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Platform: PlayStation 2
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Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America
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Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe London Studio
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Medium: DVD-ROM
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Players: 1 - 4
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Online: No
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Also on: (n/a)
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A new set of games, but has the Eyetoy worn out its welcome?
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A little over two years ago, Sony released it to the world. It would puzzle many, enthrall the imagination of a few, and go on to become the hottest unconventional peripheral since the dance pad. It is the Eyetoy, a tiny black USB webcam styled after the PS2’s design.
At first, I dismissed the Eyetoy as nothing but a gimmick, but the rhythm game—Eyetoy Groove—caught my eye. The next afternoon I was grabbing at air to a beat flowing from the television. It made any and all challengers look like idiots, but it was fun.
When I first received Play 2, I hastily threw it into the disc tray and started in. Well, after the first few minutes of loading screens and save initializations. Not since the days of the original Playstation have I seen as much of a delay between startup and gameplay, which makes this all the more troubling. When the only saved data is high scores and the graphics are mostly simple cel shaded models, it’s hard to figure out why the times are so long.
First on the journey through the star games of Play 2 was “Air Guitar”, which employs…well, playing air guitar. “Air Guitar” uses frets and a pickup that combine in play: pick the fret the icon will hit, and swing your hand against the pickup during the icon’s duration. Simple gameplay, but a major problem comes in the opaque guitar graphic. If the guitar were at least translucent where your hands were moving, it would make play much easier—as is, it’s sometimes hard to find the right spot. With a boss segment requiring one hundred percent accuracy to pass, that just doesn’t work. Thankfully “Drummin’” takes this concept and makes it work, making it more puzzling how one music game could wind up being so flawed, with the other being so great.
“Homerun” comes next, featuring a lanky pitcher and possibly the worst play style in the game. Batting is a simple act of swinging your arm and hitting the strike zone when the ball goes through. This much works beautifully, but it’s running that proves to be the showstopper. After hitting the ball, the screen displays “RUN,” which the manual only gives the hint of “move your arms.” I moved my arms, I moved my hands as well, I windmilled my arms while doing the previous, but in the end only pointing the camera to the ceiling fan was the only way to win.
Pugilism fares a bit better with “Knockout,” a set of three-round bouts. Play consists of dodging punches and listening for an audio cue to combo. My only complaint about this segment is the lack of blocking. If “Knockout” had a way to feature blocking, it could possibly be a great candidate for a standalone game. “Monkey Bars” uses a very similar play mechanic, but with punching sectors instead of on-screen boxers. Both are efficient in their usage, know how to keep it simple, and just plain work.
“Goal Attack” and “Table Tennis” both take a similar approach to play—a ball flies at you, and you have to put up a hand to repel it. The hit detection on both is well done, and playing both is extremely fun. “Table Tennis” gets weird with semi-offensive Chinese caricatures that are extremely out of place in the game, which makes it strange to the point of unattractive. Otherwise, both are excellent.
“Secret Agent” and “Bubble Pop” are a bit more typical for the Eyetoy’s most basic functions, making for a solid foundation. “Secret Agent” has you tapping icons when they appear on screen, with one caveat—you have to avoid detection. With security systems tracking across the screen, it makes it a bit difficult to collect the necessary items. “Bubble Pop” takes the same concept, but is based around popping white bubbles and avoiding red ones. If you remember the 3D portions from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, you’ll know exactly what this one entails. Both minigames are fundamentally sound and extremely fun for a playthrough.
“DIY” comes across kind of strangely. Your goals include all sorts of home repair tasks, including running a circular saw to cut a pattern, throwing things in a wood chipper, and laying tile. The only problem with this is that none of the games feel especially fitting for the Eyetoy, but rather the Nintendo DS.
Finally, there’s “Kung 2” and “Mr. Chef” which combine a bit from all the other games to make a sort-of megamix feel. You have to punch, dodge, repel, and more to finish these two, but it winds up being entertaining.
Coming back to the idea I opened with, Eyetoy Groove made you look like an idiot but in a fun way. Eyetoy Play 2 does the former, but not so much the latter—the compilation is entirely hit and miss, with a handful of failed concepts dragging down the rest. This, combined with the long load times makes Play 2 feel a little disjointed, maybe even rushed. You’d be best served by trying Groove if you want to experience Eyetoy, because this one probably won’t make a fan of you.
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