Using PlayStation Move for the first time can be something of a daunting experience, but any doubts that people have will be melted away by trying it. By interfacing with the PlayStation Eye peripheral, the PS Move controllers track your arm movements to a high degree of accuracy. According to Michael Ephraim, the Managing Director of Sony Australia, the PS Move is accurate to movements of one pixel and has a reaction speed five times faster than that of humans.
The initial interface for Sports Champions is a very basic setup, with the ability for players to go straight into one of the six games on offer – Archery, Table Tennis, Bocce, Disc Golf, Beach Volleyball and Gladiator Duel. Each of these games allows for a variety of play modes that you would expect from many normal sports games, such as free play and a championship mode. After the sport has been selected, players then must choose a pre-made avatar to represent themselves onscreen. At this stage it is unknown if there will be the option for gamers to create an avatar in their own image.
Table Tennis, PS Move Style
For the moment, the graphics for each of the sporting scenarios are not highly detailed, but they are clean and crisp, and if left unchanged should still be serviceable enough in the final product. That said, the main attraction to Sports Champions is not the way it looks but the way it plays, and it is a treat in this department. For this play test, PALGN got the chance to try their hand at both Table Tennis and Archery.
Table Tennis involves gamers facing an opponent in a frantic game of ping-pong. To serve, you simply raise your controller up in the air and make a hitting motion as you would in a real-life game of table tennis. A coloured beam of light allows you to see the trajectory of your shot. When hitting the ball, you can expect to use all the manner of serves and counters that you would employ in real life, such as backhands, volleys and drop shots. Additionally, players can twist the controller ever so slightly to add a bit of spin to their ball.
Perhaps it can be put down to this particular PALGN staff member’s co-ordination, but the controls of Table Tennis do take a few moments to get to grips with. Various factors have to be taken into consideration, especially the way you hold the PS Move controller itself – it can be the difference between missing an opponent’s ball and crafting your own perfect shot. When playing Table Tennis, the controller will track almost any kind of movement that you make. Coupled with the swift reactions of the CPU player, gamers will need to pay attention to make the right shots at the right times.
If Table Tennis is an exercise in timing and quick reactions, then Archery is all of those things with an extra element: precision. The Archery game contained within Sports Champions allows you to shoot at a variety of targets against another computer-controlled opponent.
Ready, aim, fire!
The control scheme for Archery requires the use of two PS Move controllers in order to fire upon a target. Players are initially treated to a first-person perspective as they grab an arrow. Whilst holding the trigger button, players have to reach behind their back to pull an arrow from their quill and then affix it to their bow by arching their arm forward. After doing so, the player can then pull back on their bow and release the trigger button in order to launch their arrow. The further you pull back, the greater the speed and power of your arrow.
As with Table Tennis, the trajectory of your arrow is marked out with a coloured ray of light. The first-person perspective allows players to take their time aiming their bow and in this regard, Archery doesn’t take long to get used to. Once a player understands the rhythm of reaching behind them, bringing their arm forward and pulling an imaginary bow taut before letting their arrow fly, playing Archery becomes an immensely satisfying gaming experience. The controls become as fluid and responsive as you can be and adds up to a well-paced shoot-out against the AI opponent.
Physical exertion in both games is a factor, though thankfully this is somewhat offset by the quick nature of each round of play. The movements involved in Archery may initially cause aches for some, but again it must be pointed out that once a player's own sense of rhythm is established these concerns lessen. Likewise, players may become very enthused when lobbing a ball in Table Tennis, but thankfully all controllers come with wrist straps which can potentially be the salvation for your television screen.
Overall, Sports Champions gives a very positive impression of how the PlayStation Move operates. While some may have been concerned about the PS Move's accuracy, usability and overall fun factor, our experience makes us believe that it's highly unlikely that the PS Move will be a backwards step in the PlayStation 3's evolution, and should only generate excitement around the possibilities available for the system.
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