Wreckateer

7 cert, Microsoft/Iron Galaxy Studios, Xbox (Kinect controls)***

Ay up, lad! It’s ’nother Middle- Ages game with t’Yorkshire accents, innit? Aye. Wreckateer reflects the best and worst of Kinect: it’s an original casual game with a likeable and simple set-up, but (like many Kinect titles) is a mite limited. Introduced with a chorus of lutes and flutes, Wreckateer is the saga of catapult operators who must fend off an invasion of goblins. This battle (ethnic cleansing?) involves demolishing buildings using various projectiles – objects blessed sometimes with magic, sometimes with explosives. The game mechanic is user-friendly enough: stand at one point of your room to approach the catapult, step backwards to prime it, aim with your arms and fire! Some power-ups can be used in mid-air. It’s generally precise, but the mid-air steering leads to some arm-flailing and lampshade-endangering, and my first Kinect injury! Wreckateer might be too repetitive for some, but it’s colourful and diverting enough. I imagine casual Kinect gamers will lap it up.