PS Move (Why did you die?)

You may remember slightly Sony's push into the motion game market with a PS Move. That was the giant lollipop controller that used the Eyetoy to track motions. While being somewhat what the Nintendo Wii already was it did promise more accuracy and articulation. That was almost 2 and a half years ago and now the PS Move is all but defeated.
The problem was that Sony did not have confidence with it from the start. The opening lineup of games was pathetic including Sports Champions and Kungfu Rider. It was almost as if the marketing strategist realized that they had just made a glorified Wiimote as they were pushing the production button. A slew of dance games, workout games and addons to games that worked best with controllers came shortly after. Nothing seemed to lift this project off the ground even though the Move was a fun party gizmo and a neat exercise tool.
It comes down to the technology being unfinished and not quite up to par what Sony wanted it to do. Sony wanted a toy that was as accurate as a surgeon's scapel and as responsive as a tornado. But you really cannot have that with today's motion technology. Even the Kinect knows to keep the games lite, simple and incredibly easy. So here is what Sony wanted the PS Move to be, but in the end the technology is not there.

The Fight: Lights Out
This brawler was supposed to show how fast and accurate the spheres could react, linking up each movement with a perfect punch. TFLO probably has the most polished system but it is not a game of accuracy and quick reflexes. The gameplay felt more like you were controlling someone with a slight delay. Also the eyetoy needed you to stand back very far and you never could trust if it was calibrated right.

Killzone 3, SOCOM 4 and Resistance 3
The idea of using the Move as a moving gun seems like a dream come true for every FPS fan. That is probably why there are mostly rail shooters for the Move is the PS Store. The problem lies in the fact that the wand acted simultaneously as your pivoting body and your gun. The deadzone's are a real pain in the neck to mess around with until you find the perfect sensitivity to your movements. You are also not going hold the wand out like a gun and get yourself tired. You are going to hold it at your side like the lazy Americans that we are. They came out with PS Sharpshooter to simulate holding a real rifle, but that is just throwing more money at a controller that should work in the first place. Don't you dare buy ot for a competitive edge in multiplayer because it takes so much more work to turn your character responsively then a regular controller. This is another example of how the Move really accelerates when it is not taken too seriously (AKA The Nintendo Wii library).
I hate to sound like a hater because I absolutely enjoy the party experience in motion gaming, but I can clearly say that the PS Move tried to be something motion gaming wasn't. It tried to be serious gaming. Instead it died faster than Cyclops' performance in Xmen 3. You can dance, whack tennis balls, fly and drive a car with any Kinect, Move or Wii, but the serious gamers still need to hold their breath.

Everybody Dance (PS3)

A system without a unique dance game that flexes some motion based peripheral is not a system at all. At least that is what Sony thought. They were not going to let Dance Central and Just Dance roll over them while their in house producers did nothing.

Everybody Dance is a motion based dance sim by Studio London.  Involving 40 tracks from famous artists like Lady Gaga, Deadmaus, Usher, Rihanna and R. Kelly (shouldn't he be in jail?).

Everybody Dance is stylish, using real dancers with bright unashamed smiles who break it down. The big draw for these games is how stylized you look breaking down moves in sync to the energy of the music. In this overcrowded genre the dances and songs have to fit like a glove and ED is hit and miss in this are. Not every song is a winner. LMFAO's song just feels like monotanous exercise work rather than telling a rhythmic story with your body. ED seems to care more about the accuracy of dance steps then the over the top hilarity of Just Dance. Their best work is on the electronica tracks like Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers. ED is unique in that it is one of the few dance games to have 3 different difficultys for each song. The professional difficulty is actually more suited for the song then any of the difficulties. It is a nice touch that makes each song playable.  Once you enter the pro difficulty it is pretty much up to you to memorize the song routine because the moves are intense and barely repeat.






By now you should realize that dance games are a broken technology. No one really plays them for the tight accuracy of the gameplay. You play them because the party demands it. ED is no different but that does not take away from the fun. The PS motion controller is the main tool that judges how well you are dancing. It is decent at picking up motions, but it cannot tell any of your leg movements. This gets strange in workout mode when the game can only tell you how many calories you burned in your right arm.

Multiplayer should be the main reason you buy this game, but ED does it differently. You can only have 2 dancers at the same time on screen other than the usual 4. To remedy this they made a party mode where 20 people can dance one at a time. 20 people is a bit high, but if your roller skating derby team wants to dance they can all join in.

Dance games are mostly for kids and teenagers. It baffles me why ED did not censor some of the more inappropriate song videos that play in the background. I get it, you are British, but even British kids need to be sheltered from swear words and Lady Gaga. The other thing about playing the music video over the audio track is that the videos get interrupted with talk and non-sequitars. The Duck Sauce song, Barbara Streisand, is constantly interrupted with talk and you still dance through it.

Graphics pull a different strategy from Just Dances' goofy models and cartoons. The graphical sense has realism mixed with flashing lights and colors. It looks bright and shiny in HD. The Eyetoy also captures your dancing and you can post it on Facebook. But you need to be in a room filled with light because the camera is very crappy and every dance movie looks like footage of Blair Witch.

I like dancing games because music is so powerful. We hear the rhythms and beats and our bodies need to move to express it. I think that is why God made music so powerful, it celebrates rhythm, timing, creativity and skill. The way it flows so powerfully shows us who God is.

Everybody Dance is not the best version of the dance craze, but it does just enough to get it out of the bargain bin. You should definitely add it if you just want to have good party fun.

Rating: Buy it Cheap 5/5
+ Hip and stylish music collection
+ 3 difficulties for each song
- Some dances feel sporadic and offbeat
- Workout mode is weak