OXCGN’s Playstation MOVE Review Part 2:

Games and Final Verdict

A 360 site has an honest & serious look at MOVE

by : AXIS of Reality

©2010 Alex Baldwin

In Part 1 we looked at Playstation MOVE’s hardware and now it is time to take a close look at the launch software line-up for someone coming fresh into the platform (MOVE) through Sony’s Move Start Pack.

However, before we jump into taking a good look at Sony‘s offering, I think it’s best I clear up some questions for any non-regular readers of OXCGN or those who missed part 1.

1. Yes, we are an Xbox-centric site.
2. No, we are not fanboys.
3. Yes, we appreciate good games and hardware no matter what the platform.
4. No, the purpose of this review isn’t to trash an opposing system.
5. Yes, I personally own and play all current consoles and handhelds.

With that out of the way, time to have a look at the initial games for the PlayStation MOVE’s Australian release.

The name MOVE covers a range of both mandatory and optional hardware for use with MOVE games, but the absolute minimum is a Move controller and PlayStation Eye camera.

Now for games appearing in MOVE Start Pack

The Move Start Pack consists of a MOVE controller, PlayStation Eye and demo disc for $AU99.95 which is a good deal.

The disc contains demos of the following games listed in the category of my impressions of what’s on offer, as well as from demos of PSN that weren’t included on the disc.

Great:

• Echochrome II:

Using the Move controller’s light as an actual light to make shadows that guide a shadow figure to the exit is highly original and a great showcase. Better yet, it’s due for release soon on the PlayStation Network.

• Sports Champions:

While undoubtably Sony’s answer to Wii Sports it does a great job of showcasing the controller’s capabilities. I ended up buying it myself, and have found it to be more than competent with immediate responsiveness and structured singleplayer modes that give it some longevity beyond multiplayer.

Using two MOVE controllers also works great in Archery. My only real complaints would be the limited number of sports that will hopefully be expanded in the future and the inability to create a custom avatar, instead being restricted to the usual annoying stereotypes.

Good:

• The Shoot:

A lightgun shooter involving playing through movie sets offing cardboard enemies. It was a lot of fun and offers 2-player support, but I have to wonder how quickly it may get repetitive.

Strangely, it doesn’t use the PlayStation Eye at all and relies on the gyroscope for aiming.

If you need proof, walk out of the camera’s view and marvel as you can still point and aim smoothly.

• Eyepet:

Sony’s virtual pet is back and far more accurate with MOVE. Using augmented reality your strange monkey thing will jump around as you use the controller as blowdryers, cookie jars and more overlaid on the grainy image of you and your loungeroom.

Great for the kids, and a free patch away for existing Eyepet owners.

Average:

• Tumble:

A Jenga-style block building and destroying game available now on PSN, this sees you using the controller to carefully place blocks of different materials.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that this is a glorified tech demo, and while polished found little fun in the experience.

• Start The Party:

A typical mini-game collection using augmented reality.

The technology is very impressive and you’ll spend the first few minutes waving the controller around in wonder as it appears on screen as if you’re holding the in-game implement with perfect accuracy.

Pretty soon the jarring commentator’s voice and uninteresting, repetitive mini-games will put most people off.

• Beat Sketcher:

Another augmented reality ‘game’ (if this one fits that description) that sees you painting over the camera feed of yourself with the controller while basic music is generated in time to your brush strokes.

Fun for a while, but definitely feels undercooked for its potential.

Poor:

• Racket Sports:

Filling the void of actual tennis games in Sports Champions, this provides five ‘different’ sports involving hitting balls with a variety of racquets and seems equally inadequate at all of them.

There is a significant delay between your actions and the in-game response, appearing as if the game is waiting for you to finish your action before recognising it. This makes it a game of prediction and very unsatisfying. Particularly in badminton I found an unbeatable stroke that saw me win every match.

• TV Superstars:

Clearly aimed at the tween generation, this collection of mini-games sees you (yes, your face plastered in an avatar) competing in some reality shows with overly enthusiastic hosts and lots and lots of ego inflating.

The fun includes shaking the controller up and down repeatedly in a fashion I was hoping wouldn’t carry over from the Wii to run on a giant wheel and moving the controller to trace lines on the screen to model clothes with random flailing being equally effective.

Not even your Justin Bieber-obsessed little cousin would find this game tolerable.

• Kung Fu Rider:

It sounds like a lot of fun, riding office chairs downhill swerving and jumping to avoid obstacles, kicking to increase speed and taking out the mafia chasing you but it ends up being anything but.

Almost all the controls are mapped to movements, including steering which constantly has the game incorrectly guessing your thrust to speed up as a command to jump or turn. Very frustrating and apparently very poorly playtested.

A patch could fix this, but the repetition and hit-and-miss humour would still drag this down.

And finally, what about a gamer’s game?

For that, I bought Heavy Rain. I have to admit, I did buy it when it was released and promptly returned it after finding the thumbstick twiddling very irritating and failing to become engaged in the first hour. Perhaps MOVE could help it out.

• Heavy Rain:

It does indeed. While initially taking a bit of practise to recognise the new icons that indicate certain movements, pretty soon I was flicking the controller around able to perform actions quite naturally and  anticipate what would be needed.

The MOVE implementation works particularly well in action and fight scenes, where an accidental waggle of the controller has consequences and relies on you keeping a cool head and not panicking, much like your on-screen persona at that time.

It makes for a nail-biting experience and split-second twitches that work wonderfully, leading to me accidentally shooting someone in a certain situation I hadn’t intended because I wasn’t careful. I guess now I’ll have to play it again to find out how it goes without that happening!

Special mention must also go to using ARI (your virtual computer) in the office with the motion-controlled gestures matching your characters to look through case files.

There were a few times where a larger than predicted action was needed, or a chain of movements leading from one to the other ended up with me almost holding the controller on the ground or out of my seat before the chain ended. Luckily these don’t have a significant impact on enjoyment, but are quirks that could do with some polish.

I didn’t want to mention Kinect in this article, but I have to say I was thinking of how much nicer it would be to perform the game gestures without a controller. MOVE does work brilliantly in Heavy Rain however, and made for a great improvement on the thumbstick controls.

MOVE Overall Verdict:

After a quite frankly underwhelming showing at E3, the final product displays a good deal of polish and is definitely a significant upgrade from the Wii, although the majority of games available at launch do little to differentiate themselves from their standard-definition counterparts on the Wii.

The hardware is there and works great, but some quality software is needed to really sell it and so far a triple-A game has yet to materialise.

Kinect looks like it may initially face this same issue, but in the meantime for MOVE I’m happy with Echochrome II, Sports Champions and Heavy Rain while I wait for something to go beyond the Wii.

©2010 Alex Baldwin

xxxxxx

Filed under: Console gaming, Editorial, Events, Game Impressions, Game Industry News, Hardware News, PS3 Reviews, Xbox 360 Tagged: | Echochrome II, EyePet, Heavy Rain, Kung Fu Rider, Move Beat Sketcher, Move Eyepet, Move Heavy Rain edition, Move Racket Sports, Move Start The Party, MOve The Shoot, Move Tumble, Move TV Superstars, Playstation, Playstation 3, PlayStation Move, Sony, Sports Champions, Wii Sports, Xbox