When NBA star Kevin Durant is talking about you in a national cell phone ad campaign, you know you’ve earned a place in both the national pop-culture consciousness and the App Store Hall of Fame. Given the breezy and ubiquitous success of Doodle Jump—original developer Lima Sky estimates more than 150 million downloads across all the mobile platforms on which it’s currently available–it’s not exactly surprising that Microsoft decided to port it to Xbox Live Arcade and turn it into a Kinect offering. Hell, it’s already an arcade staple among the date-night crowd at your local Dave and Buster’s.

It’s also not surprising that, like about 80 percent of the Kinect library, the results of Doodle Jump for Kinect get worse the more complicated things become. Instead of tilting the accelerometer on your mobile device, you’re shifting your legs and hips in your (hopefully expansive) rec room to execute the Doodler’s inexorable platform climb. The aw-yeah vertical boosts (jetpacks, wings, etc.) are activated by flapping/flailing your arms, jumping and crouching, and you pea-shoot those hand-drawn enemies by aiming your arms. So simple in concept, so problematic in execution.

The issue, of course, is the same as it ever was—sometimes the Kinect’s motion detection just isn’t what it needs to be. It’s obvious the developers recognized and accounted for this to the degree they could. For one, the collision detection’s fairly forgiving—your wild lurch to the left tends to end up with the Doodler float-landing on a platform rather than flailing at empty air. The bigger concession couldn’t be more welcome—checkpoints. You’ll hit one a few times in each of the 30 levels, ensuring that your frustration at jumping straight into an enemy projectile mere inches from the finish line won’t send you back to the start. Or stalking from the room.

Well, at least not right away. These concessions lose their import once the gameplay steepens, and enemies are unexpectedly flying out of cannons, platforms are crumbling everywhere and you’re battling powerful bosses. Imprecise controls mean you’ll be spending huge amounts of time trying to execute that final tricky jump sequence, as the fun falls out of the experience faster than the Doodler after a badly missed jump.

Just like the mobile version, Doodle Jump for Kinect is designed for short play sessions. Unlike the mobile version, there’s a distressing dearth of alternate play modes—oddly, none of the fun World Cup or holiday themes made the, um, jump here. Worst of all, there’s no multiplayer option, a feature that made the best mobile app-to-Kinect port, Fruit Ninja, an absolute must-have. Yes, I get that it would have been tricky to execute, but a game like this cries out for something more than just watching your pals chase high scores.

The Doodler’s Kinect price tag is only $5, which seems reasonable for the amount of content and drawbacks you’re getting. Take the leap if you’re inclined, but be aware that your impulse buy comes with some sizable shortcomings.

Pros:
+ Signature art style looks great on a larger screen
+ Checkpoints!

Cons:
– Motion detection’s erratic, making brutal obstacles nigh impassable
– Limited amount of content
– No multiplayer?

Game Info:
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 (requires Kinect)
Publisher: D3Publisher
Developer: Smoking Gun Interactive/Lima Sky
Release Date: 6/28/2013
Genre: Platformer
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Players: 1
Source: Review code provided by publisher

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Mobile “jump ‘em up” sensation turned motion-control console game, Doodle Jump for Kinect is available now on Xbox Live Arcade, bringing vertically-scrolling platformer fun to the living room big screen.

Who wants to point, flap, step, clap and jump The Doodler to platforming glory? Well, you’re in the right place, because we have 15 — yes, 15! — free XBLA download codes up for grabs in our latest giveaway. Read on for the giveaway guidelines, and enter away!

Prize: 15 Xbox Live Arcade codes for Doodle Jump for Kinect on Xbox 360. Game valued at 400 MS Points. Kinect is required to play the game.

Do at least one of the following to enter. Only ONE form of entry is required, but each method will put your name in the hat an additional time to increase your odds of winning, up to a total of five possible entries.

1) Leave a comment on this post expressing your desire to take The Doodler for a jump on XBLA.

2) Follow VGBlogger on Twitter @vgblogger and retweet this message. You can also follow Doodle Jump @doodlejump.

3) ‘Like’ us on our Facebook page and then ‘Like’ and comment on this post. Feel free to ‘Like’ Doodle Jump on Facebook at www.facebook.com/doodlejump as well.

4) Email us at contests@vgblogger.com with the subject line “Doodle Jump Giveaway”

Entry Period: Tuesday, July 2 – Friday, July 5 at 12:00 PM EST. A grand total of 15 prize winners will be selected at random to each receive a download code after entry deadline on Friday, July 5.

Mobile gaming sensation Doodle Jump, following in the juice-covered footsteps of Fruit Ninja, is going from the palm of your hand to full-body motion control.

Doodle Jump for Kinect, in development at Smoking Gun Interactive in collaboration with Lima Sky and to be published by D3Publisher, expands upon the vertical-platforming addiction with a plus-sized Xbox Live Arcade release for Xbox 360. As the title plainly indicates, a Kinect will be required to play the game.

The XBLA version will feature exclusive new content, including three additional worlds, bosses, power-ups and achievements. But the major changes will be found in gameplay, where Kinect integration will have players controlling the adorable Doodler by moving their bodies side to side, flapping their arms to fly, and using other arm gestures to fire nose balls.

“We’ve brought the Doodler onto new platforms before, but never like this,” noted Igor Pusenjak, co-founder of Lima Sky. “The unparalleled freedom afforded by Kinect for Xbox 360 allows us to explore new gameplay experiences we never even imagined were possible when we first developed the original Doodle Jump.”

Dig out and dust off your Kinect. Doodle Jump for Kinect leaps onto XBLA this summer at the low, low price of 400 MS Points. Hop on down to the gallery below for the first screenshots.

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