The game features 101 mini games which generally centre around sports, some are more common sports like basketball and soccer, whereas others like darts and squash also make the cut. The game includes a basic (albeit appreciated) single player mode. If you want to play in single player (which is never the strength of these types of titles) then you can either play tag in, tag out or par for the course. In tag in tag out you need to win three mini games, whereas in par for the course you need to try and hit your golf ball into the hole to win. However, to hit the ball you need to pass a mini-game and every time you fail a mini-game it is considered a shot, so it's not as easy as it seems. You also have the choice between a long shot or a short shot, which mixes things up a bit.
Surprisingly you'll need to flap your hands in this mini game.
It's the multiplayer where Eyetoy Play Sports really shines, though not as brightly as we'd hoped. The types of games that you can play vary depending on how many players you have, but you can generally choose from scoreboard, football fever, tag in, tag out and parachute plunge. In scoreboard you just need to win as many games as possible to be at the top of the scoreboard. In football fever you need to win mini games to progress on the pitch and in parachute plunge you need to win mini games to stay in the air. There is enough variety of ways to play the game, but the actual variety of the mini games is what brings down the enjoyability of Eyetoy Play Sports
Whilst there are 101 mini games there are barely any stand outs. Some of the mini games (such as the one where you need to hit the squash ball back and forth) are actually relatively enjoyable, whereas others are just so repetitive or difficult that you won't even try. There is no way to customise the type of mini games you want to play either, so even if you find a few you like you'll need to get through some poor mini games before you get to the good ones. There is a mini game where you need to use strength to throw a ball, but the camera is really just tracking your movements, so it can't really accurately judge how "strongly" you've thrown the ball, mini games like this don't require skill, they just require luck.
I'm sure if you flap your hands you'll be right..
The Eyetoy games have potentially exhausted all of the capabilities of the camera by now, so all you're really getting (despite the very clever wording) are games where you need to flap your arms, either left, right, up or down. So in one of the basketballs game you need to bounce a basketball, in one of the baseball games you need to hit the ball and in soccer you need to flap your arms left or right to control the direction of the ball. The camera can only do so much. Some of the mini-games don't even necessarily relate to sport, one of them actually requires you to solve maths problems but hitting the soccer shirt hanging on the line that has the answer.
Graphically the game looks pretty basic, but this is the case with all of the Eyetoy titles, the graphics are clever and purposely kiddish. The sound effects are about as basic as you can get, with the overexaggerated crowd noises becoming annoying very quickly. Just like Singstar and Buzz! Eyetoy Play Sports isn't the type of game you'll drag out consistantly. You'll likely play it every now and then and use the Eyetoy camera when you purchase a game that supports the camera, you can't really "complete" the game as such.
Guess what you have to do in this game?
101 games may seem like a lot, but when you're literally doing the same thing in just about every mini game the novelty of just how many games there are wears thin. There is only so much that the Eyetoy camera is capable of and now that seeing your picture on the television isn't nearly as exciting as four years ago the game only has the mini games to offer and unfortunately they're just not that great. If you've never played an Eyetoy title before then you'll get enough enjoyment out of your first Eyetoy experience, but otherwise the game isn't worth it.
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