(In a good way)

November 4th is finally upon us. (At least it has already passed by, but this column was written on the 4th.) After waiting nearly a year and a half since the Project Natal announcement, the Kinect Sensor is now set at my home.

My original concern was whether or not I would have enough room to play it. For all the weeks leading up to the Kinect launch I did a lot of research and preparation. Knowing that I would need to have at least 6 feet of distance from the sensor and where I’d be playing so I can be recognized made things challenging. My biggest problem came in the form of the table where my HDTV was placed, as it sticks out by about 3 feet. Because of this, if I wanted to place my Kinect on the table, it would have to be at its edge, so the floor (a key component of Kinect’s calibration,) can be recognized.

As a result, my only real option was above my TV, and that brought two more issues. One was the placement of my center speaker, which is above the TV on a windowsill. The Kinect would be placed just below it and I thought the ambient noise would affect voice recognition. Not only that, but would the Kinect also stay in place above my TV, or even more specific, above my Wii Sensor Bar which is adhered top-center.

I knew there was a Kinect mounting stand available, but I didn’t really want to pay $40 extra after spending over $200 in cash and trade for both a Kinect and Dance Central. Much to my surprise, I placed my Kinect directly on top of my Wii Sensor Bar, and thanks to the non-slip rubber surface, it did not fall off at all. Even when the tilt motor was in operation upon bootup, it stayed in place.

Calibrating the motion sensor was very intuitive and in a matter of minutes I was up and running. Not wanting to dive into the games yet (which was going to be the main course) I played around a bit with the gesture and voice controls. Using my hands to control Kinect felt very strange at first, but once I got the hang of it, I was waving at the screen and pointing to menu options with ease. Even using the universal "guide pose," which is my right arm to my side and my left arm down at a 45 degree angle, became second nature.

But then there was the voice control, the other concern I had due to speaker placement. Like the gestures, it is very responsive, and I loved that when I cued it by saying "Xbox," it showed a list of voice commands I could use for each option. It worked out great to start off with, and eventually I was switching between ESPN3 streams with a simple command of "Xbox…Video 3" or whatever video number I wanted to watch.

It got a little touchy when I had a first impressions video running on my MacBook in front of my TV and when that video said the word "Xbox," the Kinect picked it up and tried to take control, but a simple reply of "Cancel" fixed that. I guess I’ll have to be careful when I’m talking to someone on the phone and I have ESPN3 in the background.

Then came the games. After the nightmare that was Tony Hawk Ride, I was a little worried the new ones wouldn’t work out either. I’m glad to say that my worries were all for naught. Both Kinect Adventures and Dance Central are very responsive. Heck Dance Central alone has won me over so much that I’m nearly playing it to death. It is tiring me out, but I will always go back to play more.

The games aren’t perfect, but keep in mind that these are first generation titles. I’m curious to see what will come out once the full potential of Kinect is revealed. That Steel Battalion sequel is looking more tempting than ever.

I know I’m only 18 hours into the system’s life, but it looks like Kinect is going to be a winner. It will definitely be a hot seller this holiday season, and this is only the beginning.

Currently Playing: Dance Central (Kinect,) Rock Band 3 (360)

Waiting For: More Kinect titles to wear me out…