At a GDC event today, Sony showed off its new PlayStation Move controller, along with a number of games. The audience response was positive, but the demos shown, including sports games and sword-and-shield-style battles, seemed both inspired and informed by what the Wii has done before. We got a quick hands-on with the controller, and have posted some impressions and pictures, below.
In fact, while Sony claimed that for under $100 you'll be able to get the PlayStation Eye, a motion controller, and a game, almost all the demos were played with two motion controllers. There is also a second controller, much like the nunchuk, used during the SOCOM beta. Sony, it seems, will require you to have two Moves, and the secondary controller.
The demos included archery, boxing, and golf, all of which are things we've seen on the Wii, and which will be bundled together in a game called, as of now, "Sports Champions." The other demo game looked very much like Eyetoy, but with augmented reality. You hold the controller, but on the screen you see a paintbrush or a tennis racket. It's very impressive technology, and seems very solid. Another game turns the controller into a fan you use to blow chicks into bird nests. Very cute.
LittleBigPlanet is another Move demo; the player with the PlayStation Move helps the Sackboy get to the next area. "Motion Fighters," which is, again, a working title, is a fighting game. You can lean to make the fighter move, and you have to actually punch. The Move Subcontroller is the nunchuk, so you'll need one of those as well. (This is getting expensive.)
SOCOM 4 is coming to the PS3, and you'll be able to play with the Move and the Subcontroller. It looks just like Wii first- and third-person shooters, at least in terms of controls. The technology was integrated "very quickly, with very little overhead."
Having played with the PlayStation move, we have a few reactions. First, it's light. There is a rumble feature there, but, in the shooter we played, it rumbled when you were hit, but not when you fired a shot at the screen. With no audio feedback, this made it very hard to tell when you were firing. But that's what you get when you demo hardware at a noisy party.
The glowing ball at the top of the move was always interesting; the colors shift and change; it's all very psychadelic. We played a Gladiator title where you block with your shield and attack with a large axe. It takes some getting used to, but I can't shake the feeling I've played games like this on the Wii. The main difference, of course, is the graphics.
"The Shoot," which is a working title, has you shooting at robots and avoiding missiles. The movement was very smooth. To calibrate, you move the controller to your side, and then hold it near your belt. After that, it's locked in. As a shooter it was basic, but fun.
I've been moving around the party, playing games and talking to people, and each of the demos is impressive and fun, but nothing strikes me as a must-have title. The technology is mature, but it seems like a reaction to the success of the Wii, and not a brand-new experience.
Source: ars technica
