The PS3 move has finally hit the shelves, and it is something unique for Sony. Taking direct aim at the casual gamer market that Nintendo has lorded over, the move and the forthcoming Kinect are going to try give these gamers a much better and different experience with motion controls. The move system is quite a bit better at what it does than the Wii, the real question that is the dark cloud hanging over the Move is will PS3 owners shell out cash for it, and will non PS3 owners be compelled to join in the fun because of it? That is not the question that needs to be answered now. The pressing matter is whether or not this thing is any good, and yeah it’s great.

Sports Champions has the standard sports mini game hodgepodge with a few wrinkles thrown in.

-Tennis is now table tennis, but with the added abilities of putting spin into your shots.

-Golf is now frolf/ultimate frisbee, quite the challenge if you were never good at throwing a frisbee but wonderful practice for those who have always dreamt of frisbee skills.

-Bowling is now Bocce, the spin that players can put on the ball is something that far surpasses anything the Wii can do.

-Volleyball has the steepest learning curve, with the most moves and requiring precision and timing it is the most challenging and active of all the games in the Sports Champions game package.

-The Archery game is the second best of all the games. Pulling the arrows out of the quiver and aiming down the arrow at targets while trying to compensate for the arrows inevitable curvature is a real difficult thing to do, and rewarding when done correctly.

-Gladiator Duels is the coolest game in the pack, it is so good that it should have been developed a litte more deeply and sold on its own merits. Taking a page from ancient Rome, with todays stylish garbs, smashing shields and faces with a variety of fully involved moves and weapons is a wonderful thing that all gamers should take part in.

The only other game that had some of that good box appeal was Kungfu Rider. You ride on various rolling chair type things around crowded hilly asian streets. The move controls have specific sets of movements that make your character jump, duck, power slide, kick, grind, and confront the mafia. The set of commands for your move set are intuitive and well done, the whole body and arm is involved so just a flick of the wrist will not be enough to move your rider like you want. Couple these factors in with a wacky story and silly animations and you get the best stand alone launch title on the move.

It needs to be mentoined that all of the games with the move will leave the average gamer in a state most medical professionals call “Wii Sore”. Gamers who haven’t used motion controls will need exercise caution will playing with motion controlled games, because secretly they are exercise. Just remember that stretching before playing is never a bad thing and please use the strap.

Later,

P.