Are You A Fan of Playstation Move? [Games]

(NOTE BEFORE READING: I own a Microsoft Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Get any and all ridiculous fanboy notions out of your head because each console serves their own equally important purpose in my household and I really do love them all the same. They’re my babies. Now back to the article.)

I’m gonna get right down to it: the PlayStation Move is a game changer. I'm not talking about sales or anything marketing related. Of course Nintendo has had that 4 year head start and the sales battle is pretty much loss. It's obvious seeing as how Sony and Microsoft were practically forced into making these motion controllers. I am speaking strictly from a gaming perspective. Off the strength of Sports Champions alone (the only game I got to play extensively with the Move), the Move is the best motion controlled gaming experience thus far. And seeing as how up until yesterday when I played it I didn’t see the Move as anything more than a cheap gimmick in an attempt to cash in on Nintendo’s market, please believe, I’m writing this with both of my feet in my mouth right now.

We can rule out Kinect for obvious no-button-and-forever-on-the-rails gameplay reasons, but even the Wii with MotionPlus won't be able to compete. Also, anyone who plays Sports Champions and pays attention to different things will realize just how far the Move can go. The potential for it is crazy for a product that was just released on the 17th of this month.

For one, thanks to the PS3, the graphics of the games they'll be making compared to the Wii's line up will easily be unmatched. That's the end of that, no need to elaborate.
Secondly, everything they've done with the Move is better. From a development standpoint, they have the advantage given the fact that they created it with 1:1 movement from the ground up, unlike the Wii which had to have an extra peripheral for it that has to adapt to the controller rather than it being more organic in a sense; I think the Wii's MotionPlus is much more symbiotic than completely natural. Another great thing about it is how it feels in your hand. Everyone (including Nintendo) knows the boxy Wii remote only feels right in your hand with a jacket over it. The curvy design of the Move controller lets it rest in your hand so comfortably and gives you such a good grip over it that the lanyards provided with it is almost unnecessary unless you really can’t hold onto it. And the Kinect… well if you thought it looked silly flailing your arm around with a controller in your hand just imagine doing that with absolutely nothing in your hand.

When you play the game, you will feel it. No matter what game you play in SC, whether it's the greats like archery and sword dueling or even the lame like bocce ball, you WILL feel in control. Reach behind your back and grab an arrow, slash your sword in any exact direction that your imagination will let you, do underhand bumps on a volleyball. While you feel it in every sports game within the game, I think the best, albeit not as fun, example of how well the precision works is in the disc golf. Everything you do is translated on screen, from how far back you pull your hand to how high or low your wrist is angled to which direction your body is facing and of course how hard you throw the Frisbee.

Again you have to actually think and consider how well these things work technically beyond whether or not you find Sports Champions fun or not. I think the entire game is a testament to how much they can do if they make games focused solely on one great thing. For example, the Kinect Star Wars game shown at E3 does look good, however because the Kinect is basically just a camera watching you, not only will your movement be on-the-rails, but you’re also gonna be limited as to just how many different attacks you can do. Now if they were to make that game or even The Force Unleashed completely from the Move THEN that’s when motion controlled gameplay can really shine. Any direction you move the controller is where you would move your lightsaber, but you can also use the buttons to modify and use your powers exactly how you want when you want. Oh yeah, and you can actually move yourself thanks to the navigation peripheral.

So for example let’s say you’re cutting up all kinds of baddies left and right when you see a giant spaceship flying at you. You HAVE to react in one of multiple ways. Maybe you can slice your blade right through it; maybe you can force push that baby way off to the side and keep on with the cutting; or maybe you can force grab it and use it as your own weapon; or maybe you can charge that baby with so much electricity that by the time it gets to you it’ll be in millions of tiny pieces; or maybe you play it completely safe and run out of the way.
At that point, would you have more faith in two controllers in your hand that’ll let you use at least one of many buttons to determine exactly what you want to do while still letting you feel in control with the 1:1 movement or would you feel better flapping your bare hand in weird Harry Potter-like strokes hoping the camera knows what you’re trying to do. And that’s only if Kinect would allow you to have such a variety of choices. I mean let’s be honest, Kinect is basically like playing a touch screen game with your entire body instead of your fingers. THAT’S the sort of potential that this thing has.
And yes, Nintendo is doing this with MotionPlus and Zelda: Skyward Sword can have you pull off the same thing, which is great, but remember we’re talking about the Playstation 3. More processing power, more graphical power, more content courtesy of the Blu-ray discs. All of these will attribute to an overall better gaming experience.

There’s so much more I can say about this thing, but I think I’ve been ranting long enough. What I want to get out there is that there’s no question that as far as motion controlled gameplay goes, and in turn a more immersive and realistic gaming experience goes, the PlayStation Move has raised the bar. Of course the Move is not for everyone; some people will never enjoy or accept motion controlled gaming as a viable and legitimate way of gaming. But even if you can’t like it, you must respect how well it’s been done here. That being said, I still believe the power of the hardcore gamer oriented Playstation brand as opposed to the much more child/family oriented Nintendo brand as of late is what can potentially convert many gamers to the motion controlled side of gaming. Up until last night the Move was at the bottom of my list of must have purchases, just under breast implants (I’m a man). Then I played it and now I can’t wait to go get the Sports Champions bundle for myself sometime this week. My foot has never tasted so good.

Submitted by: Jonada

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