Review: Playstation Move – Wii ‘Move’ Over

It’s been nearly two weeks now since the arrival of Playstation Move and in that time I’ve had plenty of games to try out and have been able to put the tech to the test.  Does it live up to Sony’s propaganda machine or should you steer clear of this ‘Wii clone’?

The Controllers

First of all, it is apt to begin with the controllers itself. You have the Playstation Move controller, the Navigation controller and the Playstation Eye. The Move controller is strong and sturdy and its curved design makes it far more comfortable than the Wii Remote. The controller also looks pretty nice, the ball on the end does look odd but the controller is strong and comfortable and these are more important than the aesthetics. The navigation controller again is strong and comfortable and with it been wireless it certainly excels the Wii’s nunchuck, however, this of course means more charging than the Wii. Finally the Playstation Eye, almost certainly the worst part of the package, the quality of the camera is incredibly poor and it seems that Sony have opted to cut production costs by using the existing tech. Don’t get me wrong the Eye does it job but in games such as Start the Party where your image is displayed on-screen you really get to see how poor the camera as the picture is extremely grainy and of a low resolution.  Overall it’s a neat little package and it seems to be other than the low resolution of the camera both strong and reliable.

One of the things with Move is the cost. In comparison to its rivals it is very competitively priced. A Playstation Move controller is around $49.99 (£29.99) and the Navigation controller comes in at $29.99 (£24.99) , what is really fantastic about the package is the ability to buy it in bits, for example one move controller and a Playstation Eye is enough to get you going, however, if you don’t already have the camera and wanted to be set for the complete 2 player gaming experience (4 move controllers, 2 navigation controllers and a Playstation Eye), even if you buy the starter kit priced at $99.99 (£49.99 in the UK), it would cost you around $310 (£190), suddenly it isn’t so cheap. It’s true to say that you can play most multiplayer games using one move controller each and you can also a dualshock or six axis controller in the place of a Navigation controller so really Move can be as cheap or as expensive as you like. In this area the value is down to you, you have to consider what you need and your usage, a good starting point from my own experience is two Move controllers and a Playstation Eye, this allows you to take advantage of the single player in games like Sports Champions by using two Move controllers but it also means you’re set for multiplayer gaming too.

The Games

I think, perhaps, the most important area is the performance of the technology and to really demonstrate this we checked out Sports Champions, Heavy Rain Move Edition, Start the Party and Kung Fu Rider. In general I will say that the Move controller feels incredibly responsive and the 1:1 really comes alive in games like Start the Party, the sad thing is that games like Sports Champions and Start the Party really highlight what the tech can do but it is let down by the quality of control in games like Kung Fu Rider.

The first game I got to have a go on was Sports Champions, in the U.S this comes bundled with the starter pack and out of the launch titles it was certainly my favorite. You are given the option of 6 sports which does actually feel slightly thin but Sony have tried to choose sports which aren’t available in Wii Sports. There are some really gems in the collection, Gladiator Duels is fantastic fun, you really get the most out of it when using two move controllers, one controls your weapon and the other your shield. The swings are very responsive and the 3D motion will detect where you are trying to strike. It’s surprising really how tactical you have to be in terms that you can’t simple keep slashing or the enemy will simply keep blocking you. Another a great game is Table Tennis and the 3D motion really comes to life, you have the proper ability to apply the likes of top spin and curve on the ball, it feels a lot more grown-up than Wii Sports yet it still remains as fun. The other sport I’d like to briefly mention is Archery, it is a blast with two motion controllers, however, if you only have the one it feels a lot more awkward and I think it’s important to mention that if you are going to get Sports Champions then it’s definitely worth getting two Move controllers. Other sports included are Disk Golf, Bocce and Beach Volleyball and they are a lot of fun and provide some great multiplayer entertainment for when you have friends or relatives over.

The other fun multiplayer and party title is Start the Party and in this game you really see the preciseness of the Move controller, the Playstation Eye displays you on-screen and effectively puts you in the game and this allows you to see the real-time motion. It’s a fun game but it is simply an update of the old eye toy games and it is certainly only for those with young children, it’s a fun game and the controls are very solid and best of all the multiplayer can be played using one Move controller.

Heavy Rain is a game that was patched and in many of the games that have been patched (such as High Velocity Bowling and Hustle Kings) there seems to have been a lack of enthusiasm for them. Heavy Rain was one of the more disappointing uses of Move for me, the problem is that if you miss a quick time event it can be difficult to work what you’ve actually done wrong. When using a controller if you miss a button it’s easy to go back and get it right, however, as it now relies on motion it’s a lot more complex. Also noticeable was a slight lag but most of the time it isn’t noticeable. Now Heavy Rain is a great game but going back to the motion controls it doesn’t feel like the franchise has really gained anything. It is good to see that Sony are supporting some of their back catalog but I’m not sure it’s enough to draw me into replaying the whole of story again.

Finally we come to Kung Fu Rider, the game feels incredibly rushed in terms of control and the idea is absurd. The controls feel awkward and are incredibly unresponsive. Now basically the idea of the game is to race to the end of the level on an office chair whilst taking out agents and dodging obstacles but bear in mind that trying to steer is horrible. You can swerve your controller to a 180 degree angle as hard as you want but you’ll still hit the wall. There is certainly a delay between your movement and on-screen events and with the fact that you have to dodge obstacles well it makes it almost impossible. By far the worst Move game I’ve played and it really highlights how the impact of the software can have on the tech. The tech can be great but without the controls probably implemented then to be quite frank it’s a waste of time.

The Judgement

So move-ing along (sorry couldn’t resist that, you can shoot me later), is Move worth it? Well it depends, the Move tech is by no means revolutionary, it has taken an existing idea and just made it better, if you’ve already got a Wii then it’s probably not worth the investment as all you’re getting is more of the same software. Admittedly it’s a shame about the lacklustre launch software, however, with titles such as Killzone 3, Socom 4, LittleBigPlanet 2 and Sorcery all promising Move implementation then the future software titles do look promising. If you’re still on the fence it probably is best to wait for now as whilst the tech is there the games aren’t and as developers become more used to work with Move the games will get better and so will the level of control. For now all we have is the Wii HD but the future potential lies with Sony and all the game developers for Move.