Kinect Sports: Season 2 is the follow-up to Kinect Sports, the popular collection of sports-themed mini-games that make use of the Kinect. So popular in fact that Kinect Sports is the number one best-selling Kinect game with over three million copies sold to date.

Kinect Sports: Season 2 will feature six different team-based and individual sports: skiing, golf, darts, tennis, baseball and American football. The game will also include new features such as in-game voice control, enhanced motion tracking and Challenge Play Mode.

Each of the sports has unique challenges and activities, as well as three difficulty levels, ranging from rookie to champion. You can jump straight onto the pitch in a Quick Play session or hone your skills in a full-length game. Of course you’ll also be able to compete against other players on Xbox LIVE and check just how good your score is!

If you’ve played Kinect Sports before, you’ll know of the highlight reels that the game captures while you’re playing. Season 2 does the same, you can log onto KinectShare.com to download the photos and videos that were captured in-game and now for the first time even post them directly to Facebook. The new Challenge Play mode let’s you send a challenge for later, either to a friend on Xbox LIVE or to a family member in your home.

You’ll be immersed into the sports even further thanks to the new in-game voice commands and intuitive gameplay. Whether it’s two player competitive and co-op offline play, or two player online multiplayer action, you’re guaranteed to have fun on the pitch, especially when you can use your voice to hike the ball in football, raise an objection in tennis or change your club in golf.

Up to four players can join in a game of golf, competing on the nine holes of the Maple Lakes golf course in classic turn-taking stroke play or trying to achieve your personal best on any hole. Skiing allows players to hit the slopes and compete in two hazardous slalom runs on three different courses, either solo or in a simultaneous race.

You’ll also be able to enjoy two player simultaneous play in American Football, and pitching, catching and batting as well as facing off against a friend in baseball at the Kinect Sports baseball field, Galaxy Park.

I got some hands-on time with darts, a sports game that Rare didn’t think the Kinect would be capable of handling when Kinect Sports was in development. It turns out it absolutely can, and the developer is now confident that they can tackle sports like darts because they’ve learnt a lot about Kinect in the past year. The result is a fun mini-game that up to four players can enjoy together. Simply imitate the act of throwing a dart: aim, pull your hand back and then throw forward to release. It’s simple to jump in and play, but it’s clear that it will be more challenging to learn the technique and master the game.

Next up was tennis, always a popular game to include with any sports collection! The two player action was intense, with a number of factors influencing the outcome of the match. Needless to say it was easy to pick-up-and-play, with players really only needing to imitate the act of throwing the ball in the air to serve and then timing the hand swings right to return their opponent’s shots. Yet it’s easy to see how it can be mastered to achieve greater control and precision.

For starters if you ‘hit’ the ball at the top of its height before it begins to drop you will immediately have more strength behind that serve and possibly even serve an ace. If you put more effort into your swings, with your whole body getting behind the swing and you step into the ball, your shots will have more power and begin to wear your opponent down, while merely swinging your hand will simply hit the ball to your opponent. You’ll also be able to place your shots better by turning your body, while tilting your hand will add spin to the ball. After a few rounds of tennis I was feeling pretty tired, but mostly really excited for the game to be released so I could face off against my friends and put my newly discovered skills to the test.

Kinect Sports: Season 2 is a game that the whole family can enjoy, whether you’re a casual gamer, a sports fan or even a top-notch athlete like Martina Hingis. It’s fun for parties with a couple of mates, and it’s sure to bring out even ol’ Granny’s competitive streak as you’re rewarded with fans and unlock new content based on your performance. Like it’s predecessor, Season 2 looks polished with vibrantly coloured backgrounds and another rocking soundtrack.

Kinect Sports: Season 2 will be available, exclusively for Kinect for the Xbox 360, on the 25th October in the US and on the 28th of October across Europe.

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