that ninja over your left shoulder. HA! He was there! I swear!
Kung Fu Live! is a Playstation 3 exclusive downloadable game that sets to bring a new type of game to all of those PS3 gamers that bought an Eye camera WAY too soon. Guess what, you’ll finally be able to use it (besides video chat).
With the Playstation Move just hitting store shelves, I had to re-read the information on Kung Fu Live! just to make sure I could play it. Most of the other demos I’ve seen will start off and mention the fact that you need a Playstation Eye camera, and then about a paragraph lower will mention how you also need the Move and Navigation controller. Or, they’ll just let you waste your time downloading said demo and then boot it up, only to realize you can’t play it. No, Kung Fu Live! is meant to be played with just the Playstation Eye camera.
The game uses you and your living room as a setting for the battlefield. In order to play, you’ll need to clear out some space in your living room. How much space you ask? How about 7 to 9 feet. 7 to 9 feet might not seem like a lot, but I had to move my couch (which is in a pretty substantial living room) all the way back to the back wall and block off a doorway. I usually have about a 2 to 3 foot walkway behind the couch, but for Kung Fu Live!, it needed all of it. After the reconfiguring of the couch, all of the coffee tables and TV trays also needed to be moved to the side as well. Like I said, you’ll basically need to turn your humble abode into a yoga studio in order to play Kung Fu Live!.
After getting the living room clear, I proceeded to calibrate my Playstation Eye camera to see my entire body in all of this new space. This is where a motion sensor and motor on the camera (like a Kinect) would have been awesome. Instead, I had to finagle and move the camera numerous times to fit my entire upper body (from my knees to my head) and my arms above my head into the picture onscreen. It’s not a big drawback, but having to calibrate and rearrange your living room every time you want to play Kung Fu Live! can get tiresome.
The main premise of Kung Fu Live! is that it puts you - the gamer - into the game. Immediately while playing it reminded me of the dodgeball game for Kinect (where you use your arms, legs and body to block dodgeballs). You are the onscreen character, and in order to do so, you’ll need your gaming area lit up like a Christmas tree in order for the PS Eye game to see you. No dark clothing, low light, or lamps nearby your “area”.
Getting put into the game is quite fun. The game recognizes when you kick, punch, and kick (SNL Molly Shannon reference)! You can jump, summersault (which involves you leaning back and putting your hands up over your head) and even do power punches (like hadoukens (sp?) in Street Fighter). The game shows you in a detailed 3D world on a 2D playing field (ala Mortal Kombat). You’ll have ninjas coming at you from all over the place. There is really no defensive side to the game, but it is really cool to punch to the left and right of your actual body on screen and have your character (well, it’s actually still you) react.
That’s pretty much it for the demo. Kung Fu Live! has got some cool elements to show off. I really do hope they step things up a little further besides posing to be put into a comic book strip and 2D fighting. I really think that something like this is a stepping stone into bigger and better gaming experiences. If only more game developers jumped on this type of bandwagon, the Playstation 3 would have more “Kinect-like experiences” without the big price tag. This was about all that was shown off for the demo, but my instincts tell me that the full game is more of the same. Fighting, unlocking powers, and more fighting - with a little bit of comic book storytelling thrown in.
And as a funny side note: Yes, you can in fact play Kung Fu Live! completely naked. I did, and it gets my Justin “D-bag” Twisted Gamer Radio stamp of approval. It started out innocent enough (don’t these stories always start out that way) as I took my belt off and tried to slap an imaginary ninja with it. Yes, I’m easily amused. Then it became a strip show for my fiance as I proceeded to drop trow and fight ninjas naked. I just wanted to see what would happen on screen, and having a naked Justin fighting ninjas was hilarious. I did however cover the bawls from any throwing star attacks, leaving me to use only one arm, but I managed okay. I wish I had screenshots of my naked fighting, but it’s probably best for you to just imagine it in your own mind. A 28-year old pasty, white, out of shape male gamer jumping around his living room covering his bawls trying to play Kung Fu Live!. Hey, don’t judge me. I had to see if it would work. And you know what? It actually picked up my white ass better with no clothes on. Double bonus! Triple point power punch! I guess I still had an advantage with my garden hose weapon in between my legs. Those ninjas ain’t got nothing on ME!
