I like to Move it, Move it...

​By Ryan Winslett

Playstation Move was released upon the masses last Friday, finally bringing motion control to Sony's big black box.

Several titles launched with the new hardware, with even more headed down the pipeline, including patches for multiple existing games to feature Move support.

The following is the first in a two-part series featuring hands-on time with all of the launch games and demos for some that have yet to be released. Drop by Joystick Division tomorrow for part two and, later in the week, our full review for Sports Champions.

Let's get moving. (I'll try not to make any more jokes like that. No promises.)

TV Superstars

​I'm sure there's a market for this game somewhere out there, but I don't think I'm it.

In TV Superstars, players are tasked with taking part in several television themed competitions that basically boils down to a collection of Move-focused mini-games.

Players begin by taking a few snapshots of their mug and recording their own catchphrase to be played throughout the challenges.

TV Superstars is supposed to be fun and lighthearted, but it came off as loud and obnoxious instead. From the character animations to the voice acting and presentation, I had a difficult time not being annoyed by this game every step of the way.

One of the mini-games had me walking down the catwalk, swinging the Move controller to mimic gestures shown onscreen. Another had me participating in various game show challenges like running in place while avoiding a robotic monkey's attacks or launching my avatar through the air and trying to match a certain pose before crashing through a target.

I can't help but feel I might have enjoyed myself more if the over-the-top antics were toned down and I could stand actually listening to any of the characters speak. At this point, though, I just didn't have much fun with TV Superstars.

 

The Shoot

​Now here was a nice surprise. Other than my arms getting tired from aiming at the screen so long, I quite enjoyed my hands-on with The Shoot for its high production value and spot-on accuracy.

In The Shoot, the player makes their way through various movie sets based on genres like Western, alien invasion, etc. Each set is broken into multiple levels of gallery shooting, giving players plenty of things to blast to smithereens.

An announcer gives you pointers and props throughout but he gets to be unwelcome company rather quickly. Otherwise, the game sounds and looks really nice.

More than just a point-and-shoot affair, several upgrades and additional maneuvers become available depending on the situation. You can duck behind cover or lean to avoid a thrown knife. You can spin in a circle to activate slo-mo and shoot the ground to unleash a screen-clearing attack.

Some of the motion controls, though, feel more cumbersome than exciting. Ducking to avoid mini-gun fire, for instance, is fun. Breaking up the action so I can pump a rail car between shootouts, unfortunately, is not.

Depending on how many modes, movie sets and options the full game offers, this one might be a good title for shooting fans to keep an eye on.

 

Start the Party

​Start the Party is the Move's obligatory mini-game compilation that is supposed to be fun for the whole family. So long as your family consists of younger kids, this one might be a mild success.

I was able to tackle two of the title's mini-games in my time with it including a bug swatting excursion and a timed painting exercise.

One of the cool features Start the Party sports in the altered reality masks for the motion controller. When you're killing bugs, it looks like you're holding a large flyswatter. When you're painting, the Move becomes a brush. These items are highly detailed and look really good on-screen.

Killing bugs involved strategic swiping, trying to smack as many normal bugs as I could while avoiding the explosive bugs that could destroy my instrument of death and waste precious seconds.

The painting game had me outlining and filling in shapes as quickly as possible. At the end, my terrible works of art were pieced together to create an onscreen creature that came to life and moved about. It was a pretty neat touch.

For families looking to get in on some sweet Move action, Start the Party might do the trick.

 

Kung Fu Rider

​Players begin each level of Kung Fu Rider strapped to an office chair, or various other wheeled transport, at the top of a hill. The object of the game is to get to the bottom of said hill while collecting as many points, beating as many bad guys and dodging as many obstacles as possible with as much style as possible to earn big points.

Pumping the Move controller like you're running makes your character go faster, thrusting the controller down applies the breaks, launching your hands skyward makes you jump, steering left and right occurs by, um, steering left and right, pressing the Move button allows you to kick and pulling the trigger allows you to lay back, ducking under low obstacles. Other maneuvers and advanced mechanics are available, giving your Rider plenty of ways to navigate the various levels, but the fun wore off pretty quickly, even in my short hands-on time.

I'm not sure what surprises the full retail version might pack but, from what I've experienced, this would have made a great downloadable title rather than a full price affair, even at the discounted $40 Move mark.

 

Heavy Rain: Move Edition

​The demo for Heavy Rain: Move Edition, was something of a surprise. If asked which version of the game I'd recommend to a friend, I honestly have no idea how I would answer at this point. Both work well for the most part and both come with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Walking, in the Move version, felt more natural to me so long as I wasn't in too confined a space. Some controls, though, were a bit tricky to get the hang of. I'm not sure why, but I was stuck at shaking an asthma inhaler for far too long. I just couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

It's also kind of hard to see the prompts from time to time in the Move edition, making it difficult to know what, exactly, I was supposed to be doing with the controller. This had the unfortunate effect of taking me out of the game, a no-no for a title that's supposed to be as immersive as Heavy Rain.

On the other hand, when in the middle of an intense scene, the Move commands felt more visceral and engaging. Even though I made more mistakes than with the regular controller, I felt like I had actually gone through a pretty exciting ordeal. More time spent with the Move should cure some of those misfires, but I was still happy with how satisfying it felt to physically put the smackdown on a prostitute abusing A-hole.

I look forward to seeing how the full version of Heavy Rain: Move Edition turns out when it releases this October.