The game TotemBall is the first reason to own a 360 Vision Camera other than giving your friends and other people across the globe the whirlybird
, but is it a good reason? While the game is free as a download from XBL Marketplace, the Vision Camera is not (it retails in bundles from $39.99-$79.99).
According to Xbox.com the story behind TotemBall is as follows, "The members of the ancient Ptolmec tribe compose striking and innovative music in TotemBall. When they simultaneously discover gunpowder and barbeque, the explosive results scatter their musical totems across the breadth of the jungle! Now Pterry the Pturtle must roll across mountains, islands, bridges, and through giant pinball games to retrieve the lost totems and bring the groovy Ptolmec music back to the party. Using your Xbox Live® Vision camera, help Pterry recover all the musical totems while moving to the totem beat."
So, what does that mean to you as the player? Very little.
First off, I was worried about calibrating the camera to use with the game. I was anticipating a Silent Scope Light rifle-like experience which was not pleasant, to say the least. However, set up was extremely easy. The camera ghosts an image of you on the screen and you simply stand in front of your camera and move your arms up and down. The controls were surprisingly easy to use. Using your arms as an X and Y axis you move your TotemBall forward, back ward, turn and bounce it. The only problem I really had with the controls was moving out of the area of the camera, but I got used to the area after a bit.
I mostly explored the single player mode. As you move around and collect Totems to build up your musical TotemBall, you collect different treasures and earn points and multipliers. The game can be pretty tiring because you are holding your arms up most of the time when you are playing the game. However, you can also stop on bed icons throughout levels which allow you to briefly rest your arms.
Other modes such as CO-OP allow one person to use a controller and the other to use the Camera in a Juggle game. I did not have a chance to explore these modes in detail, but they seemed like they could be fin.
Overall, TotemBall may not be a reason to buy the camera, but is enjoyable and it’s a good start for the Vision Camera. I’d say it’s an innovative game, but it’s not the first interactive video game camera on the market (thanks playstation). It’s defiantly cool because it is exploring new ground for video games and helps open the door for developers not interested in “traditional” video games. My wife (Who is not a gamer enjoyed the Xbox and YourselfFitness) had fun playing it because she likes the exercise aspect. So, if you are looking into getting your significant other involved in gaming, this could be an opportunity.
According to Xbox.com the story behind TotemBall is as follows, "The members of the ancient Ptolmec tribe compose striking and innovative music in TotemBall. When they simultaneously discover gunpowder and barbeque, the explosive results scatter their musical totems across the breadth of the jungle! Now Pterry the Pturtle must roll across mountains, islands, bridges, and through giant pinball games to retrieve the lost totems and bring the groovy Ptolmec music back to the party. Using your Xbox Live® Vision camera, help Pterry recover all the musical totems while moving to the totem beat."
So, what does that mean to you as the player? Very little.
First off, I was worried about calibrating the camera to use with the game. I was anticipating a Silent Scope Light rifle-like experience which was not pleasant, to say the least. However, set up was extremely easy. The camera ghosts an image of you on the screen and you simply stand in front of your camera and move your arms up and down. The controls were surprisingly easy to use. Using your arms as an X and Y axis you move your TotemBall forward, back ward, turn and bounce it. The only problem I really had with the controls was moving out of the area of the camera, but I got used to the area after a bit.
I mostly explored the single player mode. As you move around and collect Totems to build up your musical TotemBall, you collect different treasures and earn points and multipliers. The game can be pretty tiring because you are holding your arms up most of the time when you are playing the game. However, you can also stop on bed icons throughout levels which allow you to briefly rest your arms.
Other modes such as CO-OP allow one person to use a controller and the other to use the Camera in a Juggle game. I did not have a chance to explore these modes in detail, but they seemed like they could be fin.
Overall, TotemBall may not be a reason to buy the camera, but is enjoyable and it’s a good start for the Vision Camera. I’d say it’s an innovative game, but it’s not the first interactive video game camera on the market (thanks playstation). It’s defiantly cool because it is exploring new ground for video games and helps open the door for developers not interested in “traditional” video games. My wife (Who is not a gamer enjoyed the Xbox and YourselfFitness) had fun playing it because she likes the exercise aspect. So, if you are looking into getting your significant other involved in gaming, this could be an opportunity.
