Playstation Move Review – Lazygamer Being Not-So-Lazy

Something I had never thought of, and is never really even mentioned by Sony, is that the controller actually doubles as a pretty decent remote control for movies as well. The Move controller can be used to do all the usual things that the usual controller could do, but is way more handy for those of you who don’t already have a remote for your PS3 already. By using the motion controller you can speed the video up or slow it down by holding in the trigger and motioning towards the direction you want it to go, as well as used it move one frame at a time while paused.

Sony have made no mention on any changes to accommodate the Move controller more, but it really isn’t necessary in my opinion, but hey, you never know.

What you all really came here for

When used for gaming, the Move controller really is quite a piece of work. The motion tracking is pretty much flawless all of the time.

The objects that you control in the game, be it a sword, table tennis racket or hair dryer for that matter, move on a perfect 1 to 1 scale with whatever it is that you are doing with the controller. This includes the ability to rotate the object with your wrist, as well as bring it closer or further to the screen. In some instances you will actually see the video being taken from the camera, and the software tracks an item (such as a blade) onto the top of the controller flawlessly as well.

The Move really has no problem tracking even the slightest of movements with the controller, giving a level of precision that I have not yet seen with motion controllers. When you are for example, playing Table Tennis, it feels like you have an actual table tennis racket in your hand and it allows you to treat it the same way you would a real one as well.

Gone are the days of “waggle” and having motions translate to nothing more than pre-designed animations. What you do with the controller is what you see on the screen.

You will also be glad to know that after some pretty intense testing, the Move comes across as having little to no noticeable lag whatsoever. This may change from game to game, but for the most part, it was about as good as it gets.

Pain in the arm

For my review, I tested a few different types of games but the one that really did well to show off the Move’s abilities was Sports Champions.

The Sports Champions gaming disc (not usually included) includes a couple of different sports games including Table Tennis, Volleyball, Disc (Frisbee) Golf, Archery, Gladiator Duel and Bocca (similar to bowls).

As I mentioned earlier, the Table Tennis game offers fantastic control that feels scarily real to exactly how you would approach a real Table Tennis match in real life, including stepping back to get to wide shots or putting spin on the ball with a flick of the wrist.

Disc Golf is a play on the golf mechanic, but involves throwing a frisbee disc instead of hitting a golf ball with a club. The amount of precision that can be applied to the throws, combined with the way you tilt the disc and how hard you throw it is really very impressive and a very novel way to spend your time.

Two is better than one

There is, however, a big problem with some of the other game modes. Modes such as Archery and the Gladiator Duel really highlight a major sore point of the Move. While these modes can be played with only one Move controller, it is blatantly obvious that they have been designed with the use of two in mind from the ground up.

Rather than use a second controller in the Archery mode to mimic holding the bow while you pull your arrow back, you simply grab for an arrow out of your quiver and then merely aim at the screen with a crosshair pointer, completely killing the feeling. With the Gladiator Duel you have to resort to using a button to active your shield so that you can block attacks, rather than the second controller, and that once again, kills off a lot of the appeal. It’s not to say that the modes aren’t still fun to play; you just know that they aren’t nearly as fun as they would be if you forked over even more money for another controller from the start.

Practicality

Obviously, being a motion controller, the Playstation Move requires space for you to actually move. Not only that but it requires a minimum amount of space in order to properly see the players as well as track the controllers.

This really is one element of the Move that caught me a little by surprise, at is actually a lot more of a space hog than I originally though. Most games require you to be around 2.5 meters away from the camera. Add to that the fact that you still need space to move around, you actually require around 3 to 3.5 meters of space between your television and your couch.

Now for all of you “real” people who live in actual flats and houses, rather than the huge open-plan apartments from all of the promotional photographs, this could cause a serious issue.

Last Updated: September 10, 2010