I’m not usually one for collector’s editions, but Blizzard definitely knows how to make a nice one. The 176-page hardcover art book is impressive.

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It’s almost laughable the way people hold on to rumble as the holy grail of haptic feedback. We’ve gone so far past anything that can be done with rumble, or that kind of restrictive thing you have to hold. It’s been creatively liberating to work on this stuff.

I completely disagree with this statement, as do many other enthusiast gamers. My main complaint with full-body motion control is its inherently imprecise nature. The fact that traditional input devices have been described as “complex” isn’t a drawback in my book. “Complex” controllers have analog sticks, pressure-sensitive buttons and force feedback/rumble and are therefor offering precise control and haptic feedback – with a device like Kinect, the former cannot be achieved because it isn’t possible to distinguish between slight but intended motions and unintended motions. When a game requires me to flail my arms around like an idiot, I feel it’s imprecise. Conversely if a game were to be very precise when reading motions, I’d cry foul every time it registered a motion I didn’t mean to perform.

Name me an FPS, driving game or sports games where I’d be more effective using Kinect that a “restrictive thing you have to hold”.

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You can clearly see the handiwork of the team that previously developed the indie title Tag: The Power of Paint. It’s reassuring to see that student talent is not going unnoticed by larger studios.

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Packed with a wide variety of short, interesting puzzles that are a perfect match for a touch-screen device like the DS. The story, however, would definitely benefit from a larger helping of the well-realised animated cutscenes.

★★★★☆

Ingenious puzzles are a given, but the first-person perspective, spectacular ending and perhaps the best credits sequence I’ve ever seen in a video game are what make Portal nigh on the perfect title in its genre.

★★★★★