PlayStation Move Review

3 years ago when Nintendo launched its Wii console, hardcore gamers scoffed at its potential. But it didn’t take long before the grandmas and soccer moms were lining up to get their waggle on. Sony and Microsoft, realizing they missed the waggle wagon, are both releasing their motion controller competitors this holiday. Sony is up first with the Move - a strange looking remote like device with a giant glowing orb on the top. In a lot of ways it behaves very similar to the Wii-mote - but in a lot of ways it’s a generation ahead.

The first requirement of the Move is the fact you not only need a motion controller, but you need a PlayStation Eye camera. These two devices working together to do two things; they are able to figure out which position your hand is in thanks to accelerometers, gyroscopes, and thinga-ma-bobs, and they can also tell how close you are to your television giving you a true 3D space to simulate. There in lies a problem with the Move - especially if you want to play a two player game - you need quite a bit of space to work with.

Like the Wii you don’t want to run into your partner and such, so adequate space was always a requirement, but unlike the Wii you need to be a good 5 or more feet back from your TV when playing in order for the camera to see you properly. In fact, in my living room which measures about 11 feet deep I had a problem getting the camera positioned right for certain titles like EyePet and even Sports Champions in two player mode.

The other piece of the Move puzzle is the Navigation Controller. This little device contains an analog stick, d-pad, and other various buttons. Most games don’t require it - and sadly unlike Nintendo’s “Nun-Chuk,” it doesn’t contain any special functionality in some of the motion games.

All in all the hardware itself impressed me with its accuracy. In the games themselves I never had trouble getting it to recognize my actions - and in the titles that showed 1:1 motion like Zen Studio’s Mini Golf and Sports Champions - I felt it was entirely accurate. Using it to navigate the XMB is a snap, you simply hold the trigger and gently move it. It’s almost as if your hand is controlling the XMB in some Minority Report like way.

Priced at $40 for a motion controller, $30 for a Navigation controller, and another $40 for an Eye - the Move isn’t a cheap investment. Luckily most games don’t require or even use the Navigation controller, and if you want, you can utilize a six-axis in its place. My advice is to just pick up two motion controllers or the starter bundle and a motion controller and be done with it.

Sports Champions is the game I spent the most time with and the one that shows off the Move the best. Like Wii-Sports, Sports Champions is a collection of mini-games that showcase the different actions you can do with the controller. The improvement here isn’t only the really pretty graphics, but the depth at which the sports can be played at.

A few titles - while they work with one motion controller - basically require two. Archery, Gladiator Duels, and Volleyball all come to mind as something that’s just not the same unless you have two orb topped controllers at your disposal.

In archery one controller mimics your front hand while the other will mimic the back. You’ll go through all the motions of taking the arrow out of the quiver, placing it on the bow, pulling back the string, aiming and firing. With one controller you’ll only be aiming a mouse cursor - definitely not the same.

The Gladiator Duel game has one controller putting your sword hand in motion while the other utilizes your shield for blocking. Without the extra controller you need to memorize button combinations to do various maneuvers. The Volleyball game is similar where each Move is one of your hands for setting, bumping, and even serving.

Speaking of Volleyball - it’s your only co-opable game in the collection.

Rounding out the collection we have Bocce Ball, Ping Pong and Disc Golf. I had a good time with each of these and each had their stand out moments of when the controller really showcased itself. In Bocce Ball for instance it was incredibly easy to not only see the 1:1 motion of my arm and the on screen character, it was able to control the height, distance, and other aspects of my throw very naturally. In Ping Pong it was natural to apply spin, position and power to my shots.

For me Sports Champions was a ton of fun and I liked the ladder style of opponents to play against. I would have preferred that it was more upfront with the controller requirements but the game shows off the Move quite well.

Who said videogames don't get you the ladies?

Another PlayStation Move game I spent a lot of time with was Planet Minigolf - a title that’s actually been around for a bit but got the Move support added in a free patch. The version I played actually had the Stronghold Island DLC available. This adds Pirate and Castle themed levels to the game.

Putting using the Move felt completely natural - though getting the pattern down for swinging took some time. To putt you’ll need to press a button to initiate aiming, use the Move to aim your shot, then click another button to start the swing, and then do a putting motion. The problem I found was I kept accidentally hitting the button and releasing it to fast and the game would pick up a quick jerk motion causing me to hit the ball 3 inches. Eventually I got my rhythm down, but until I did this was frustrating.

The courses themselves were a lot of fun with plenty of creative holes to play. Yes there are windmills to hit through. Yes there are giant suits of armor to contend with. Yes there are loop-de-loops.

One great thing I didn’t realize was you can actually create your own custom holes and courses in the game and share them with the community - as of now there’s over 25k custom holes to play.

If mini-golf is your thing and you have a knack for creating interesting shots - I’d suggest giving Planet Minigolf a try with the Move. There’s a lot of to do in the game itself with quick play, tournaments and multiplayer - combined with the creative community aspects, it’s a bargain for $10.

I downloaded just about every Move demo available for the PS3 and thought I’d give a few final impressions.

EyePet is a game that brings a virutal Furbee like creature into your living room.   You can then set this up and interact with it using the camera and Motion controller. I tried getting my 18 month old daughter to play with it, but she was more enthralled by the fact she was on screen than the furry creature. One problem I had with it was having enough space to place because the camera needs to see a line of floor and horizon to know where to place the little guy.  There's a few mini-games to play like drawing an airplane for the EyePet to ride - but more or less this is a glorified technology demo.

Heavy Rain came out last year on the PS3 to great acclaim and the game has gotten a patch to play the entire thing with the Move. The demo available can be played with either controller option. I found the Move prompts to be a bit confusing, and I wasn’t quite sure what the game wanted me to do at certain points. I’m sure after a certain amount of time with the product you can get the hang of it - but I was turned off. That being said - I never though raising my hand up to knock on a door would seem so cool.

Kung-Fu Rider is a weird game reminded me a bit of Crazy Taxi in terms of style, but it was anything but. Basically you ride an office chair or other rollable object down a steep hill avoiding the Chinese Mafia. You earn style points for ducking under objects, jumping over objects, kicking bad guys, and squeezing through tight spaces. The move is used to lean back or jump up as well as steer. It was a fun game for the bit I played - and if it comes out at $10 or so I might have to pick it up.

As someone who has a Wii still packed in his clothes closet - I’m not the biggest proponent of motion controlled games. That being said - while I didn’t find myself wanting to spend a ton of time with these titles - it’s a nice distraction in a lot of cases. Whether the Move will truly catch on is yet to be seen - but surprisingly - I like the fact it’s an OPTIONAL accessory.  The controller technology itself is incredibly impressive and the accuracy it creates motion is exactly as one would expect.

If I have one quarrel with it, it's a bit expensive and the glowing ball is a bit distracting in a dark room.  I could easily see it reflecting off my TV while playing.  

As of now there’s no killer app for the Move - there’s no reason to absolutely have to go out and buy it. There’s a few big titles coming down the pipe like SOCOM 4, Killzone 3, Sorcery and others that look to cater to a core audience, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Score: 4 out of 5