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PlayStation Move review: Kung Fu Rider
Of all the launch games for Move, I thought that Kung Fu Rider, a wacky office chair riding game from Sony's Japanese studios, would be right up my alley. As it turns out, it's my least favorite of the initial lineup. So yeah – the game is all about escaping the Yakuza down streets and alleyways while riding on an office chair, carts ... even a pink toy horse. It's a lovely game and a really neat concept, but the controls just about ruin it. Tilting the Move controller left or right turns, which makes sense; flicking up jumps; thrusting forward ... thrusts; but from there it just gets weird and more complicated. Mechanics such as side-stepping and actual "kung fu" attacks are brought into play until every button on the Move controller is being used for something. It's hard enough to remember what everything does and nothing feels precise or reactive enough (even on the most sensitive settings). The levels are also incredibly samey and brief – Kung Fu Rider is basically an arcade game that would have played better with a regular controller, and might have been worthwhile as a $10 PSN release. As a full $40 retail title with no standard controller support (not that it should have to have it!), Kung Fu Rider is pricey and a poor execution of a cool concept. This review is based on a pre-release version of Kung Fu Rider provided by Sony. More PlayStation Move reviews: Racquet Sports | Sports Champions | 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
PlayStation Move unboxed, demo disc detailed
Joystiq tipster Phil received a promotional PlayStation Move kit, which included two Move controllers, a PlayStation Eye camera and a demo disc. The disc features an interface inspired by the "Now Playing" section of the XMB, allowing you to quickly peruse its contents. Included on the disc are demos for Sports Champions, Start the Party, Kung Fu Rider, TV Superstars, The Shoot, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Beat Sketcher, and Tumble -- all games demoed at E3 earlier this year. Interestingly, it appears that the demos (at least on this promotional disc) cannot be launched directly from the disc; you must install each demo to your PS3 hard drive. According to our tipster, each demo is about 1-2 GB in size, meaning you'll need at least 8GB of free space if you want to play everything off the disc at once. In addition to the demos, the disc includes an installable "Setup Guide," which may be the most enjoyable part of the entire collection. It includes some helpful tips, like "don't use the camera upside-down" and "don't smack people around you." Truly, advice for winners.
Ape Escape joins Japan's 2010 PlayStation Move launch library
We haven't seen much (or anything) of Ape Escape's first foray onto PS3 since it was announced at Tokyo Game Show last year. However, a new announcement video (after the break) showcases the first few seconds of footage of the Move-exclusive game. Furi Furi! Sarugetchu, as it will be called in Japan, joins a relatively small line-up of games launching this year for the PlayStation motion controller in Japan. In fact, only six games are planned for release on the hardware's October 21 launch date: EyePet (SCEJ, ¥3,980) Sports Champion (SCEJ, ¥3,980) Beat Sketch (SCEJ, ¥2,980) Fure! Fure! Bowling (aka High Velocity Bowling, SCEJ, ¥1,900) Machi Suberi (aka Kung Fu Rider, SCEJ, ¥3,980) Big 3 Gun Shooting (Namco Bandai, ¥6,279)
Visual overload: Sony's E3 PlayStation Move lineup
PlayStation Move is essentially a brand new platform for Sony. While many of the motion-sensing launch games for the new PS3 controller are "Wii HD" titles, there are a few noteworthy additions, including echochrome 2, Heroes on the Move and a Move edition of Heavy Rain. Check out trailers for all of Sony's first-party Move titles after the break.
