If you’re one of those game players who likes to gesticulate during gameplay–you know who you are–then maybe you’re one of the ones the developers were thinking of when they were porting Battlefield 4 over to the Xbox One/Kinect environment. According to a couple of video game blogs, folks who choose to do so will be able to lean around cover, walls, and other obstacles using Xbox One’s interactive camera to facilitate the action. The lean function is a small, but effective addition in BF4 and it can often make the difference between a positive and negative Kill/Death ratio.
As you might expect, the Kinect will acknowledge when seated players lean at the appropriate moment, and translate that into the game. Again, this is a crucial tactic because it creates a harder target for the enemy to hit; and if you aren’t familiar with Battlefield’s gameplay, believe me, you want to be as hard to hit as possible. I’m not sure if the latency delay that’s inherent in such technology makes using the Kinect in Battlefield 4 is particularly feasible, at least regarding player movement.
The Kinect’s voice recognition will also be put to use by allowing players to call for medics, ammo, and vehicular assistance. Basically, you’ll be saying this a lot:
Which could be fun, at least for a few minutes. However, as VG247.com points out, if you’re going to use voice commands, why not just BF4’s in-game chat function to relay these messages? You’d probably have better success. Dice/EA’s impressive shooter will be available on the Xbox One on November 19.