One of the biggest issues to plague the Kinect when it first launched was the amount of playing space required for the device to function properly. 6-8 feet was needed between the Kinect and the player and for most, that was not possible. I’ve got a pretty decent sized house and even I was struggling to find the correct distance in order for the device to track me correctly.
 
Unfortunately, as much family fun as the Kinect offered, the space issue simply became frustrating. A game like Child of Eden wasn’t affected too much by the space issue, but what about a game like Dance Central which required you to flail about? I can’t tell you how many times I’ve kicked my coffee table while in the midst of getting down and funky.
 
Luckily, Nyko has come to the rescue. The Zoom is a clip-on device that effectively cuts down the space required to use the Kinect by approximately 40%. Now, instead of 6-8 feet of playing space, only 4-6 feet is needed, which makes a HUGE difference. So how does Nyko’s space saver actually function?
 
In truth, it’s kind of a mixed bag, but overall I’m extremely impressed. First off, the device looks wonderful. Once it’s clipped on (a process that should not take anyone more than 2 seconds), it looks like it’s an original part of the Kinect. It’s not intrusive at all. A little tip; the instructions are adamant that you install the device while everything is turned off. I don’t know what kind of difference that makes, but just a word of warning.
 
Once the device is popped on, I ran through the Kinect tuner once again. It detected me with no issues and I was relieved that I was indeed standing approximately 2 feet closer to my TV. I can promise you this will come in handy when I use the head tracking feature in the upcoming Forza Motorsport 4.
 
I ran through the calibration again with the little cardboard square that had the eyes on it. Everything ran pretty smoothly there as well. However, once I actually started using the Kinect like normal again, I noticed a couple of issues.
 
First off, I feel like the Kinect suddenly became more sensitive to your hand placement. Prior to the Zoom, I could use one hand while the other arm was dangling at my side with no issues. Now, even when I step back, it detects both hands at the same time. I find that more often than not, I have to hide my non-functioning arm behind my back so that the Kinect doesn’t pick up two hands. I don’t think I have to elaborate on how much of a pain in the butt this is.
 
Secondly, when it does detect your hand correctly, the result is very jerky. Your cursor movement is not as smooth as it use to be, and hovering over something to select it can become a chore, as the cursor has a tendency to twitch and spaz out. I found that experimenting with moving back and forth does seem to solve that problem, but then I found myself standing about 6-8 feet away again just for my hand to track correctly, which completely defeats the purpose of having this device to begin with.
 
All issues with navigating the Dashboard aside, the Zoom seems to work very well in games. I tried Kinect Adventures, Dance Central, and The Gunstringer demo. All of them worked fine with no issues.
 
I DID read somewhere that the Zoom works best if you have you Kinect mounted lower. I have my Kinect mounted on top of my TV, putting it about 6.5 feet high. Moving down lower does seem to makes things a little less twitchy; however, it’s not a difference that I think solves any problems…they’re just less intense.
 
All in all, I think the Zoom is a good device, especially if you have serious space issues. My only concern is when more elaborate body part tracking is introduced like finger tracking, the Zoom may end up being more of a headache than it should be.
 
OVERALL RATING: 7.0/10