Parent's Guide: Kinect Disneyland Adventures - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

Kinect Disneyland Adventures lets you delve into the magical world of Disney with an accurate, virtually recreated version of Disneyland California for you to explore at your leisure. After making your own character, you'll be able to explore 18 of the park's biggest rides, which have been turned into funky little minigames, seeing you flying over the rooftops of London on Peter Pan's Flight, flying through outer space with Buzz on Buzz Lightyear's Astro-Blasters, and fighting off nasty crocs whilst navigating the white water rapids on Pirates of the Caribbean.

With full voice overs, children shouldn't have too much problem understanding what it is they have to do in the game, even if they can't read - although the game does have a lengthy intro that may end up boring kids. However, navigating the park can be quite tricky at times, as, in order to wander around, you have to hold your hand out in front you, and point in the direction you want to go - point left to steer left, or right to steer right. The problem is, from what we've seen, younger children especially struggle to get their characters to go in the right direction, and with no option for using a controller, it may be something of a problem. The easiest way to solve it is by using the game's co-op mode to have an adult join in, taking control of the navigation - but this won't be possible all the time, and it does make your arm ache after only a short while.

In terms of what age group the game will appeal to, though, Kinect Disneyland Adventures is something of a weird one due to its control scheme. Younger children will likely be enchanted by being able to stroll around Disneyland, meeting the characters, giving them a hug, and completing the various tasks the characters set, but they'll likely have trouble doing it, as the controls aren't all that easy for adults to get their head around, yet alone young children, who're likely to struggle when their character gets caught on a wall. Meanwhile, older children, who're more likely to be able to cope with the controls, may find running the errands a bit dull, and prefer the minigames - but here, they may be frustrated with the controls again, as they're either too responsive, or not responsive enough, making achieving a high score, or collecting the hidden mickeys scattered around each minigame something of a challenge. While kids over around 7 should have no problems, for everyone else, a lot depends on what your child looks for in a game, and how quickly they get frustrated when controls start going wrong.

With nothing in the way of mature content, there's nothing for parents to be concerned about here - no sex, blood, gore, or swearing, and the only violence is in the terms of a sword fight against Captain Hook.

Although it has full support for two player, drop-in, drop-out co-op, Kinect Disneyland Adventures may not be that great for two children playing together, as only one player has control over where they go next, which may lead to arguments. Also, the game has real troubles tracking a single player at times, temporarily losing you, before finding you again, and bringing you back as an entirely different character - sometimes even of a different sex, which may be especially frustrating to young boys. Where it does work well, however, is with a parent playing alongside a young child, as you can control the tricky navigation, while they get to help out with the minigames, and decide where to go.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360