Game: Eyetoy Play
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Studio London
Release Date: 4th November 2003
While I've been aware of the Eye Toy's existence for quite a while, the last time I played one was several years ago, at which time I dismissed it as a simple kids add-on for the Playstation 2 (this may have been due to being forced to play the window cleaning minigame with my younger cousins at some point). Now that I'm older and perhaps a little wiser, I thought I'd give the device that seems to have inspired the Kinect, (a major component of the Xbox One gaming experience today) a chance.
There were three main minigame collections for the Eyetoy which made use of its motion detection capabilities and other features; Eyetoy Play 1, 2 and 3. I'll be taking a look at all of them in due course, and seeing just how good the motion control of yesteryear was. From what I can tell so far, the picture can be a little fuzzy but the overall detection is good as long as there's nothing on the wall behind you. Menus are easy to navigate and only require players to hold their hands over buttons for a set amount of time to press them. There are 12 games included in Eyetoy Play;
Beat Freak
The first game included is a simple rhythm game where players must touch the speakers in the corner of the screen when a disc is in the centre of them. Sometimes two speakers must be touched simultaneously, but mostly the discs appear one at a time. With a selection of four different songs to "dance" to, there's some replayability in the game and while the game can get physically tiring, it's only to be expected from accessories like the Eyetoy. The routines themselves are fairly straightforward and make musical sense; some aspects have been "borrowed" from the Dancing Stage game series such as combos and a performance meter. Overall this is exactly the type of game you'd expect to find and it performs pretty well at what it's designed to do.
Rating: 7/10
Kung Foo
The oddly misspelled second game on Eyetoy Play is Kung Foo. Players must react to an onslaught of onscreen attackers, and come into contact with them before they reach the area in which the player is supposed to be. The controls are responsive and the game is fast paced and fun, stepping up the difficulty quite nicely in its 6 stages, and final boss battle. Bonus stages involve breaking boards in the corners of the screen, but these are less responsive and harder to hit. Overall while the game is short, it's fun and makes great use of the Eyetoy's capabilities (which is pretty much all you can ask of games on this collection). The only downside is the game's length.
Rating: 9/10
Wishi Washi
While window washing doesn't sound like the most enjoyable of activities, with the addition of some powerups and a time limit, flailing your arms around has never been quite so rewarding. Although this is a pretty simple game, and there's no real progression or end goal to achieve, it once again makes use of the Eyetoy camera in a way that could not be replicated by a controller and so succeeds in a fundamental aspect of design. Overall this is a game that players will easily tire of, but it's good for younger participants.
Rating: 6/10
Keep Ups
Keep Ups is another simple game, similar to the real life game of "keepie uppie", with only the use of the player's head. The aim is to keep the ball airbourne and away from the bottom of the screen for as long as possible, and do as many touches of the ball of possible in that time. Occasionally characters will appear in the windows at the side of the game, who will loft the ball in a different direction and score more points for the player. The player detection is usually accurate and can tell whether players make an effort to head the ball properly or not. While this is a pretty simple concept overall, it works well with the Eyetoy concept.
Rating: 7/10
Boxing Chump
Boxing Chump requires the player to stand sideways on the left side of the screen, rather than facing forwards in the middle. The objective of the game is to defeat your opponent, a robotic boxer, by hitting it in areas of the body which it isn't guarding. Your stamina bar can be recharged by moving about inbetween rounds and overall it works pretty well. I didn't quite understand why the game felt the need to stop every now and then for a "Break" before letting us continue to box, but this didn't get in the way of the gameplay too much. It's harder to get a good rating on this game than some others but its not impossible.
Rating: 6/10
UFO Juggler
Multitasking is the main skill used in this game, as players guide UFOs from the launch bays at the bottom of the screen up to the top without making them overheat, leaving them for too long, or allowing them to collide. There's also an enemy ship to avoid but it'll only freeze your UFOs in the air momentarily rather than destroying them. Players get 3 chances before it's game over, and this game makes a particularly nice change of pace within the collection; it's far more precise and skill based than most of the games up to until this point.
Rating: 7/10
Slapstream
And so to the first game I dislike on this collection; Slapstream. The objective is to get rid of the rats which appear on top of the clouds, without hitting the bunny girls who appear in the same way. While it's easy to see which is which and a simple swipe at the rats will get rid of them, the Eyetoy seems to think I'm in a lot of places that I'm not. The wall behind me isn't exactly bare, but it's hard to find a large enough space to play in front of, and this hasn't affected any of the other games. As a result however, I can walk out of the room once the game starts and still be told off for hitting the bunny girls instead of the rats.
Rating: 3/10
Plate Spinner
Plate Spinner is another game which focuses mainly on multitasking; you're asked to keep up to 4 plates spinning at the correct speed, as well as defending them from attack by monkeys. Plates can go both too slowly and too fast, although there's not a lot of distinction between the two, and I often found myself speeding up a plate which was already going too fast due to the confusing animation for excess speed. The monkeys would have been a good addition if players only had to keep the plates spinning over a certain speed, as usually you'll be far too busy concentrating on keeping the speed just right to worry about small animals knocking plates down.
Rating: 5/10
Boogie Down
The second rhythm based challenge on Eyetoy Play after Beat Freak, Boogie Down is another game which is seriously affected if you don't have a green screen behind you. In addition to not being especially responsive anyway and using a strange beat system where you're expected to go straight after the demonstration, rather than waiting a beat, anything in the way of the camera will be detected as a wrong movement and lose you points, ending your game much sooner. I'm aware that the Eyetoy instructions say to clear the wall behind you as much as possible but having done so, I'd say that it needs an excessively clear surface behind you to pick movements up properly for this game.
Rating: 4/10
Ghost Catcher
Ghost Catcher requires players to spot and follow ghosts around with their hands to get rid of them before they fly off the top of the screen; once 3 have escaped the game is over. While they can be quite hard to spot, this isn't such a bad thing as it gives the game some much needed challenge. There's a boss stage at the end of the game, much like Kung Foo which provides a nice change of pace, but it never stops feeling simple as a concept.
Rating: 6/10
Mirror Time
In case you're wondering, the above screenshot is the correct way up; as the game's title would suggest Mirror Time mirrors the player in both the vertical and horizontal axis as well as being able to flip them. The objective of the game is to hit the green spheres at the side of the screen whilst avoiding the red ones. You're given 3 chances and between each round, a robot flips one part of the screen in an attempt to disorientate you. Despite being simple, Mirror Time works incredibly well and is one of the most fun games on the collection.
Rating: 9/10
Rocket Rumble
The final game featured on Eyetoy Play is Rocket Rumble where the player must detonate fireworks by waving over their position and then quickly use the detonators at the side of the screen to make a light show. Only fireworks of the same colour can be detonated in a group, unless a special "bridge" firework is used. This adds a little depth to the game, although really all there is to do is attempt to get the high score. Overall it's executed well, despite being a short and simple concept.
Rating: 8/10
Graphically the game retains a cartoon feel with its imagery, although most of the game screen is occupied by the player for most games. The sounds and voice acting included in the game is mediocre at best but doesn't really impact on the core experience. Alongside the games, other bonus modes are featured on the disk such as an underwater theme, and various other backdrops for players to experiment with.
Overall Eyetoy Play offers almost exactly what you'd expect; a selection of minigames which demonstrate the features and uses of the Eyetoy accessory. Naturally some of the games are better than others, but there's none that stand out as being unplayable. Most feel cut short by time limits or a limited amount of levels, but there are good ideas present in nearly all of the minigames. If you own an Eyetoy, there's no reason not to own Eyetoy Play. It may not be "hardcore" gaming, or even regular gaming, but it's party game style fun.
Rating: 70/100
Grade: C
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