Who doesn’t love a Pixar movie? I mean seriously, what is there not to like. They are funny, well animated and just a ton of fun for the whole family. So of course anything that Pixar creates is the perfect platform for a video game and we have an all new game for Kinect that falls into the same category of fun for the whole family. Kinect Rush is based upon the most popular Pixar movies from the past several years and it will have you reliving some of those wonderful memories of days past as you jump, drive and run through the different levels and movies included in the game. Have you ever wanted to race alongside Lightning or Mater in Cars? Or perhaps solve a crisis by Woody’s side in Toy Story? Well, you get to do all that and more in Kinect Rush and it’s something the whole family will enjoy. Developer Asobo Studios and Microsoft Studios have really put together something special. Couple in the fact that Pixar was involved in the game as well and you have got a solid title for Kinect.

Kinect Rush has so much Pixar influence that it’s a game you just have to love. It’s not only the theme of the game that actually will keep you smiling, but the controls and Kinect integration is some of the best I have seen to date. Kinect Rush implements all of the things you have done in Kinect Adventures, JoyRide and other first party Kinect titles but does them even better. For instance, the driving portions of the game are perfect in my opinion. If you remember in JoyRide, while it was fun to play it was difficult to control at times. That is not the case with the driving in Kinect Rush. You’ll actually feel like you have a finesse about the driving and you’ll quickly be power sliding around turns and racing side by side with your favorite Cars characters. But not only the driving is refined and very responsive to your movements but the entire game does a fabulous job keeping the movements simple enough to perform quickly. Sure it’s a game that could be considered targeted for the younger audience but I have to say that it’s a game that can be enjoyed by all ages. If you like Pixar then you will love this game. Bottom line.

So one of the first things you will do in the game is create a Pixar avatar. Basically, it’s a Pixar representation of what you would look like as a kid in one of their movies. The game scans your body and you then answer a few simple questions and voila, you are recreated as a Pixar child avatar. It actually works pretty darn well and I felt connected with my character because I knew it was actually me. This will be hugely popular for the younger audience but I think it’ll be just as popular really with anyone that plays this game. It’s simply a cool feature and attaches you to Pixar Studios.

Kinect Rush is a compilation of mini games galore similar to Kinect Adventures or Kinect Disneyland Adventures. Now it’s a lot more basic than Disneyland Adventures in the respect that the Pixar Park area is quite small when compared to the vast area to explore in Disneyland Adventures. Nonetheless the game offers up 5 different movies with mini games of their own. You’ll interact with the main characters of the movie in quests and mini stories. The movies you will be treated to are Cars, Toy Story, Ratatouille, The Incredibles and Up!. You’ll take the form of something that would properly fit into the movie theme such as a car in Cars or a toy robot in Toy Story.

The games are very similar to what you find in Kinect Adventures in which you collect coins as you play through the mini-game. You’ll also be up against a clock which awards you points at the end of a game and combines with the total coins you collected for an overall score. You’ll be awarded a medal dependent upon that final score. In each level you’ll find plenty of collectibles scattered throughout. You’ll also be able to unlock bonus content. You’ll unlock new levels as you participate in each level. And one of the great things is that the game can be played in single player or co-op. Co-op is actually a lot of fun to play, especially with one of your children, siblings or a good friend. They can even scan themselves into the game as well so that they have their very own avatar. In co-op you’ll have to work together to figure out puzzles that normally the AI helps you with. This makes the game a lot more fun and comical as you play side by side.

One of the really cool things about the game is that there is plenty of actual Pixar storyline content that never made it into the actual movies. You’ll meet new characters that never got to appear and even see new places that just had to be cut from the original film. A few examples of things you will see is a race track in Tokyo from Cars 2, new characters from Ratatouille, and a scene that hit the cutting room floor from The Incredibles. If you are a fan of Pixar Animation then you will absolutely be delighted with these little snidbits. And of course this is all content straight from the animators at Pixar. So its official stuff.

Visually, the game is superb. But hey, its Pixar animation so how can it not be superb. The main hub of the game seems like a real life amusement park and gives the game a bit of realism as you play make believe with the other kids. I especially like the transitions from the park to the actual story where you will hear the voiceover work actually blend from child voice to character voice. You know, like we all wished we could do when playing make believe growing up. The voice acting is stellar and I am not sure if the actual real life voices were used for the Pixar character. But I can tell you this, they sure sound like the real voices. I also really liked the incorporation of your Pixar avatar into the game rather than just using your Xbox Live Avatar or a generic character. It really makes you feel like you are in the game.

I guess the only real downfall to the game comes in the form of not being very popular with the general gamer population. Here and there you'll run into some Kinect recognition issues but they are few and far between. I guess one could also say that the game is a little repetitive in some forms. But the different movie themes help break up that repetition. I can honestly say that this game makes you feel like a kid again if you aren't one already. Its got the same lure and aura that Disneyland Adventures has and the gameplay is definitely refined from Kinect Adventures.

Kinect Rush is the perfect family oriented game, but also caters to fans of Pixar animation. While the activities you will perform are simple and you play most of the game on rails, it’s still a lot of fun from start to finish. While there is not as much content in this game as compared to say Disneyland Adventures I think there is just enough to keep folks happy. And hey, you get some Microsoft Points included and a demo disc as well in the box. The Kinect integration is fantastic and your movements are easily recognized with very little glitching. The movements are pretty easy to perform and you’ll notice quickly that you won’t have to over exaggerate your moves at all to perform them on the screen. That’s a very good thing. No this is not a game that hardcore gamers will be quick to enjoy but in general gamers both young and old should enjoy this game from start to finish. Chalk another one up for Pixar.