Published by Microsoft Studios, Dragon's Lair supports both Kinect and the Xbox 360 controller. Now you can literally play as Dirk the Daring in this immersive gaming experience with Kinect. Wield your sword, grapple ropes and avoid all of the obstacles this enchanted castle throws your way. This version will of course include Worldwide Leaderboards and Achievements, but even more exciting are the exclusive Gamer Pics and Avatar items you can unlock. There are even more Dragon's Lair themed items to download from the Marketplace. Haven't heard of Dragon's Lair? Well, in Dragon's Lair, you play the heroic Dirk the Daring, a valiant knight on a quest to rescue the fair princess from the clutches of an evil dragon...

Dragon's Lair was released in the arcades in 1983 as a laserdisc video game. I remember how cool this was - but equally how fiendishly difficult it was to play. Not only was it incredibly overpriced (being about three times the price of other arcade games) but was just too difficult to get very far on. In an age where most arcade games were made up of sprites, Dragon's Lair had you playing in a world that looked as good as any cartoon you'd ever seen. It was ludicrously advanced for its time, but it was also ridiculously priced.

Over the years this game has been released on DVD, Blu-ray, PC and consoles. The game is now available for Xbox 360 and can be played with the controller, or with the Kinect system - both of which offer very different game play options.

I have to admit, having played numerous versions of this over the years, that this is by far and away the best version - and at under £7 you can't grumble.

If you opt for the controller game play then you have the option of using the directional buttons as well as the "A" button to progress the action. An arrow will appear at the edge of the screen and depending on whether it's at the top, bottom, left or right of the screen indicates which way you press your controller. And, if a sword appears in the centre of the screen you have to press the "A" button to use your sword. It's all fairly straightforward, but instead of the previous incarnations of this game which merely reproduced the game play from the arcade, this new release offers various different levels of play. Not only that, but forget memorising your moves, because the animation will on occasion flip so that a scene that on first play may have asked you to chose left, right, right, left, will now demand you chose right, left, left, right.

You can chose your difficulty and then pick from "Arcade" which moves on to the next scene if you die; or "Home" which plays like in the arcades, in that if you die you go back to the last save point.

Kinect users get more of an impressive game with many more options. There's the "Adventure" mode where you can't die. The game plays through and if you make the right move you get points, but if you don't the game continues but without giving you any reward. "Quest" mode allows you to progress until you've made too many moves at which point the game is over. And "Daring" is like the original arcade game in that you die if you make one false move.

The Kinect offering also allows you to jump or step in the direction indicated on screen. In addition when you see other images on screen you have to perform various actions (like slashing the air with your arms, running on the spot or raising your arms) to perform certain actions.

There are a few extras including a video that runs through the entire story of the game uninterrupted. After all this time, this is still a damn fine game and this is by far the best version of it released for the home market.

9

Nick Smithson