It's finally that time again and Lyric reports for Dravens Tales about the game launch and the launch of the new one PlayStation Move controllers:

I had heard divided opinions about Playstation Move beforehand, so I was all the more excited to see if the PlayStation Move kit would meet my expectations. I own a few game consoles, but only the Wii from Nintendo is comparable, so I will probably base most of the comparisons on it.

After fighting my way through the after-work rush hour in Zurich and finding my way around the Zurich Sallsporthalle, I stand at the aperitif table, which offers various finger foods and drinks. The guests consist partly of bloggers, partly of gladiators, who will compete against each other to show the best moves. But more on that later. I liked the fresh fruits at least as much as the ham croissants. So already 4 out of 6 points for the food

After I got myself a bud I go to the game room, where two of the gladiators who are warming themselves up with ping-pong are waiting for me, waving their arms around. At first glance the whole thing looks pretty Wii-like and somehow familiar. So I decide on the next beer and go back to the aperitif area. Singstar is now playing there and the guests are shouting into the mood, the whole thing looks very relaxed, but most of them are probably already mentally moving.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at singing, I go back to the meaning of the event, place myself discreetly in the background at the Move Arena and watch the players finish. I quickly notice that as soon as someone new gets hold of the controllers, the moves don't really work. In ping-pong, the ball falls to the ground when it is hit; when throwing a frisbee, the disks end up somewhere, but only rarely near the grass catcher. When it comes to my turn to try my luck, I realize what the problem is: Most of the players who hold the Move know the gameplay from the Wii - and that is exactly the problem. While on the Wii, predefined movements are triggered as soon as you make an approximately similar movement with the Wiimote, the avatar of the PlayStation Move, on the other hand, makes exactly the same movement in the game as the player, i.e. who does not throw the disc straight when throwing the Frisbee, but rather from left to right, which ends up in the game in botany. The same thing with ping-pong, if you don't throw the ball up as it does in real life and the stroke movement is not carried out exactly on this axis, it hits next to it. What sounds frustrating is only at the beginning. Once you understand the intricacies that set Move apart from the Wii, gaming is a lot of fun. Personally, I am particularly impressed by the precision and implementation of the motion sequences. As a former real-life archer, I won the archery straight away, because the movements are firstly very natural and secondly extremely precise.

After I've played a few games, the gladiator contest begins. Two of the gladiators compete against each other, on the one hand in-game, where points are important, but also in real life. Because the winner is whoever shows the best moves. One of the two is filmed and the films are uploaded to YouTube after a short editing period and implemented on Facebook. And whoever has the most likes after a certain period of time wins a PS3 including a move kit.

When it's my turn, I notice once again how precise the controls are, for example in sword fighting you can aim precisely at the unprotected areas that the opponent is exposing. Add to that a few theatrical screams and grunts, paired with some (unnecessary but spectacular) moves on my part and my gladiator movie is done. Then they switch to free-for-all and everyone can play the game they liked best for a few more rounds. I decide to replay all the games, starting with frisbee golf. Frisbee golf is well implemented, the throwing movement is recorded exactly, you have the option to choose between different discs, driver discs for long shots, putting discs for "putting in". All in all a successful launch game.

Next, I play the gladiatorial cap again, i.e. you stand in pairs (or alone against the AI) in an arena. The left stick is used to block and the right to strike. You can build up to a super punch (collect aggro) and after this hits, small Quicktime events come into play, so you can pass the opponent badly and cover him with combos in the best Tekken manner ... The game principle is very intuitive here too although it is a bit difficult at the beginning to execute the movements so precisely that they do enough damage. As an example: If you hit the opponent with a downward movement against the knee you get about 60 points, with a horizontal movement it's about 120 and if you plane him from below up towards the groin against the knee you get sometimes> 300 points.

The next game is archery again and before I lose myself in adulation. It's just awesome. The movements are «real», you can draw the bow from your hips, for example, to save energy when gambling.

I wasn't able to manage ping-pong satisfactorily until the end. While other gamers are already starting the imba combos here, I'm still waving around in the air with no effect.

Beach volleyball, on the other hand, is a very cool game, so the timing and direction of movement are crucial to score points ... Only the somewhat stupid AI was a short hair in the soup here. However, the intelligence of the pixel men increases with a higher level of difficulty, but it remains manageable.

Unfortunately, there was not enough time to play boccia, but I can live with that.

Playstation Move beach volleyball

Conclusion:
The controllers themselves are handy and well made, the light balls at the upper end are soft, so there is no major risk of injury. However, I wished for something «new» with the controllers. These things are too reminiscent of Wiimotes with flares, except that you now have 2 of the same kind and not a Wiimote with a nunchuk. On the other hand, the rubber coating of the Move sticks was pleasing, which Nintendo first thought of as an accessory, is included with the Playstation right from the start.

The gameplay is reminiscent of the type of games shown on Wiiplay / -sports, nonetheless the player has a lot more options because the controls are a lot more precise. You don't move on predetermined paths, but go new ways. It takes more sensitivity than the Wii, but that's what made Move so interesting for me.

In terms of movement factor, the name of the PS Move says it all. While you can usually play the Wii almost as well while sitting as you are standing, the Move requires full physical effort. I claim that the Move cannot be operated satisfactorily while sitting. That sounds like a negative point, but I think that's rather positive. Because if I ever exchange my PC for a PS to gamble, then the console has to give me something that the PC can't. And last but not least, that's a lot of sweat.

The games I saw were relatively Wii-like. But according to Sony, Killzone and Resident Evil should also be playable with the Move. I'm particularly excited about that because the Wii imho is really not even in the acceptable range for shooters in terms of gameplay.

So it remains to be seen how much success the Move will actually have. I would say the Move is a big step for the PlayStation on the way to the board and party games segment, which it has opened up to now but has never really entered. The monopoly of the Wii was too big until now. What went through my mind during the event is the Microsoft Kinect, because the Move isn't really anything new, it's just a major improvement on something that was already known. The question arises whether Playstation Nintendo is digging up customers (I think so) or whether both systems are simply "old" after the launch of the Kinect.

In any case, I really liked the whole thing, I think the Move will also find its way into my living room. Because the Wii is too "childish" for me personally, there are shooters for the Wii, but they're useless imho, so I'm hoping for the MOVE now, maybe it will make it the "Lightgun" of the PS1&2 from my throne of console shooters -Distribute controls.

In the end it can be said: I want a great device, definitely a must for party games and hopefully for shooters too. So and now support me on the Facebook page of PS Move as Move Gladiator, by pressing «Like» and doing so by Tuesday, September 14.09th if possible. 10 a.m. in the morning! Otherwise I win a move *g* then there is a review of every game I buy...

PS3 - PlayStation Move: Sports Champions: BEN