Now, putting aside my well-documented desire to become a Kung-Fu master, I’ve really quite enjoyed my hands-on time with Kung Fu Live, this lighthearted side-scrolling beat-em-up from Virtual Air Guitar, due to be released on the PlayStation Network towards the end of the year.
You could call that hands-and-feet-on time, actually, because Kung Fu Live uses ingenious skeletal tracking technology to monitor your bodily movements, then maps your moves to a real image of you in-game. The result is a game which is both amusing and noticeably accurate – controls are admittedly a little challenging to master, but regardless, you’re guaranteed to get a good workout with this game. You’re sweating profusely in seconds.
It’s more of a workout than Wii Fit, even, and it wouldn’t have been too weird to see a calorie counter in one of the corners.
This could be you! (Hairy chest optional.)
So, let’s talk special abilities. These include a bolt of electricity that you’re able to fire from your fingers, and a ground stomp ability. These powers are unleashed via the position of your arms, and are always satisfying in their outcome. Some of the moves look slightly lacking in their execution – the backflip, for example, is literally your image rotated, and as humorous as this is to watch, it does withdraw you from the game slightly. It kinda highlights the disadvantages of using such technology, too. Safety note: I not suggesting anyone really does a backflip. (You never know. There’s always one.)
Environment interaction is basic, yet feels very satisfying as you launch various objects at enemies, adding to combinations of attacks. You end up almost in the same mentality as you would while playing a sandbox game, constantly striving to push Kung Fu Live to its limits and see how far you can experiment.
Comic sections at the beginning of each level separate the action well, giving you time to catch your breath. Your image is placed within these sequences, as they ask you to pose beforehand. The results are hilarious, adding to a noticeable sense of humour than ran consistently throughout my time with the game.
There are ten levels in Kung Fu Live, all offering a variety of enemies and locations which are challenging yet similar in approach, and don’t seem to vary too much from the games formula. At times, enemies feel slightly sluggish in their movements yet dealt considerable amounts of damage, posing a considerable threat. The difficulty gets surprisingly tough as you progress, too, with thuggish opponents putting up a serious challenge towards the end.
Firing electric death from your fingertips has never been more satisfying.
Multiplayer, too, is interesting, letting you battle up to four controller-wielding friends as they take the reigns of various foes. It seems like it could be a hardy challenge as you all flail around at the incoming opponents in this game mode – especially fun if you manage to convince someone you secretly hate to play the game with you.
There’ll be no online ‘camera vs camera’ fighting, unfortunately – it seems like a feature that’s crying to be added. Promisingly, Virtual Air Guitar are not ruling it out for later DLC or updates.
Even without it, Kung Fu Live is already an enjoyable experience that feels immensely satisfying to play. The body-tracking movement works impressively well, and the special abilities add more depth to the combat. As limited as game is in terms of longevity (we’re looking at 2-3 hours, apparently), Kung Fu Live feels like a game that anyone would instantly understand, and become engrossed in.
It’s a hard game to stop playing once you feel the impact of that first punch, or the first time you effortlessly shoot electricity from your fingers. And it’s a game that can only improve with more players in the game. Get your friends on the case when it releases later this year. Just keep quiet on the fact that you hate them.
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