It’s been quite a while since we’ve checked out Terminal Reality, LucasArts and Microsoft’s Kinect Star Wars. It’s safe to say that things weren’t looking that great way back in July of last year when we last saw the game, so we went into Microsoft’s Spring Showcase very sceptical, but with our minds completely open. We wanted to believe. We wanted to be swayed – we love Star Wars, after all – but based on this latest viewing, it’s hard to see how it’s going to appeal to the inner Jedi in us.

That’s not to say that Kinect Star Wars is looking as terrible as it did last time, oh no, Terminal Reality looks to have tightened up the “controls” and responsiveness and it looks a hell of a lot better, but it puzzles us as to who Microsoft is appealing to with this title. It’s not the core gamer, that’s for sure.

Kinect Star Wars is a multi-faceted title but the main pillar of the game is the Jedi adventure, where you jump into the shoes of a Padawan and take the fight to the Empire all over the galaxy. Set after the events of Episode I, leading up to the Clone Wars, Kinect Star Wars takes you on an adventure that sets up some of the events that take place in Episodes II and III, so it’s looking sure to appeal to Star Wars fans.

Starting off on the Wookie planet of Kashyyyk in the Jedi base experience, you’ll visit places like Coruscant and Felucia, presumably on your way to becoming a fully-fledged Jedi. We pick up proceedings with a Jedi of the Twi'lek variety, kicking ass and taking names with the Wookies on Kashyyyk. You’ll even get the chance to fight against comparatively lesser races in the Star Wars world, like the Trandoshans who appeared in The Empire Strikes Back.

Utilising Kinect you’ll be able to use your hands to control the force, wield a lightsaber, force push, grab guys, lift them up, jump over enemies, throw enemies, break through things, lift up and throw objects as well as kick. The extra development time seems to have done the game a world of good, but whether that’ll be enough, only time will tell.

The other major aspect of Kinect Star Wars is the game’s pod racing. LucasArts likens it to a whole driving game on its own, although that might be a bit of a stretch, although you are able to upgrade your pod as you race across 4 different planets with 8 different races on each – visiting a variety of locations referenced and seen in the Star Wars films. In short, think the races that Anakin gets involved in against Sebulba on Tatooine in Episode I. That’s Kinect Star Wars’ pod racing mode right there.

Players will be able to pick up power-ups, knock womp rats off their pod, boost, and even choose between the ideal race path or even venture off to find shortcuts. You’ll also find similar experiences with the speeder bike, the land speeder, even space flight, all within the full Jedi campaign. In terms of controls though, simple about sums it up, reminding us of how Kinect JoyRide controlled… and we all know how that turned out!

Other than that, players can get involved in a dancing mini-game with a half naked Princess Leia, cause havoc with a Rancor in Mos Eisley and even partake in Jedi duels that don’t necessarily fall into the same timeline that the rest of Kinect Star Wars does. These quick-time event style gameplay duels allow you to wield the force and different powers to take on formidable opponents like Darth Vader and you can even crank on the 3D if you’ve got a compatible TV and experience it all in stereoscopic 3D.

I’m going to come right out and say it now though, but a Kinect-only title that will appeal to the core gamer out there – the kind of people that frequent our site – and be solely controlled by Kinect may never be possible. It may be a sweeping statement, but what we’ve seen from the device since its release, in terms of titles, has done nothing to sway us or persuade us otherwise. The way forward for Microsoft surely has to be hybrid controller-Kinect titles – look out for the Steel Battalion preview in the coming weeks, it may surprise you like it did us – because the device doesn’t seem to have the depth that core gamers want. That said, we’ll reserve our final judgement on Kinect Star Wars until we’ve had chance to blitz through the whole game when it ships in April, but until then, we’ll remain cautiously sceptical. Whatever we say though, Star Wars fans will flock in their millions to buy it, if only to be able to dance with a scantily clad Princess Leia.

Kinect Star Wars is scheduled for an April 3rd and April 6th release in North America and Europe respectively.