I swore to myself I was going to buy the Playstation Move later, when there was that must-have game that supported it... maybe when LittleBig Planet 2 came out (recently delayed until January). But for some reason this weekend I was at the store and I caved in and purchased it. I knew I'd eventually get it, after all!

Now, I know there are plenty of people out there who don't like motion-controlled gaming. They maybe played a few bad Wii games, or saw how stupid people looked in the commercials, or thought "Those controller will never properly play the games I like." Well, that's okay. Does the Playstation Move defy that?

Well, for me it's a mixed bag. Here's my reaction to Move, Sports Champions, and the demos:


Does Move actually work?
Yes, it works just fine... and slightly better than the Wii with Wii Motion Plus, though you're basically getting the same effect.


Is it worth the price?
After what I've played? Not yet. The camera was reasonable. But the controller costs $50. If that's not bad enough, after firing up Sports Champions, I found that many of its games work best with two controllers in your hands. So of course I'm going to have to buy another one. The Nav controller should be $20, but it's $30. But I hear you can use a normal PS3 controller in its place.

How does Sony's Sports Champions stack up to Wii Sports Resort?
This one surprised me. Even with PS3's superior technology I felt rather mixed at the results. For archery, ping pong, and sword-fighting, I prefer Wii. I don't know why, but I think the Wii Sports Resort versions of those games are more distilled and fun.

However, Sports Champions had some events that were INCREDIBLY fun. I had no idea I'd love Volleyball so much, but it works rather well as a motion game. Frisbee Golf is practically the same as the Wii version in practice, but the HD environments make it more engrossing. And Bocce Ball, a lesser-known Horseshoes-like sport, was a pleasant surprise.

I've also decided that I'd much rather play as a low-detail Mii version of myself than the over-the-top stereotypes they provide in Sports Champions.


And the Move game demos?
I tried demos of Eyepet, Time Crisis, Kung Fu Riders, and Beat-something-or-other. Most of the demos I tried were definitely not the must-have game that will convince you to buy the move. But I'm a sucker for light-gun games and I did enjoy Time Crisis.


Verdict:
I like it. But I'm also a bit worried that the world will see Move as a "Wii too"... and one that has come four years too late, therefore not getting the support it needs. There really isn't a lot of good Move stuff on the horizon yet. However, I also see the Wii as an essentially good system whose worth and fun are dictated by the games that are made for it. I've played enough fun Wii games to be glad I bought it, and I hope to be able to say the same for Move.

Has anyone else played with the Move? Do you have any opinions on it?

I was hoping to play this more before making any comments on it (my friend is the one that owns this), but I'm still pretty impartial to it. I didn't get to try every game, but instead I only tried the sports games as well as the demo of Time Crisis.

The sports games were fun. I especially loved the table tennis one. It really did feel natural, sort of like what you'd get from the Wii motion plus but slightly more fluid (as Hawk mentioned).

Time Crisis...well, it fell a little short for me. It wasn't that the remote proved insufficient for the game, it's just that the aiming reticle just didn't seem precise enough. I felt like my shooting was all over the screen, yet that was enough to take on the bad guys. But it's the demo, I'm not going to fault the game just yet.

The only major complaint I'd have towards this is how often you need to calibrate as well as readjust the settings. I'll input something at the start of play and then have to do it again every single time. It didn't take away from the gameplay, but I figure they could at least provide a save function including all your settings attached to a profile.

Microsoft and Sony seem to be pushing their motion control tech as their next step in gaming, like an alternative to actually putting out a new system, but I'm not convinced enough to actually buy either at this point. Maybe when I see something I want that requires the use of one of them, I'll reconsider. At this point, though, I'm not in any hurry to drop a couple hundred or more on new controllers.

Yeah, at the moment motion controls are a big MEH! for me. the best wii games don't really use the technology so why bother forking out more dough. Time will tell though.