Awkward motion controls and shallow combat make Rise of Nightmares a frighteningly unremarkable adventure in zombie killing.

Good variety of weapons; Creepy atmosphere

Motion controls are limiting and awkward; Shallow; easy combat

Kinect has confused the gaming cosmos. Rise of Nightmares certainly isn't a good game - but just about passes for a good Kinect game.

Dialogue is good for a laugh; we guess; Hacking and slashing is satisfying; A commendable first attempt at a Kinect action game

Navigation falls short; Incredibly basic game design; Horrendous dialogue; The smallest tasks become events

Just like how the Wii's first batch of Mature games (No More Heroes, Madworld) appeared only after the system proved successful, Kinect's infancy has been squeaky-clean. The hardware's first Mature-rated offering, Rise of Nightmares, has a few good ideas about how to mix horror and hands-free...

+ The open world and combat controls are better than those in any current Kinect game..

- ...but that's a very low standard; and they're still very problematic; - Even with the addition of new elements throughout the game; combat's still super-repetitive; ?

"...I was unsure about buying Rise of Nightmares so decided to rent it for a while to see if it was what I hoped it would be - a truely interactive horror style game. You play as Josh, who is travelling on a train with his wife when the train is derailed and his wife kidnapped, leaving him/you...

Good to show friends; fun to hit zombies

predictable plot; lagging controls

Rise of Nightmares is a decent horror game with great ideas and a spooky atmosphere but is let down by clunky movement controls.

When the Kinect arrived on the scene last year, Microsoft pitched it as family gaming peripheral for the Xbox 360. It's main selling point was that it was full motion body controls promising to get your family off the couch.

Brings the scary, but forgets to keep it there.

Fairly original; tight Kinect based motion controls; will satisfy the most stringent gore hounds

Dated graphics; repetitive areas; not enough variety in enemies

The most pleasant, surprising thing about Sega's Rise of Nightmares is its mere existence. Where no one dared to go, Sega has put one foot forward and ran head-first into the deep end of motion controlled gaming.

Rise of Nightmares offers a spine-tingling horror experience that uses Kinect controls to give players new encounters filled with fearful anticipation and terror.

The phrase "for a Kinect game" must grate on Microsoft's nerves, but that is simply the state of the games at this stage in the platform's lifecycle. This is also a problem for those who have the expectations of a motion-control-only game being as refined as a traditional release that's had the...