I've read pretty much every PlayStation Move story since the embargo broke last night. Sounds like everyone is SUPER stoked about the hardware. Stand-out titles appear to be Sports Champions and Tumble. IGN's scores are notably lower than everyone elses (particularly Tumble); but on the whole it seems very positive. I'm very excited. Can't wait to get my fill of table tennis; it was excellent when I checked it out earlier in the year.
Anyway, here's my compilation.
Hardware
IGN – 8.5 / 10
“At the end of the day, the PlayStation Move has the potential to be the best motion control system on the current crop of consoles; but unfortunately, the games offered at the moment just don’t do the technology justice. If you’re eager to buy into the system now, don’t expect a whole lot of great content straight out of the gate, but with time and certain kinks ironed out, the Move could prove to be a great way to add new gameplay experiences to the PlayStation 3 and attract new, more casual players.”
CVG – 9.0 / 10
“ PlayStation Move is a success in its own right. After all, it got us to play ’shovelware’, enjoy it – and even respect it.”
“I can’t help but declare PlayStation Move a resounding success as a piece of consumer technology and general way of interacting with games. Yes, it’s the natural evolution of the Wii Remote, but it trumps Nintendo’s creation in every respect, from its accuracy (even MotionPlus can’t match it) to the quality of its vibration feedback.”
“The traditional console cycle seems to have been eschewed by all players in favor of new methods of interactions. It’s shaping up to be one of the most interesting eras in the history of console gaming, and make no mistake, Sony’s got all the right ingredients here.”
“Out of the gate, Sony is pairing its powerhouse console with some of the most impressive motion-control technology the market has seen. It’s got a decent lineup of software that ranges from casual-centric titles to impressive tech demos, along with some updates to already established games, so it should appeal to a wide audience. It’s clear that Sony — with this outstanding technology — has the bones to be a fighter that can hold its own in the motion-control space. Whether it has the brains is mostly up to developers; whether it has the stamina is up to consumers.”
“It may be Sony’s stake in the great motion control arms race, but we reckon there’s no comparison to Wii and Microsoft’s Kinect, because so far Move is confidently the pick of the bunch. We’ve had quality time with a wide range of launch titles, as well as games that are due to come our further down the line and so far, the controller has proved to be responsive and reliable all round.”
“The Playstation Move is a intuitive, natural feeling way to play games and it brings with it not only a sense of increased immersion to already graphically immersive games, but a new way to play with your reality and a refreshing form of colorful feedback.”
Sports Champions
“For better or worse, I was expecting Sports Champions to be a glorified Wii Sports, the Playstation 3’s answer to casual, motion gaming. What I wasn’t expecting was a set of experiences that so effortlessly blended high-resolution graphics with precision motion detection. Sports Champions managed to give me a level of intuitive motion gaming I’ve rarely found, even on the Wii’s MotionPlus, and did so in a way I found oddly addictive and pleasantly fun.”
IGN – 7.5 / 10
“Sports Champions is fun, but it’s rough around the edges. The gameplay is solid for the most part and will provide you with some good times and there’s a lot for a single player to do, but it’s not going to feel fresh for long. This is another motion controlled mini-game collection. It’s a good one, but it’s not taking the genre anywhere new.”
Joystiq – 4.5 / 5
“Sports Champions is a great pack-in for Move and well worth buying on its own if you go the a la carte route with the hardware. You’ll spend a good chunk of each day playing it and hoping for a sequel. (Can we have bowling and baseball, please?)”
TheSixthAxis – 8 / 10
“Sports Champions, then, is the perfect game to pick up alongside your Move when you grab one in a couple of weeks. It’s priced well (at around £25), offers lots of gameplay and a couple of real gems. Whilst I’m not a huge fan of the archery, I know some people are and it’s reasonable to assume that everyone will have their favourites. After all, I couldn’t stand Wii Sports Boxing but I know someone that played it ad infinitum.”
Eye Pet: Move Edition
IGN – 8 / 10
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with EyePet and was surprised by the variety of things to do with him in order to keep things fresh. The game is very clearly aimed at families and kids, so if you don’t tend to like pet simulations already, then you probably won’t care for EyePet. But, if you do, then I think you’ll find EyePet to be the most realistic and satisfying one that you’ve played.”
TheSixthAxis – 6 / 10
“If you’re fond of Eyepet and can look past the niggles, interacting with your chosen furball has gotten a whole lot easier and more intuitive – and whilst it’s not going to hold your attention for too long, it’s well worth the upgrade for fans.”
Start The Party
“Start The Party is, at launch, the best game for showing how special the PlayStation Move can be. Its augmented reality should be experienced by all gamers, so that they can sample a concept fresh to console gaming, one that feels like it has grand potential beyond the two handfuls of mini-games here. Start The Party is slickly made, and its games are fun. If you don’t mind it being a little lacking in content, then there’s nothing to complain about. So, do you want to brush an alligator’s teeth with a giant toothbrush or not? How many times?”
Joystiq – 3 / 5
“There are 20 minigames in all, so you’ll probably find at least a couple you’ll want to come back to, but I really can’t recommend this as more than a rental for when you know younger family members or friends’ kids are going to be around.”
GameTrailers – 6.0 / 10
Kung-Fu Rider
“Kung Fu Rider may offer longevity to players who are obsessed with re-racing downhill courses, looking for the best rank on each. But for anyone else, it would probably be too thin a game to enjoy long-term. There is little variety here, little variation on a gameplay style that many people have played before, just without the Kung Fu. This is not a game that makes the Move feel like a breakthrough, except in the evolution of games finding gameplay reasons for their heroes to bend over and stick their butt out toward the player.”
IGN – 3.5 / 10
“Kung Fu Rider is not a good game. The controls are terribly unresponsive, the game punishes players unfairly and the level design is repetitive. While playing Kung Fu Rider, the PlayStation Eye takes random pictures of you at key moments in the mission. It was quite telling that in all those photographs, I looked really angry. Leave this one on the shelf.”
Joystiq – 2 / 5
“The levels are also incredibly samey and brief – Kung Fu Rider is basically an arcade game that would have played better with a regular controller, and might have been worthwhile as a $10 PSN release. As a full $40 retail title with no standard controller support (not that it should have to have it!), Kung Fu Rideris pricey and a poor execution of a cool concept.”
GameTrailers – 4.8 / 10
Racquet Sports
Joystiq – 4 / 5
“If you’re after a tennis fix with Move and can’t hold out for Virtua Tennis 4, this $30 title is a lot of fun and has high production qualities. A word of warning though: The game runs in 1080p at 60fps, but there’s noticeable screen tearing.”
IGN – 4.5 / 10
“Racquet Sports isn’t the best game to kick off the PlayStation Move. The technology is able to pick up on finite wrist movements and small changes in angle, but none of that comes through here. Instead what you get is a game devoid of skill and any real fun, despite the relatively pleasing aesthetics of the characters and surroundings. There’s certainly potential for racquet-based sports going forward, but Racquet Sports shouldn’t be used as a model for success. More accurately, this game shows developers what not to do with their Move creations.”
“This game is worth a look for those who hanker for some Wii Sports tennis but have somehow avoided getting a Wii. That, however, seems like a minuscule audience. Racquet Sports isn’t doing anything new with Move. It’s just doing what you’d guess someone was going to do with a controller that could be accused of being a fancier Wii Remote.”
Tumble
IGN – 3.5 / 10
“Ultimately, Tumble just isn’t interesting. At times the puzzles can be mildly amusing, but most of the time it’s pure tedium. I literally would have had more fun seeing how high I could stack a real pile of blocks.”
Joystiq – 4.5 / 5
“The pacing of Tumble is intentionally slow — I had many moments, on the edge of my seat, trying to slide a block into place with the slightest movements so as not to topple the rest of the structure — but if you’ve got the patience, you’ll be rewarded time and time again.”
“Tumble feels like an unfinished game, like the skeletal mechanics of something that still needs to given muscle, fat and skin. The game play is fun, the mechanics solid, but the lack of anything beyond those puzzles and the monotonous disembodied voice of a British woman can become wearing.”
GameTrailers – 8.3 / 10
Miscellaneous
- Beat Sketcher, The Best PlayStation Move Game You Weren’t Expecting
- High Velocity Bowling Is The Worst Of The Bunch
- How Echochrome II Works, Besides Wonderfully
- TV Superstars, The Move’s First Fake Game Show
- I Did An Obi-Wan With The Move’s First Light Gun Game
- Jason, Jason, PlayStation Move, Jason
Thanks to: IGN, Engadget, Kotaku, Joystiq, TheSixthAxis and more.
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