Want a way to magnify the stench of BO which fills your room after endless hours of mashing those buttons on your favourite game? Then Project Natal (this a codename, the real name has yet to be announced) should be right up your street as you are now going to be physically, not just mentally, involved in your games, flouncing around the room and leading anyone who happens to pass by your window develop a concern for your sanity.

Well, maybe not. But Microsoft’s upcoming Natal technology is absolutely going to have you on your feet and doing what the hero on screen is, rather than just sitting on your rear end and letting them do all the work. It really does have potential to add a whole new dimension to your Xbox 360 experience, maximizing the outer body fun you can have when playing a quality title.

You’ve most likely heard of this intriguing product and have probably already formed your own opinions on the concept. Lots of people are filled with apprehension, not entirely sure if one of these little cameras will find its way in front of their television sets as enhancers to their gaming experiences. I, myself, am at two minds about this technology, so let’s take a look at what exactly Natal is and can do.

Basically, as you are probably aware, Natal is a 3D camera which reflects you onto the character on screen. This means it is able to register your gestures and movements and also be aware of how near or far from it you are. This 3D aspect of it works in a similar way to a bat’s ‘sight’, only by sending out visuals called ‘point clouds’ rather than high pitched sounds. This amazing feature will allow us to do such things as swinging our legs forward to kick a football, or flailing our arms around to destroy cities. The possibilities are endless, really, and we’ll probably be physically wielding swords or punching faces in no time, working up a serious sweat and burning off those calories we gained after endless hours of Bioshock 2. In actual fact, Natal consists of not only one, but two 3D cameras, to make absolutely sure multiplayer is just as responsive and quality experience for both players as single player mode is.

Obviously, comparisons will be made to Nintendo’s Wii when it comes to the likes of motion sensitivity, but the fact is that Natal takes a completely different approach to this type of gaming, removing the need for a controller at all. Nintendo was actually offered to utilize some of the technology used in Natal for a console of theirs, but declined the offer on the basis that it wouldn’t fit in with the reasonable price range they try to maintain.

It’s not just how near or far you are, or what you are doing that Natal is aware of, however, it also is aware of who you are. Natal has the ability to recognise your face after scanning it in previously, which allows it to do such things as sign you into your Xbox account as soon as you stand before it, or allows characters in games to greet you personally just by looking at you. Cool, eh? This scanning ability also extends to pictures or items of clothing, as well, where you can hold your own possessions up to the camera and be looking at them on the screen moments later within the wonderful world of your game.

Natal can not only see you, however, it can also hear you (thank God it isn’t in the hands of the government, or it would seem George Orwell’s ‘1984’ is coming true just 26 years late). This voice recognition will allow you to speak vocal commands, such as ‘Power Off,’ and be obeyed by your console. This will, of course, extend to games, where characters will be able to repeat your name in their own voices after you’ve spoken it to them.

When it comes to aesthetic appeal, you will be pleased to hear that Natal will not leave your sitting room looking like the interior of the Millennium Falcon. The device itself is going to be a sleek, black piece of modern looking hardware which will sit comfortably in front or on top of your TV being horizontal and only 23cm (9inch) wide. The only problem I can see arising from this is the fact the actual 360 console is, in most of its manifestations, white, which could displease gamers who like colours to match. No doubt there’ll be covers of varying colour available for those who truly care, though, so everyone can be happy with the look of the device.

People who have been lucky enough to have a go at playing on Natal have all, without exception, been impressed with the technology. According to them, its sensitivity is spot on, responding to their gestures and commands just as desired. This hopefully means that there will be none of the frustration one could easily anticipate of the device misinterpreting your intentions and doing the opposite to what you would like, hindering the escapism the Natal promotes. So things are looking promising functionally.

First announced at last year’s E3 Expo with the video above, Natal is now set for a Christmas release this year. The pricing has not yet been announced but you can bet your bottom pound that it won’t be cheap, especially considering Nintendo’s refusal to retain the technology due to the price it would cost their customers. Whether or not it would be worth the money, I’ll leave you to decide, and Santa Clause, of course. Nonetheless, Natal sounds as though it certainly has the potential to break the fourth wall and pull you into your games. To make it even better, it’s going to count as exercise! So, Microsoft, like Nintendo before them, are trying to make up for all the obesity they’ve caused in the ten years of Xboxes have been on the shelves by releasing this- revolutionary to the industry?- piece of gaming hardware, which should also expand their audiences thanks to its no-controller accessibility.

Those of you who are Sony gamers needn’t feel too left out of the world of interactivity, either. While Microsoft will most likely dominate the sales this Christmas thanks to Natal, the people at Sony aren’t going to stand by while Nintendo and Microsoft lap up all the motion sensitive glory, shadowing their Eye-Toy. Their response is going to be a new motion sensitive controller for the PS3, looking like the Wii-mote, with a cool LCD light on top which the Eye-Toy camera tracks. Then, on screen, the controller can become anything, like a baseball bat or a sword. This is also due out later this year but, looking and sounding slightly less sophisticated than Natal, Sony are most likely going to have to take their hats off to Microsoft this Christmas, whose Natal technology is set to reform the way we game, extend the life expectancy of ourselves and also of their Xbox 360 console.

Keep an eye open for my preview of one of the more interesting games to be released on Natal, 'Milo,' which I'll be posting like this one, with a video, soon.