Welcome to PART 1 of “Get Moving This Christmas”, where I will be reviewing a number of games on both Playstation Move and XBox Kinect which are have been or are due for release in this Christmas period. While these games are targeted at families and therefore will be the focus of my reviews, I will also mention if there is something fun in them for a group of friends who might get together or even a family without children (Heck, my family still enjoys the more mini-game oriented titles). The first two games I shall be covering are Carnival Island and Start The Party! Save the World!, for which I received samples from Sony Computer Entertainment Australia.
Title: Carnival Island
Published By: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: Playstation 3
Release Date: 27th November 2011
Genre: Mini-games
Audio: English
Subtitles: English
Classification: This game is classified G for General
Region: This was based on the Australian version of the game however no difference should be present between regions or consoles.
Two children, a boy and a girl (Surprise! Surprise!) decide to travel to an island which contains the remains of an old carnival after coming across a mysterious ticket. The curator of the carnival sets them the task of reviving the park, the only way you can in a game based around mini-games…. by taking part in the games themselves! The gamer gets to choose one of the two children to control and have them take part in over 35 minigames spread around the islands four areas – Broadwalk, Shell Beach, Ferris Park and Treehouse Way. Upon completion of these games they can unlock new animal friends to help cheer them on (Everything from a panda bear to a dodo), and if they complete at least two of each games nine challenges, they can unlock more ways to play the one game.
Surprisingly, while many of the theme parks around where I live have sideshow alleys that contain these sorts of games, I never actually got around to playing them (I preferred the dodgem cars and rollercoasters) so it was a refreshing experience seeing the games they had on offer. The types of games they offer include mini bowl and ringers at the Broadwalk, coin toss and magic mirror at Ferris Park, Shell Beach had hops and frog bog and finally Treehouse Way has perfect pitch and a shooting gallery – most of which you would find in a normal carnival. While there are essentially eight games in total, each has around five or six different ways of playing them – so for example with the hoops game, the first stage had you shooting normal hoops with the Move controller and aiming for the shining hoop, while the next one has you trying to get the ball through all three hoops at once – giving the same game life in many different ways – and with a scoring system will give siblings or family members the chance to see who is better at one game versus another.
Out of all the games, the only one that perhaps didn’t interest me was the coin toss one in which I found the controls a bit too wonky, and the game might be a little bit too frustrating for the younger audience or those with little patience. However on the other hand the shooting gallery and mini-bowl were hands down favourites to me, with great use of the control system and gives a good enough competition in multiplayer. Completing these games unlock tickets which allow you to purchase balloons or other items from the prize booth (Ranging from 25 tickets for a cotton bud wand to 200 – 300 tickets for the more visually impressive items). Nothing much in terms of gameplay but a nice system to implement some reality. Completing sets of games will also progress the story mode, giving you short but cleverly designed animated sequences that shows the carnival evolving from a dingy little place to a more livelier one…. in the sky.
The presentation is good with a very colourful environment that is more than appropriate for children. As they complete the challenges they will see their time being well spent as the park is filled with creatively designed animals and prizes which are also creatively implemented. The booths are not just your run-of-the-mill shacks, with much effort being made into making these look like the “magical carnival” it is supposed to be. Music and voice acting both suit the carnival atmosphere, with the curator of the park having the expected generic voice as well as all the people running the games – which works well to put it simply.
Provided your family isn’t after something more Eyetoy like in nature (More fantasy and out there mini-games), this game will have plenty to offer you this Christmas and is nice simple fun. Despite this, after playing the games a few times they do get tedious – so it is more fun in shorter sessions and mixed with other Move or Kinect games. I had my brother play this game as well, and he seemed to enjoy it enough as well – so it may be a game that will entertain the older gaming crowd as well.
Design: B
Music/Voice Acting: B
Gameplay: B
Replayability: B
Personal Opinion: B
Overall Score: B
Title: Start The Party! Save The World!
Published By: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: Playstation 3
Release Date: 24th November 2011
Genre: Mini-games
Audio: English
Subtitles: English
Classification: This game is classified G with a notice – “Caution: User generated content variable”
Region: This was based on the Australian version of the game however no difference should be present between regions or consoles.
The world is in trouble against the evil Dr Terrible, and where super heroes and the military have failed, they have called upon you and your family to help save the world from the comfort of your own couch. As the second instalment in the Start The Party! series, the gameplay is very similar to the old Eyetoy games (Albeit the addition of a controller) where you take part in a number of mini-games using your body and a group of friends.
Overall, while this game is more visually impressive over the original game with some creative mini-game designs, the game lacks in actual gameplay due to both simplicity and lack of really anything to do. I will be honest, I liked how they included a variety of different games all themed after saving the world and some were impressive – but a majority were lacking in any form of complexity while others ended up being tedious at best. I only have one Move Controller so haven’t been able to dig that far into the multiplayer, however Free Mode and Survivor could easily be cleared with a relatively high score in a short period of time. They needed more charm of the Eyetoy franchise or even from the original Start The Party to give it a little kick!
Games include protecting a patient travelling via ambulance (As they found it prudent to fit your entire living room in the vehicle instead), rescuing lost divers and what could be concieved as a simple whack a mole game. I might have been a bit rough in the early stages of this review…. the games are fun for the first try or two but then with no difficulty settings or anything for more advanced gamers, replayability is low. They also attempt to allow a second controller to act as either friend or foe depending on the game through controlling an enemy or friend with a normal controller, but going through it with a family member of mine, it was rather difficult to work out how the system runs in every game.
This game is a swing or a miss, a family with young children might find some enjoyment out of it, however it is far off from similar Playstation Move games such as Carnival Island and Medieval Moves which try different concepts. If you need a good mini-game complication, I did quite enjoy the original Start The Party! and you can find a demo of the original title on the Demo Disc if you purchased the Playstation Move Starter Pack.
Design: B
Music/Voice Acting: B+
Gameplay: D
Replayability: D
Personal Opinion: D
Overall Score: D+
