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Sports Champions 2 demo finds the net on PSN later today
Sports Champions 2 shoots a demo onto PlayStation Network later today, with the full game scoring next week on October 30. Sony's motion-controlled follow-up includes five new sportsballs, namely tennis, golf, skiing, bowling and boxing. The demo releasing today throws you onto the court/fairway/slopes with the first three.The Move-supported sports-fest also introduces new features, as outlined by the above video. Beyond fine-tuning like simpler calibration and multiple user profiles, there's the new Party Play mode, more avatar customization, and improvements to Archery. While the game does let you use PS Move, the awesome Tron-like equipment in the video isn't compatible, probably because it's too awesome to exist.
Sports Champions 2 is going for gold October 30
PlayStation Move-based sports minigame collection Sports Champions 2 is set to launch October 30, Sony revealed in a recent blog post. As the follow-up to the PS Move pack-in game, it will include a new archery minigame along with bowling, skiing, boxing, golf, and tennis.Sports Champions 2's Party Mode also enables groups of players to set up multi-game tournaments. That sounds like fun for the whole family, except for the socially-awkward fella that took last place in the screen above.%Gallery-162823%
Sports Champions 2 takes a victory lap on PS Move this fall
You probably ended up with a copy of Sports Champions if you purchased a PlayStation Move, either because it was bundled or because you're required to own at least one sports minigame collection per motion controller (it's the law).Today, Sony revealed a followup to its obligatory sports game, due this fall. Sports Champions 2 includes skiing, boxing, tennis, golf, bowling, and "a fully updated Archery experience." Sony also promises tweaks like simpler calibration, more opportunities to customize your avatar, and multiple user profiles.The new "Party Play" mode lets users set playlists of matches, then compete for score. "You can create your own match playlist, see photos and voices from each player during the game, and draw something humiliating (or nice!) on the hapless loser," says producer Jeremy Ray. He probably means in the game. You always had the option of drawing on your friends.
Medieval Moves preview: Sporty skeleton
One of my biggest surprises during PAX Prime 2011 was a game I almost decided not to play. Time is limited at these events, so when I was presented with a swath of choices at Sony's corner of the show at the nearby Grand Hyatt, I had to be shrewd. Starhawk? Sure! Journey! You bet. Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest? Ehh ... Boy, am I glad I took a chance on this one, because slashing, guarding and shooting as the diminutive skeleton was some of the most fun I had all weekend. %Gallery-132011%
PlayStation Move review: Sports Champions
Wii launched with Wii Sports and Kinect will have Kinect Sports, so PlayStation Move would seem the odd motion-controlled-gaming-platform out if it didn't have a sports compilation on tap day one. Enter Sports Champions, developed by Zindagi Games, a second-party studios that's been working with Sony on Move since the earliest days of the technology. I mention this fact because, out of the Move's launch lineup, this is the game that seems to best show off the technology's potential – while being incredibly fun, to boot. Five sports are featured on the disc: disc golf, beach volleyball, archery, table tennis, bocce and ... gladiator arena. (Ah, yes, we watch that one on ESPN all the time.) Disc golf, volleyball and bocce are nice diversions that all play well, but the gold medalists of Sports Champions are table tennis, archery and – from a more "this is cool and I can't wait to see this built upon" perspective – gladiator arena. Like all of the sports included, these feature tournament modes (with bronze, silver and gold tiers), free play and local multiplayer. Stats from all of them are also tracked on PSN leaderboards. Table tennis is my absolute favorite experience on Move so far, thanks to it being such an incredibly realistic recreation of the actual sport. Basically, if you've played table tennis, you've played this. Move tracks the tiniest hand and wrist movements all the way up to the positioning of your body while playing, and does so effortlessly. The ball and paddle collide with a satisfyingly realistic sound and feedback; the results of hitting the ball with the paddle are exactly what you'd expect if playing in real life. Plus, the AI opponents are a perfect challenge in the more advanced tournaments. You'll get a similar effect with archery if you're playing with two Move controllers – and, if you're laying down money on day one, I suggest you do so – minus the tension of the bow. It offers a variety of target challenges in its tournament mode, from tic-tac-toe to hitting a moving cart, pushing it towards your opponent before it reaches you. Reaching back with one Move controller, grabbing a virtual arrow from your virtual quiver, bringing it forward to touch the other controller serving as the "bow," and then pulling back to ready your shot not only works well but is just plain cool. (On a side note, it's possible – even suggested – to "shoot from the hip" if your arms get tired, and they will.) Finally, gladiator arena puts the dual Move controller to work as a sword and shield. Anyone who's been waiting for a 1:1 sword fighting experience with actual swords -- this is for you. It's not the deepest fighting game, but the swinging accuracy of the sword and maneuverability of the shield combined with some special moves makes it far more strategic and dynamic than, say, the sword game in Wii Sports Resort. Sports Champions is a great pack-in for Move and well worth buying on its own if you go the a la carte route with the hardware. You'll spend a good chunk of each day playing it and hoping for a sequel. (Can we have bowling and baseball, please?) This review is based on a final retail copy of Sports Champions provided by Sony. More PlayStation Move reviews: Kung Fu Rider | Racquet Sports | Start the Party | Tumble
PlayStation Move review: The launch games
Once you get past that initial thrill of opening the packaging, setting it up and toying around with its settings, any platform is only as good – and as fun – as the games available for it. With the launch of PlayStation Move, the lineup of what's on offer is relatively limited and, as the hardware's all about getting people to, er move around, focuses on sports and party games, with a couple of notable exceptions. Those would be EyePet, Kung Fu Rider and Tumble, all from Sony, with Tumble being a PSN game. EyePet is a virtual pet "game" that's been available as a PS Eye title in Europe for some time and has been reworked to incorporate Move. While charming, it falls under the category of a kid's title (though I've no doubt some adults will find it fun) and it won't be subject to review here; instead I'll be focusing on the more "core" games in the following pages. As for Kung Fu Rider, it's an odd creation out of SCE Studios Japan. That leaves us with Sports Champions and Racquet Sports from Sony and Ubisoft, respectively. Sports Champions comes bundled with the $100 Move starter kit and the PS3 Move system bundle, but is also available separately ($40) for those who decide to buy their Move setups piecemeal. With that out of the way – and without any further ado – it's on with the reviews: Kung Fu Rider | Racquet Sports | Sports Champions Start the Party | Tumble
See more Move in Sports Champions dev diary
PlayStation Blog posted a developer diary featuring Zindagi Games, developer of the PlayStation Move minigame showcase Sports Champions. The devs demonstrate the abilities of the Move controller, showing lots of game footage and demonstrations of controller motions. They also describe their excitement about Move and its new opportunities for control -- going so far as to compare it to the feeling of playing a 3D game for the first time. If you were developing one of the flagship games for the thing, you'd be excited too!
