Written by: Mark

 

 

Developer: Sony

Price: 59.99 Euro

Category: Game Accessory

Platform: PS3

 

 

 

It seems an age since Nintendo took the next gen gaming world by storm with it’s unique Wii console. Admittedly the success was more thanks to it’s control system rather than the catalogue of games, but despite this the console sold millions worldwide making it an undoubted success.

 

Now in 2010 both Sony and Microsoft are entering the motion control war with their respective Move and Kinect systems which will both be available in time for Christmas.

 

In this review we take a look at the first of these to be released, the Playstation Move and see if this proves a challenger to the Wii and steals a march on it’s Microsoft rival.

 

 

The most noticeable thing with the starter pack of the Playstation move is it’s price which comes in at less than half the price of the Kinect, but does this mean it will prove to have half of the enjoyment?

 

As you open the starter pack you will find a rather nice looking Playstation Eye camera, a motion controller which if I’m being honest looks rather less like a game controller than expected and a demo disc containing an impressive selection of the games available at launch.

 

The most noticeable omission however is a charging cable for the motion controller however this can be overlooked as a joypad charging cable also fits this peripheral, despite this I still feel that it is strange that one was not included particularly if you need to charge both your pad and motion controller at the same time.

 

 

Also missing is the additional navigation controller which acts in a similar way to the controls of the Wii’s nunchuck in terms of working in partnership with the motion controller and these can be purchased separately. At present there are very few games that require this controller so that is something worth thinking about further down the line when future titles become available.

 

 

As you set up the system which involves connecting the camera to one of the USB ports on the console and if like myself you have a Playstation slim this is not ideal as this requires having cables running from the front of the console to the camera either sat under or on top of the TV depending on which calibrates best. Again this is where the main design flaw of the camera becomes obvious as the stiffness of the cables means it can prove difficult to get the camera sat just right often to get it perfect this may require some home made device to stick it to it’s desired location.

 

Calibrating the controller is a simple but very effective process with each individual game requiring the player to stand in certain positions so that the camera picks up the movement of the glowing ball on the controller to ensure that the system will run smoothly.

 

In addition to utilising the motion controller during games it can also be used to control the various features on the Playstation dashboard and this is where things begin to get really awkward. This is primarily due to the need to use both the pointing device and buttons on the controller to choose the various actions and it is safe to say that this is far more difficult to use than it ought to be and shows that whilst the control system works perfectly well it is not beneficial to try and use this as the main control system unless of course you are willing to show patience and put the time and effort into getting used to this.

 

Whilst the initial setting up is not without it’s flaws it is a pretty simple process which gamers of all ages should adapt to fairly quickly and shows that Sony have pitched the Move at an audience of all ages which can only be seen as a major positive.

 

 

When I first saw the design of the Move I thought that the motion controller looked like a hideous piece of kit but once switched on it feels very natural to hold and the glowing ball which changes colour depending on actions adds something very unique to the experience.

 

This ball is not just added for cosmetic purposes and it is designed to pick up each individual movement such as the smallest hand movements and these transfer to the games very well and certainly gives the player a far more fluid experience than can be seen on any Nintendo Wii game. It has to be said that it really does work supremely well and certainly gives the player the feel of being in complete control of the on screen actions.

 

I have already mentioned about the camera looking state of the art but with a few faults and I know that quite a few gamers have already mentioned as to whether it portrays HD images and on initial impressions it does not which is highlighted further by the demo of Start The Party which reminds me of the early Eye Toy games for the PS2 in it’s family style of mini games.