Controls are a defining factor for any Kinect game; without a good setup you might as well turn off the TV and wave your arms around until you’re satisfied with what you’ve accomplished. On screen your character is set up behind a ballista, standing in a half circle segmented into two areas. Walking up and holding out your hands grabs the ballista and walking back primes it at full power, allowing you to then aim by moving left and right or affect its pitch in much the same manner. To fire just put your arms out to the sides. During flight you can spin your shots by swatting at the projectile, changing directions and adding or reducing lift. Different ammunition for your ballista has special properties that can be used mid-flight to help the destruction along, activated by raising your arms in a “V” position.

It’s a setup that’s extremely simple and easy to understand, enforcing the pickup-and-play approach that became a staple for the series, allowing new players to get down the controls easily and letting old pros rack up combos without frustration. Unlike the original, however, this has a balance bar for grinding and manuals, an inclusion that’s greatly appreciated. For series vets it should only take a few runs to shake off the dust… after that it’s like you never stopped playing.

Ninjas have to be precise, lethal and above all, coordinated — something that isn’t exactly easy to pull off on the Kinect in the first place. Moving left or right moves your character on screen, dodging attacks and also lining up your own. Using a few simple hand gestures changes weapons — for example, reaching over your right shoulder pulls out your sword, left takes out your bow and putting both hands out to the sides switches to ninja stars. Each weapon is used to take out enemies at different distances, utilized by mimicking the real-life action for each one.