star Wars is finally coming to the Xbox Kinect

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. Will it live up to gamers’ lofty expectations?

Ever since Microsoft unveiled the Kinect, I’ve heard gamers ask about the possibility of a Star Wars game. The thought of wielding a lightsaber or dueling a Sith lord has been something that has captured the imaginations of many gamers. Microsoft officially unveiled the game at its E3 press conference in Los Angeles this week. http://laguerradelasgalaxias-starwars.blogspot.com/

I had a chance to try out the Star Wars game in one of the “Kinect Pods” at Microsoft’s booth on the E3 show floor. Here are my first impressions (and several photos) of the game:

• The graphics are solid, though they aren’t as immersive as Call of Duty or Gears of War. You won’t complain about them, but you won’t celebrate them either.
• The mechanics for using your lightsaber, using the Force, and moving are reasonably intuitive. I had to get used to using the lightsaber with my right hand (I’m a lefty), but Microsoft promises you’ll be able to switch hands in the full version of the game.
• The controls are clunky. Using the Force is decent, but you can definitely miss commands because the Kinect didn’t recognize the move. Hopefully LucasArts and Microsoft will improve the controls for the game’s launch.
• Swinging the lightsaber isn’t a killer experience yet. The lightsaber can only turn so far — there won’t be any 360-degree sword-swinging motion. It’s mostly slash and hack.
• It’s a mainly linear style of gameplay. Kinect controls aren’t ideal for exploration games (Disneyland Kinect is an important exception). In Kinect Star Wars, you’re moving forward through the storyline, jumping ledges and slashing bad guys. Hopefully the full game will be less linear and more exploratory.
• The demo ends with two Sith lords activating their lightsabers and challenging you to battle. It was a nice teaser for the lightsaber-on-lightsaber battles that will surely make or break this game.
• Overall the game feels like it has solid potential, if they can tighten up the controls. It’s still early though; the game won’t be released until Q4, 2011.